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Sagalla seems to be settling in much faster than Namalok or Sapalan as she already started taking her milk from a bottle this morning, while Namalok is still drinking his from a bucket. Sagalla is still desperate to join the others out in the forest and fights to leave her stockade every morning when she sees them walking out; but she is not quite ready yet. The orphans had a lovely time during the public visit today. Jotto was the first one into the mud pool after finishing his milk and even though it wasn’t that hot, Emoli and Maisha seemed to want to join him in there as well. They walked up and down the edge of the pool but they were not allowed in as they are not strong enough to mingle with the others in the mud. Luggard who loves and enjoys the mud baths very much, was in the middle of the pool with Jotto. When Murit and Malima saw the fun the two were having they decided to jump in and enjoy the mud as well. They swam from one point to another, playing with the football in the mud, but Murit brought an end to the happy games by trying to climb on the others back. They decided to get out of the mud pool when he started to do that whilst Godoma came in to make sure they were okay when she heard Malima shouting. As the others came out she decided to stay in and enjoyed a nice wallowing session before it was her time to leave.

Mundusi seems very serious with whatever he does and doesn’t normally like to waste time playing with the others. This morning Ngilai seemed to want to play with him and put a smile on his face but instead Mundusi kept fighting back whenever Ngilai approached him. In the end Mundusi pushed him so hard that Ngilai walked away but this seemed to please Luggard who walked right up to him and initiated a pushing game, which they both seemed to enjoy. Kuishi is one of the only girls that hasn’t developed an attachment to Pili yet. Today she approached the little one and started pushing him, which annoyed Enkesha and she pushed Kuishi from behind. Kuishi turned to push Enkesha back but Malima was quick to intervene and block her from hurting Enkesha. A keeper was also there to help bring control to the situation. Usually Maramoja is very selfish at sharing little Pili as she likes to look after him most of the time. She will walk him away from the rest of the herd and the other females like Mbegu who might want to care for him, to care for him all by herself. Today Malkia watched her walk away from Mbegu with Pili and thought she would join them, but Maramoja drove her back to the herd as she walked away with the little one. Little Musiara thought he was very brave today when he charged at Kiko who was walking towards the orphans. When he saw him coming he ran towards him with his little ears held high, but Kiko just looked down at him and walked away.

At 6am Solio encountered a gang of buffalos on her way to the Nursery. They were in the bushes surrounding Maxwell’s stockade. They charged at her trying to scare her back into the forest but she managed to dodge them and she came round to visit Maxwell, and get some tasty lucerne as well. When the babies were in the forest the buffalos were still there standing under a tree. Ndiwa saw them and walked towards them. They didn’t seem to mind her company but they didn’t like the keepers and started walking away. Ndiwa followed them and the keepers tried to call her back but she kept following the buffalos. They had to run ahead and hide in the bushes from the buffalos, while trying to separate Ndiwa from them and eventually they managed, but it was quite a chase! She came back running and shouting in fear of being told off! Esampu, Sana Sana, Malkia and Mbegu ran to respond to her trumpeting. They all received her warmly with lots of hugging from Mbegu. Very sadly one of the two arrivals from yesterday’s rescue died as she succumbed to her condition. The other one is very young and is doing okay but has a swollen foot and an injury down one side. The little stubborn boy Maktao was well behaved during the public visit today. He was one of the first ones to get into the mud pool and after some time Jotto joined him as well, and they enjoyed wading together up and down in the mud. When Malima and Esampu jumped into the mud he moved away to his own spot so as not to get squashed by the bully girl.

With all the recent new arrivals, Tamiyoi, Malima and Godoma were sharing one big stockade. After the older new arrival passed away however, Tamiyoi was moved back into that stockade so she could continue looking after her neighbour, Pili. Malima was left in the stockade with Godoma and she had a very long night as Godoma was being very selfish. She didn’t share the greens with her nor let Malima enjoy her milk bottles in peace. Every time she approached the food she shoved her away and because of this, Malima yelled throughout the whole night until morning. She was relieved and happy when their gate was opened in the morning! Tagwa and Maramoja seem to be taking turns babysitting Pili today. During the morning it was Tagwa but for the whole of the afternoon it was Maramoja watching over Pili. We watched on as we saw Maramoja walk little Pili away from everyone else and prepare some loose soil using her feet. She then pulled the little boy directing him to lie down and then she moved to stand over him, keeping him under her belly while she dusted him some more. Pili napped there for more than 40 minutes while the big girl just sheltered him. When it came to his milk time Maramoja blocked the keepers from waking him up though in the end she relented and allowed the baby to go for his milk bottle. Maktao left mud bath with the first group but somewhere on the way back to the forest he decided to turn around and he came running back to join the older herd for another mud bath. Ngilai decided to guard and protect the keepers during their lunch break from the warthogs - any of them that came close to try and get a piece of their lunch he chased away back into the bushes, allowing the keepers to enjoy their lunch in peace.

As the orphans were walking out into the forest they came across 10 male buffalos who were standing in the bush there, waiting for the orphans to leave so they could see what leftover food might be lying around. Ndiwa, Maramoja, Kauro, Rapa, Mteto, Ndotto, Lasayen and Pare who were leading the herd tried to charge after the buffalos but they just banded together to show a united front, which scared Kauro, Ndotto, Lasayen and Pare! They ran back trumpeting to join the keepers and the others. It was only the keepers who managed to chase the buffalos away from their path out to the forest and their departure made the orphans scamper around the bushes and stamp their feet in defiance as if they had achieved their goal all on their own. Just after 9am, Namalok was brought out of his stockade to join the others out in the forest for the first time. Having spent almost a month in his taming pen, he seems ready to join the others and is more trusting of the keepers. He seemed very quiet and calm walking out into the forest with the others and this gentle nature towards the other young and older ones meant he was well received by Mbegu, Kauro, Ndotto, Lasayen, Maramoja and the little ones too like Musiara, Ambo, Sattao, Jotto, Tamiyoi and Malima; they were all milling around him and enjoyed toughing him. He remained very calm and gentle even with his keepers - though he never takes milk from a bottle and drinks it directly from a bucket using his trunk. Going back to his stockade in the evening he was pretty composed and did it with ease, not giving the keepers any hassle. He is a gentle young bull!

The heavy rainfall in the night filled the natural puddles and streams in the forest so that when the orphans went out in the morning, Godoma, Malima, Mteto, Jotto, Mbegu, Enkesha, Tamiyoi, Musiara, Sattao and Emoli were seen swimming in and enjoying these natural water pools. Tiny Musiara and Sattao were spotted swimming with their little trunks above the surface as snorkels, and when it felt like they were losing their balance they just grabbed Mbegu or Godoma’s tail. They spun and splashed around but their little bodies hardly displaced any water as they tried to copy what Enkesha, Tamiyoi, Malima and Emoli were doing. Orphans like Ambo, Kauro and Maisha who shied away from this early morning event stood very far away in the company of Namalok and Sapalan who were busy browsing. It is amazing how quickly Namalok and Sapalan have become attached to each other since their arrival. Sapalan was quick to introduce himself amongst the other bulls and likes pushing games with Pare, Ndotto and Lasayen; though these younger boys are slightly fearful of his long tusks! Namalok is quieter and doesn’t like to interact that way as much, preferring to concentrate on browsing instead!

Today the orphans walked out in a playful mood. Kuishi, Sana Sana, Malkia, Jotto, Malima and Tamiyoi especially were seen scampering around as soon as they came out of their stockades this morning. They took their games out into the forest with them where some others like Ngilai joined them, trumpeting and charging around, which got everyone fired up! The climax of the game saw Namalok, Sapalan, Emoli and Maisha take off into the bushes to avoid the stampede of their playful friends. When Emoli and Maisha ran off yelling, the game came to an end as Mbegu, Godoma and Malkia ran off to check on the youngsters. Today we rescued two orphan female calves from Tsavo and unfortunately both are in very bad condition due to the drought.

It was a sad morning as we lost one of the new arrivals early this morning. Both of the new arrivals had been found in a pathetic collapsed state and had been given IV drips to try and restore their functions and enable them to fly to the Nairobi Nursery. We lost the small one and the older one is not doing very well either as it spent all night on a drip and even this morning she remains on the drip. We are doing everything we can for her and hope that she pulls through. We have called her Kigelia. The drought continues in Tsavo and is unrelenting, especially affecting elephants because of their large body mass and need to eat a lot of vegetation. During the public visit today naughty Esampu was quite mischievous. She was enjoying the mud pool with Enkesha, Maktao, Emoli, Jotto, Kuishi, Malima and Murit, rolling and bumping into each other, when she decided to run out of the mud playfully run up along the rope cordon and plaster all the visitors who were standing close to the rope with lots of mud! As they dodged backwards to avoid her she ran back into the mud pool leaving the visitors laughing at her naughty antics. Ngilai is another character at visiting as he always tries to go on the other side of the cordon and spend some time there with the visitors before the keepers bring him back to the correct side. When the keepers warn him to come back he always holds the rope in his trunk until the last second, looking for someone to play with!

Poor Kigeria did not fair well during the night and collapsed at around 1am. She was put on an IV drip but her life evidently hangs in the balance at this stage. Poor little Kiangazi was put on a drip in the night as well, suffering from his injuries and compromised foot – he does not look good either. Our two new little ones aren’t looking good but we are trying our best to save them and are praying for their recovery. We love watching how Luggard and little Musiara are becoming great friends these days. Musiara is becoming even more attached to him than to his age mate Sattao. When it is milk feeding time and he realizes that Luggard is not close by he will stop and wait for him so that they can walk together. Today was the same at the public visiting time when the first group were all running down to have their milk bottles. Musiara was walking down with Sattao, Maktao, Emoli and Maisha but after a few meters he turned back after realizing that Luggard wasn’t in their group. He ran back to where Musiara was waiting with Malima, Tamiyoi, Esampu and Kuishi and the keepers tried to lead him out but he would not budge until Luggard came with him, and then the two happily walked down together to enjoy their milk bottles.

It was a chilly, rainy morning but all the orphans were in a playful mood; the majority of them were seen playfully enjoying the stream and puddles as the rain poured down all morning. Youngsters like Tamiyoi, Malima, Esampu, Jotto, Ambo, Kuishi and Malkia were playing in the running streams which they splashed in with their front legs. They charged and trumpeted around in excitement as they seemed to celebrate the start of the rains. Since they spent the whole morning bathing in these different spots, they had no interest in the mud bath at the public visiting time and preferred to browse on the greens provided there instead. Kiangazi and Kigeria have not shown any improvement and are still on a drip.

Although it was cloudy and cold this morning, the babies seemed to be in a good mood. They were having fun and engaged in play fights, as others dusted themselves and rolled on the ground. Ndotto was squaring up to Kauro despite Kauro’s much longer tusks and bigger size; this didn’t seem to faze Ndotto and he bravely tackled Kauro, pushing him against trees. Ndotto’s best friend Lasayen joined in the game, obviously trying to assist him in overpowering their bigger friend. As their game gained momentum, Murit jumped in to push Lasayen in order to help Kauro against the two boys. This prompted Ndotto to turn towards him with his ears raised and his trunk pointed, forcing poor Murit to retreat and back out of the game. In excitement, Kauro pulled down a big branch from a tree and as the leaves fell, Luggard rushed in to have a share, but Kauro blocked him. At the same time Kuishi, Pare, Sapalan, Maisha, Maramoja, Emoli and Sagala were busy dusting themselves with soil. Mbegu was far away browsing with her babies Ambo, Maktao and Musiara, as Malkia, Sattao and Malima, who didn’t show any interest in either playing or browsing, chose to relax instead. Their rest did not last long because it was interrupted by a warthog that came running out of the nearby bushes. The ever-playful Ngilai was busy in the middle of the keepers, touching each one of them with his trunk. Although they kept walking away from him, he kept following them and at last lay down in the midst of them, kicking up a lot of dust which made the keepers eventually walk away from him again!

Kiko woke up this chilly morning and followed the orphan elephants out to the forest. He was avoiding interacting with the elephants as newcomers Sapalan and Namalok tend to charge at him, unused to the presence of a baby giraffe in an elephant herd! Malima joined in charging at him and raised her ears, but this seemed not to bother Kiko perhaps because he is used to it and also the fact that she is so small! Malima ran back to the herd but accidentally tripped over a cup of tea one of the keepers was having as breakfast, spilling it on the ground. Malima went to join Mteto who was throwing wet soil on her body for it had rained the previous night. During the 9am milk feed all the orphans drank their milk quickly and Kiko too, then he came over and intentionally kicked the wheelbarrow over that was holding all the empty bottles, scattering them on the ground. He then moved away to enjoy the leaves in the tall trees nearby as the keepers went about collecting the bottles. Maisha and Sattao were left near the wheelbarrow as the rest of the elephants moved away; Maisha wanted to collect up some of the milk that had spilt from the bottles before the keepers moved them out to the forest.

The day began as usual with the orphans walking out to the forest with their keepers. As they moved deeper into the forest Godoma, Sana Sana, Kuishi and Emoli went slightly off course but they didn’t know that buffalos were grazing behind the bushes. When Godoma saw the buffalos she raised the alarm, which drew the attention of the other orphans; there was a lot of trumpeting and bush bashing as the four ran for safety to where the rest of the orphans and the keepers were. Malkia and Godoma ran behind Emoli, trying to protect the little one who was desperately trying to keep up with Kuishi. He cried out which Mbegu heard and in her capacity as the Nursery Matriarch it was her duty to investigate. She ran over in the direction of the cry for help with her ears raised and trumpeting very loudly. Kauro and Ngilai also joined her. Upon seeing Mbegu run through the buses, the buffalos decided to run for safety but she, Ndotto, Malima, Malkia, Godoma and others pursued them to make sure they were really gone. The keepers ran to keep up with the orphans as they crashed through the bushes and stamped around. After some time they managed to restore peace and quiet amongst the babies, although Sagalla and Sapalan took awhile longer to settle.

The orphans were evidently in a playful and happy mood this morning as they were all seen running about in the bushes, trumpeting and expressing their full joy at the beginning of a new day with lots of nice green things to eat. This mostly involved the little ones like Sattao, Musiara, Tamiyoi, Malima, Jotto, Ambo, Malkia, Tagwa, Godoma, Kuishi, Maisha, Emoli and some of the older ones like playful Ngilai, Pare, Ndotto, Lasayen, Murit and even poor Luggard! Even he was managing to play and stamp around in the bushes despite his broken leg; he doesn’t like anything to hold him back! The oldest female and matriarch Mbegu was kept very busy running amongst all the hyper babies making sure they were okay and checking that they were all playing safely. At last all the activity grew too much for Mbegu and she blew a huge loud trumpet which made everyone stop dead in their tracks. There was silence before, unfortunately for Mbegu, the games started again! Normally this kind of hyper activity is a sign to the keepers that an elephant will be rescued that day and sure enough, just after 1pm a new orphan arrived on the DSWT helicopter from Tsavo, having been spotted on its own without its mother or any other family members but walking alongside two big elephant bulls. She is a young female, about 8 months old, and is in average health condition and responded well to the milk formula. We have named her Kiasa after the area she was found.