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Mukkoka decided to lead his friends out today after he was done feeding on lucerne and established the feeling that his friends were done, too. The sun was shining and the orphans were eager to begin their day. Mukkoka took everyone north of the stockades around and up the hill, and then browsed next to his young friend Bondeni, while Kinyei teamed up with Suguroi. Kuishi took her favourite Esoit and Larro too and walked away from the herd to browse on their own. Roho and Naboishu took a break from browsing to have a wrestling match but their game ended in a draw. The rest of the morning was quiet as most of the orphans wanted to concentrate on eating.

Olorien led the way to the mud bath for the noon milk feed. It was another warm day and all the orphans jumped into the mud bath in groups, as soon as they finished their milk bottles. They spent a long time in the water until wild bulls started arriving and as a show of respect to their seniors, and also partly because they were done swimming, the orphans came out of the water one by one. Only Jotto, Sattao, Dololo, Musiara and Ambo opted to stay behind and observe the older bulls, wishing to learn as much as possible from their elders.

Meanwhile the others met with Sidai, Silas, Sita, Loijuk, Lili, Teleki, and Vuria nearby. Feisty Sita threatened to push Naleku — but to his surprise, Sagateisa, Roho, and Naboishu ganged up against him! Sita had no option other than to run away whilst calling out to his mother.

While the orphans were browsing in the afternoon, they felt very hot and resorted to standing in the shade for a while. Suguroi took the lead home in the evening.

Olare, Sunyei, Siku, Saba, Naisula, Nyx, Neshashi, Ndiwa, Kinna, Kama, Kaia, Mwende, Mala, Sidai, Silas, Sita, Nasalot, Nusu, Noah, Tumaren, Tembo, Naseku, Kauro and a wild herd joined the orphans for lucerne in the morning. Naleku was delighted to be able to meet with tiny baby Tembo for a brief moment, especially since so many nannies were around! Suguroi was watching and certainly couldn’t be left out. She quietly stole up to where Naleku and Tembo were greeting one another, so as not to draw attention from the older females and spoil the moment. Roho and Silas had an altercation which ended up in some rough pushing from the two boys. Silas’ brother Sita came to his rescue by pushing Roho away. A herd of buffaloes passed by, but they couldn't come up for water as some of the wild bulls were acting a bit hostile. Kuishi decided it was time to head out for the day and the rest of the herd followed behind her.

Ndiwa and Kauro joined the orphans out in the bush. Suguroi teamed up with Sagateisa to browse while Mukkoka, Naboishu, Naleku and Lodo had a soil dust bath. On the way to the mud bath it started raining and it went on for about half an hour. Ex-orphan Rapsu passed by and had a quick drink of water for the trough before moving on. A wild bull arrived for a drink as well and brave Musiara joined him at the trough.

In the afternoon, Kinyei, Kindani, Bondeni and Olorien decided it would be fun to roll around on the wet soil. Later, Esoit and Bondeni met for their usual strength testing match. As the orphans walked into their night stockades for the evening it started raining again and, in the end, we had about 25mm of rain today.

It was lovely to see Kithaka, Enkikwe, Rapa, Sana Sana and Kauro this morning. They came to visit and share lucerne with the dependent orphans. When they were done, the dependent orphans, led by Sagateisa, walked out to the bush. Ambo seems to be enjoying the company of his seniors these days, and he lagged behind with Kithaka, Rapa, Sana Sana and Kauro. They settled to browse east of the stockades, where Naleku, Lodo, Kindani and Suguroi stopped to have a brief soil dusting exercise. Jotto came across some water pooled on a rock from the recent rain and helped himself. Dololo teamed up with Sattao to browse while Larro had fun rolling on the ground. When the orphans came across a large pool of water, Lodo, Mukkoka, Esoit, Naboishu, Olorien and Kuishi decided to have a brief mud bath before everyone assembled and they all walked to the noon milk feeding area.  

In the afternoon, Naboishu engaged Roho in a strength testing exercise while the rest of their friends enjoyed sliding and rolling around on the edge of the road along the embankment. Naboishu and Roho’s game ended in a draw. The rest of the day was quiet as the orphans browsed calmly without any distractions.

Mist covered the Ithumba Hill as Kauro, Rapa, Kithaka, Sana Sana and Enkikwe showed up in the morning again to join the orphans to feed on lucerne. It had rained overnight so the whole area was wet. Bondeni, Kinyei and Kindani went to scratch against the side of the terrace wall before joining their friends to feed on lucerne. Kuishi led the way to the bush today. The junior ex-orphans, Kauro, Rapa, Kithaka, Sana Sana and Enkikwe, decided to accompany them.

The orphans settled in the Kanziku area. Larro, Naboishu, Lodo and Olorien split from the main herd and browsed a short distance away. Later, when the orphans made their way to the mud bath and had their noon milk feed, none of them dared to step into the mud bath, for it was far too chilly for swimming. Instead, they had some water from the trough and then Musiara led the way back out to browse. 

Shortly before three o'clock in the evening, the cloudy weather gave way to light showers. The naughty junior ex-orphans took advantage of the Keepers taking shelter under some trees to convince Jotto, Naboishu, Sattao, Dololo and Ambo to go walkabout with them. When it was time to walk back to the stockades, the five members from Class Five as well as the ex-orphans were still missing. The rain made it difficult to track them as well! The Keepers decided to head back with the rest of the herd in the hope that the missing members would return to the stockades during the night.  

Ambo, Naboishu, Sattao, Dololo and Jotto arrived in the morning after spending the night out with Kithaka, Kauro, Rapa, Enkikwe and Sana Sana. They were late however and the dependent herd had already left. The five boys followed their friends and caught up with them north of the stockades. Kuishi, who had spent the night alone in their partition of the stockades, reunited with the boys – we assume to ask them where they had been all night! The boys ignored her and sidled past, settling to browse on some tasty looking bushes. Mukkoka and Lodo found a pool of water on a rock and enjoyed drinking from it together. Kuishi teamed up with Esoit and Jotto to browse while Rapa played with Dololo. Suguroi, Naleku, Sagateisa and Olorien took a break from feeding to have fun and roll around on the ground for a bit.

At eleven o'clock in the morning, Kindani led the way to the mud bath. The ground was slippery from the rain overnight (28mm received in total). Instead of running for their milk bottles like they usually do, the orphans walked carefully to avoid slipping and falling. The orphans had their milk and some water before Musiara led the way back out to browse, as none of the orphans felt like wallowing in the main mud bath. Kindani and Kinyei were the last ones to leave the water trough and they had to run to catch up with their friends.

Bondeni settled to browse with Kinyei as Olorien teamed up with Lodo to roll around on the wet ground, covering themselves in cool, damp soil. It started drizzling later in the afternoon and this got all the orphans in a playful mood. As they all played in the mud it didn’t take long until all the orphans looked like anthills! In the evening everyone returned safely to the stockades for the night, without anyone going rogue like yesterday.

It was a quiet morning today. The weaver birds chatted away in the trees above as the dependent orphans came out of their night stockades to an empty compound. They settled for lucerne and while they ate, no ex-orphans showed up to share food with them. Even Ambo, who left with the junior ex-orphans yesterday, didn't show up.

Larro took the lead of the herd today. As she followed her friends, Kinyei found a good rock to scratch her tummy on. Roho walked past and decided to push Kinyei away from the rock. Gentle Kinyei didn't complain but walked away silently, perhaps cursing Roho under her breath!

The orphans chose to browse east of stockades today. It was still wet after raining last night. Naleku, Suguroi, Sagateisa, Sattao, Mukkoka and Musiara took a break from browsing to play in some mud! Later, Olorien led the way to the midday milk feeding area beside the mud bath. The orphans didn’t need to wallow again today, as they played all day in puddles they came across in the bush, so Naboishu led her friends back out to the bush again.

In the afternoon, Sagateisa teamed up with Sattao to browse while Kuishi teamed up with her favourite little boy, Esoit. Bondeni had an itchy neck and walked around looking for a good tree to scratch against. He finally found one and had a good scratch, before going back to join his friends. Lodo decided to test his strength by attempting to push down a small tree. Unfortunately he couldn’t break the tree so he walked away to find something else to do! In the evening, all the orphans returned safely to the compound for the night. Ambo is still out with Kauro, Enkikwe and the others, enjoying his time in the wild.

It began to rain in the middle of the night, and it was still raining in the morning when the orphans were let out. As soon as they had their fill of lucerne, Kuishi led the way out to the bush. Naboishu, Lodo and Mukkoka teamed up together to browse while Naleku, Sagateisa, Roho, Suguroi and Olorien decided to play in some mud while it drizzled. The rain stopped after giving us 48mm and then Kinyei, Lodo, Bondeni and Kindani decided to play with some damp soil too, throwing it on their heads and over their bodies. Later, Olorien chose to browse with Kuishi while Lodo teamed up with Sagateisa. When the rain stopped the excitement amongst the orphans seemed to die down as well, and the orphans went back to browsing calmly until Larro decided it was time to go for the midday milk feed.

After having his milk Lodo walked over to a small pool of water where he had a brief mud bath. Naboishu passed by and drank some water but didn't bother joining Lodo in wallowing. In the afternoon the orphans settled to browse in the Imenti area. Musiara teamed up with Mukkoka while Sattao settled to browse with Larro, and Naleku with Sagateisa.

In the evening on the way back to the stockades, the orphans got excited and started running about in different directions, charging and trumpeting. The Keepers couldn't figure out what came over the orphans as they couldn’t see anything unusual! To avoid arriving back at the stockades late, the Keepers ran after the orphans, calling their names. After about one kilometre of hide and seek games with the orphans, the Keepers finally managed to wrangle them altogether and walked the naughty group straight back to the stockades, as it was getting quite late!

The orphans settled briefly for lucerne soon after leaving their stockades. It was still wet and slippery and the orphans walked very carefully to avoid falling over. Suguroi, Bondeni, Larro, Roho, Sattao and Olorien started their day activities with a soggy ‘dust’ bath - rolling around and throwing wet soil in the air. Later, Roho engaged Lodo in a strength testing match that ended in a draw. Kuishi teamed up with her friend Esoit to spend some quality time together; they both had fun in some rolling games.

The orphans browsed calmly up to mud bath time when Olorien led the first group to the milk feed. They didn’t stay in the mud bath area for long but decided to head back out to browse. We have rain on an almost daily basis now, and it is so green everywhere! It is a welcome relief after the dry and dusty drought we have been experiencing. Roho teamed up with Olorien while Sagateisa had a brief interaction with Bondeni before moving on to a different feeding spot. Overall it was a quiet afternoon.

The first port of call this morning for Bondeni, Kindani and Kinyei was to go and scratch along the terrace wall, while the rest of the group went to start feeding on lucerne. Shortly later, Rapa and Enkikwe emerged from the east and joined the orphans feeding on lucerne. The Keepers knew that these two junior ex-orphans had one mission in mind; to convince some of the older orphans to join their team! When they were done, Suguroi led the way out for the day. Jotto lagged behind with Rapa and Enkikwe as they tried to convince him to join them.

Lodo teamed up with Dololo to browse this morning while Suguroi settled to browse with Naleku. Eventually, Rapa, Enkikwe and Jotto caught up with the rest of the herd and browsed with them. Shortly before ten o'clock in the morning, Larro, Esoit, Kuishi, Sagateisa and Mukkoka came across a muddy area and decided to have fun rolling about there, smearing themselves with mud to act as a protective coat against the biting insects which have come out with the recent rain.

The orphans had their noon milk feed then went straight back to browsing. There was a change of weather in the afternoon. Clouds gathered and within no time at all, a heavy downpour started that lasted for about twenty minutes. As usual, this triggered a playful bout within the orphan herd and they started running and rolling about in the running water. In the evening, as the Keepers had anticipated, Enkikwe and Rapa made away with Jotto for the night. The rest of the herd returned safely to the stockades for the night.

Rapa and Enkikwe arrived early in the morning and joined the orphans soon after they were let out. Over some lucerne, Naboishu ran into trouble with Sattao when he disrespected him by bumping into him. Sattao turned and drove Naboishu away. Dololo and Kindani found suitable rocks that they used to scratch their bellies on. As soon as they were done eating, the orphans walked out to the bush, where Jotto teamed up with Olorien and Naboishu to browse and Roho browsed with Dololo. Little Kindani engaged Esoit in a pushing game, which the ever-playful Esoit enjoyed very much! Later, the new rivals Jotto and Musiara started a wrestling match, initiated by Jotto. Suguroi browsed quietly with Naleku. Bondeni came across a tree stump that was the right size to scratch his chest on and he enjoyed that activity for a while.

Olorien led the way to the mud bath when it was time for their milk feed. As is the norm at the moment, the orphans didn’t stay long at the mud bath after having their milk, and they were soon browsing again just west of the hill. Naboishu, Kuishi, Mukkoka and Roho came across a small water hole and splashed water on themselves to keep cool. The rest of the day was quiet as the orphans browsed peacefully. In the evening, Kinyei led the way back to the stockades for the night.

Wendi, Wiva, Wema, Wimbi, Galana, Gawa, Naserian, Njema, Ithumba, Iman, Teleki, Karisa, Wanjala, Lenana and Lapa showed up early in the morning before the orphans had even had their milk bottles. As she walked out of her night stockade, Sagateisa had a brief interaction with Teleki while naughty Lapa tried to bully Esoit. Mukkoka, Roho and Olorien came to help Esoit and between them they managed to overpower the little rascal Lapa. Lapa had no option but to run away! The Keepers put some lucerne out but the dependent herd didn’t feel like competing with their seniors, so Musiara rumbled calling his friends to join him leaving the compound, leaving the ex-orphans to it. The orphans headed northwest where they settled to browse.

Musiara first teamed up with Naboishu and later with Naleku to browse. Jotto chose Esoit while Olorien teamed up with Lodo. The orphans browsed calmly as they slowly made their way towards the mud bath. Kindani walked with her two great friends, Kinyei and Bondeni, in the first group for milk bottles. After finishing their milk, Dololo surprised us by leading the herd into the main mud bath. Kuishi, Esoit and Musiara only dipped their feet in the water before walking away, leaving their friends to swim.

Later in the afternoon, Dololo, Mukkoka, Naleku, Kindani and Naboishu found a muddy pool. They sprayed and smeared themselves with mud before running to catch up with their friends.

On the way back to the stockades in the evening, the orphans decided to pass by the main mud bath and have a wonderful wallowing session there that lasted for quite some time! When they were done, Olorien led the way home. 

Ndiwa and Wanjala arrived at the stockade compound early before dawn, and relaxed outside the stockades waiting for the dependent orphans. As soon as the orphans emerged from their night quarters, two groups of ex-orphans arrived; one led by Wendi and the other one led by Naisula. Everyone grouped together in the feeding area to share lucerne, but it wasn’t long before the youngsters decided to give way to their seniors. Naleku led the dependent herd out to the bush. Lapa followed the orphans a short distance, but then was blocked by Olorien. She didn’t want the naughty rascal following them and causing mischief!

Esoit engaged Roho in a strength testing match. Musiara settled to browse with Naboishu. The ground was slippery following about 22mm of rain we received last night, and we could see the orphans stepping carefully to avoid slipping and falling.

While browsing in the Kone area, Kindani, Sagateisa, Olorien, Kinyei, Naleku and Suguroi took a break to roll on the wet ground. The group then browsed quietly up to the mud bath area for their noon milk feed. Kindani led the first group for their bottles. Everyone drank their milk in an orderly fashion without pushing or shouting, then jumped into the main mud bath to cool off. Musiara was the last one to leave the water.

The orphans enjoyed wallowing so much that later when Sattao, Larro, Kuishi and Dololo came across a muddy pool they decided to continue their fun, splashing around and changing the colour of their skin from grey to clay-red. Later in the afternoon Lodo chose to team up with Sattao to browse. It was a hot afternoon and we weren’t surprised when the orphans decided to visit the main mud bath again on the way home, to splash some water behind their ears and some even chose to take a short dip. When they were done, Sagateisa led the way home.

The morning arrived shrouded in persistent rain, yet it brought a heartening sight — Ambo’s return to the Ithumba compound, accompanied by Kauro! Ambo and Kauro joined the orphans in the lucerne feeding area and it looked like Jotto and Sattao couldn’t wait to meet with him and find out where he has been these past few nights. Ambo was brief in his response and walked away from the two bulls — it seems like he wants them to find out what the wild is like by themselves! Suguroi confidently guided the herd to the browsing fields while it continued to drizzle.

In youthful exuberance, Mukkoka, Esoit, Kauro, Olorien, Kuishi, Dololo, Ambo, and Naleku revelled playing in the running water and rolling in the wet soil. The playful antics continued all morning until Kindani, showcasing certain leadership skills, initiated the procession for the eleven o’clock milk feed. Kauro and Ambo escorted the dependent orphans who were happy to have the two bulls in their company. The rain had stopped and after the milk session, a spirited bout of wallowing ensued, led by Roho and Sagateisa. When he came out of the water, Roho engaged Naboishu in a strength testing exercise.

Later in the day, Kuishi, Esoit, Kinyei, Suguroi and Dololo used a bush mud bath to smother themselves in thick mud. On the way back to the stockades in the evening, the skies opened, and the heavy rains complicated the Keepers’ task of guiding all the orphans back. Consequently, amidst the downpour, Esoit, Kuishi, and Larro briefly wandered away from the herd, only to be found an hour later, happily engrossed in a bush mud bath and completely unaware that they were late to return home. We couldn’t believe we received 70mm in a single hour of downpour!

After last night's rain, the day dawned clear and tranquil. The orphans helped themselves to their lucerne breakfast before Kuishi confidently led them into the lush browsing fields. Groups naturally formed for browsing, with Kinyei, Bondeni, Suguroi, and Olorien all choosing to browse in one particular area together. The morning took an exciting turn when Naleku’s keen senses caught sight of a jackal nearby. Naleku started charging and trumpeting, which roused the attention of Dololo, Sattao, Bondeni, Suguroi, and Esoit. They all came running to help join in driving the poor jackal away, who only happened to be passing by!

Ambo and Kauro emerged from the bush to join the orphans again. Lodo had a brief interaction with Kauro, while Ambo met his friend Jotto to find out if he was ready to join them in the wild yet! Sagateisa, Bondeni, Kindani, and Naboishu indulged in a spirited game of rolling on the wet ground. Just prior to the mud bath session, Ambo and Kauro’s persuasive skills finally managed to convince Jotto to join them, and the trio slipped away unnoticed. Meanwhile Sagateisa orchestrated a delightful wallowing session. Esoit was the first one out of the water, and mischievously turned and tried to prevent Bondeni from coming out of the water. Kuishi and Musiara were the last ones out.

It started to drizzle again in the afternoon which prompted some playful activities, such as sliding and friendly wrestling between Mukkoka and Naboishu. The orphans concluded their day’s browsing peacefully and returned to the stockades happy and full. Jotto decided to spend the night out with Ambo and Kauro.

The night had brought rain, and it was still raining in the morning when the orphans ventured out of their night stockades. Kauro and Ambo returned with Jotto and the trio briefly mingled in the lucerne feeding area with the dependent orphans. When they were ready, Musiara led the herd out into the bush, where they formed various pairings: Sattao teamed up with Kindani, Naleku settled to browse with Jotto, and Bondeni with Musiara. Esoit was very happy to accompany his favourite older sister role model, Kuishi. Playfulness found its way into the morning as Naboishu, Larro, and Lodo frolicked in muddy areas, slipping, sliding, and rolling gleefully.

At the mud bath session, Olorien led the way for the noon milk feeds. As soon as they finished their bottles, Naboishu led an enthusiastic wallowing session and when they were done, Mukkoka took the lead back out to the bush. Kinyei and Sagateisa passed by the water trough just to have a taste of water before following their friends. The orphans settled to browse west of Ithumba Hill, with Roho spending the better part of the afternoon peeling bark from trees, followed by a long strength testing bout with Naboishu. Ambo, Jotto, and Kauro parted ways with the group just before it was time to return to the stockades for the night. It appears Ambo is happy with his new arrangement out in the wild in the company of Jotto and Kauro for now! We are very happy for him, for this is the mission of our Orphans’ Project — our orphans finding their rightful place in the wild, when they feel the time is right.  

The morning dawned chilly after a rainy night. The orphans enjoyed their milk bottles before heading out to feast on their lucerne breakfast, which they enjoyed to the full because there were no other elephants about. Out in the bush, the orphans were delighted with the lush vegetation. We came across a lesser kudu enjoying the fresh greenery as well. Mukoka’s playful nature surfaced when he discovered a pool of water and started splashing about playfully. Kuishi found another waterhole and was joined by some friends who wanted to play in the mud too. The orphans then proceeded to the mud bath for their lunchtime milk bottles.

Naboishu helped himself to his bottles as the Keepers were busy feeding some of his friends. A brimming mud bath seemed inviting to the orphans and they really enjoyed their time wallowing, following Olorien’s lead. After a prolonged wallowing session and playful games, the herd resumed their afternoon browsing session, embracing the cool weather. Jotto, Ambo and Kauro ventured off, while the dependent herd continued to browse quietly for the rest of the afternoon.

The orphans were briefly joined by Yatta, Yetu, Yoyo, Yogi, Yebo, Mulika, Mkuu, Nasalot, Noah, Nusu, Enkikwe, Rapa, and Sapalan during their lucerne feeding. Naleku, drawn to the young ones, was delighted to have the opportunity to play with Yebo, while Kuishi had a brief conversation with Enkikwe and Rapa, perhaps seeking information about Ambo and Jotto. Musiara led the herd out to the bush where they formed various groups to browse. Larro teamed up with Esoit and Naboishu browsed with Bondeni. A small waterhole became a spot for Kuishi, Sagateisa, Lodo, Suguroi, Roho, and Naboishu’s playful interactions.

Eleven o’clock ushered in the milk feed and Kinyei led the way to the mud bath, where Naleku led a playful wallow. Bondeni was the first one to leave the mud bath swiftly followed by Naleku, who walked over to a tree for a scratch. Musiara and Mundusi were the last ones to leave the water, which they did very reluctantly, because they were having so much fun. Naboishu, Mukkoka and Roho split from the main herd to browse separately for a while, but rejoined the herd later in the evening on the way back to the compound, marking another peaceful day’s end.