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Dololo continues to bully poor Ziwadi. He has never liked her for whatever reason and he is always bullying her whenever they meet. We think he is just picking on her because she is the most vulnerable at the moment and he can get away with it, because he wouldn’t dare pick on any of the others and risk being hurt! The other youngster Larro is always protected by the older females, so he wouldn’t risk bullying her. He would never win against Mukkoka either who can be very feisty and is a tough wrestler. Today at the 11am milk feed Ziwadi was on her knees drinking straight from the water trough, as she likes to drink with her mouth sometimes not using her trunk, and Dololo walked up to her and for no reason at all decided to head-butt her. She rolled over on the ground and before both the Keepers and Kiasa could run over to assist her up, Dololo ran off to avoid being told off. The Keepers picked her up and supported her back on her feet. 

With the presence of lions around the area today Kiko didn’t leave the stockade next to Maxwell to go into the forest. Today he only had Maxwell to play with through their partition. 

Kiasa had to discipline Dololo and Maktao today. The two boys were causing a lot of trouble at the mud bath area and the Keepers were having trouble keeping them in line. They were all about pushing, wrestling and climbing on each other and they wouldn’t listen to the Keepers, and there were quite a number of small school children who were visiting and watching them from behind a rope cordon. Maktao is slightly gentler than Dololo who always plays rough. Eventually Kiasa came over and separated the two boys and pushed them away from each other. It was nice to see Kiasa introducing some discipline instead of causing trouble herself!

Enkesha is able to use her trunk very well despite the hole in it caused by a wire snare, but most of the time when she comes across a water hosepipe she prefers picking up the pipe and drinking water directly from it. This is a much easier way for her to drink. When it was time for the orphans’ 3pm milk feed she downed her two bottles of milk and ran for the water pipe; she didn’t want to share it with any of the others who can drink perfectly well from the water troughs. Maisha and Sattao kept trying to stretch their trunks towards her to request for the hose pipe but she didn’t let either of them have it. When Tagwa walked over however she had no other choice than to drop the pipe and let Tagwa have it as she has to respect the leader of the herd; they all have respect for the matriarch of the family.

It is always fun to watch the orphans racing each other for their milk. Most of the time, Mukkoka will get there first. This morning, when the orphans were coming down for their morning bottles of milk Musiara, Sattao, Larro, Dololo, Nabulu and Ziwadi all headed down way before Mukkoka, but he still managed to catch up to them all and overtake them. By the time Musiara got to the feeding point, Mukkoka had already finished his bottle of milk. 

The last few days, Kiko has been doing very well with his translocation training. Today, when it was time for him to head out to the forest, he came across a herd of wild Masai giraffe. He immediately charged back to the stockade compound as if he feared the giraffe. The wild giraffes were not bothered by Kiko and continued to browse on the acacia trees. The Keepers followed Kiko back, and when they found him, he was happily feasting on the acacia branches hanging up in his translocation stable. He then proceeded to feast on the Lucerne pellets that were in the stable and spent several hours moving in and out of the translocation crate. 

Maktao is still thoroughly enjoying his wrestling matches. From the moment he comes out of his stable in the morning he is in a playful mood and his games continue during the midday mud bath period. He is often seen starting a strength testing match with either Sattao, Dololo, or Musiara. His main playmate is almost always Musiara; the two seem to be of similar strengths and quite enjoy challenging one another. Today, at the midday feeding time, as soon as Maktao had finished his bottle of milk, he immediately started looking for Musiara. As soon as he spotted him, he began to chase him around the waterhole, trying to climb on his back. Musiara eventually turned to face Maktao and the two began a strength testing match that lasted almost 20 minutes. Kiasa and the Keepers tried to separate the two, but they were far too focused on their game. Eventually, Maktao grabbed Musiara’s tail, which Musiara did not appreciate and as such he walked off ending the game. 

Despite the heavy rainfall through the night, the orphans woke up in a very playful mood. As they made their way out to the forest, they were all charging around and rolling in the wet grass and mud. Almost all the big girls, such as Tagwa, Tamiyoi, Maisha, Enkesha, Nabulu and Kiasa were all seen rolling around, bumping into each other. Tagwa once again tried her game of climbing onto some the others’ backs; again she tried to climb on Tamiyoi or Maisha!

Eventually Sattao, Dololo, Musiara and Maktao decided to join in on the fun. As they arrived Tagwa appeared to be watching them and waiting for them to start rolling around. As they were rolling around, Tagwa began sitting on them and climbing on their backs. This didn’t seem to impress the boys who quickly moved away to their own quiet spot.  

Luggard is very actively asserting his position as the oldest bull amongst the other bulls in the Nursery herd at the moment. When the orphans settled out in the forest in the early morning, many of them started browsing straight away. Kiombo, Dololo, Maktao and Sattao however decided to welcome the new day by having fun rolling on the wet ground, bumping and sliding against each other. Their game attracted Luggard’s attention but when he failed to find space between the bulls on the ground he got annoyed. He started showing off his long tusks to intimidate them into moving and even poking Sattao to get him to move over. He soon took control of the game and if any of the other bulls tried to move him over he threatened them with his long tusks. This saw Kiombo, the youngest, shy away from the game and he yelled out when Luggard pointed his tusks at him, afraid that he might get hurt. Only Luggard’s best friend Musiara was able to join him and enjoy a lengthy mud bathing game.

Compared to the last few days, it was a very warm morning as the orphans came out their stables. This meant that Maktao was rearing to go and as soon as he was let out of his stable, he was charging around playing with Sattao, Dololo, Mukkoka, and Musiara. Once again, it was Musiara that engaged him in a strength testing match. This was because Sattao was chased by Maisha, who appeared envious of the games, and Mukkoka and Dololo ended up in their own game. 

Today, the orphans had their morning bottles of milk down at the mud bath. When they had finished their bottles some of them began to play whereas others moved off and started to browse on some of the bushes near the waterhole. The orphans were so busy with their activities that they got such a fright when two warthogs came flying passed them. They all immediately ran towards their Keepers unsure of what had spooked the warthogs. As the Keepers looked around, they noticed two male lions appear from the bushes. Tagwa, Tamiyoi, Musiara, Maisha and Enkesha immediately noticed the lions and they all had their ears opened wide and they were all deeply rumbling at the lions. The lions who noticed the orphans facing them immediately decided to change direction and headed off back into the forest. 

Respect within a herd is very important, but at times, and as the orphans grow older, the dynamics of the herd will change and so too will friendships. Dololo and Mukkoka used to be the best of friends when they first arrived but as the two are growing into their own personalities, they seem to be challenging each other more and more. They have both got very strong personalities and are very boisterous. Dololo, who is older, seems to have taken offence to this lack of respect from Mukkoka and as such has started to pick on some of the younger orphans, as if to prove his age. 

Recently, he has been seen picking on Ziwadi and Larro. Although the younger girls are protected by the older girls he knows exactly when to pick on them and keeps a close eye on the older girls to make sure to get away before they get close. Today at the midday mud bath, when Kiasa was distracted playing with Maktao and Musiara in a lengthy strength testing match, Dololo began to block Larro and Ziwadi from accessing any of the water troughs. He appeared to take advantage of this small chance to bother the two young girls. Larro seemed to get so sick of his antics that she chose to drink from the waterhole but the Keepers had to intervene and keep him away from Ziwadi so she could access a water trough. As the Keepers were now blocking him, he moved away from the girls and went to have a mud bath. 

In the morning as the orphans head out to the forest, there always seems to be a debate as to whether Tagwa or Tamiyoi will take the lead. This morning, Tamiyoi wanted to go in a completely different direction to Tagwa and this appeared to annoy Tagwa as she continued in her own direction rumbling intensely in protest. Tamiyoi was followed by Kiombo, Mukkoka, Dololo, Maktao, Luggard, Nabulu and Musiara. Whereas Tagwa was followed by Larro, Kiasa, Enkesha, Maisha, Sattao and Ziwadi. It appears Tagwa and Tamiyoi are both trying to form their own little herds as they have both been matriarch to the Nursery herd. Although they sometimes disagree over who should lead, Tamiyoi is always respectful of Tagwa as her elder and her matriarch. 

Kiko has been improving with his training of entering his transport crate, but the Keepers have come up with a cunning method to ensure he enters. They will lead him into the trailer slowly with his milk bottle and then they will feed him pellets and the rest of his milk once he is in the trailer. Although he used to be very reluctant to get in, he is now getting in without much fuss and once he is in, he happily eats his greens that are hanging up for him. These are all great strides towards him being moved and his eventual reintegration back into the wild. 

It was a cold and wet morning, and many of the orphans were reluctant to leave their stables. Ziwadi, Maktao, Larro, Mukkoka, Dololo, Sattao, Luggard and Musiara all wanted to stay in their stables and were all snuggled up at the back of their rooms refusing to come out when the Keepers called them. Mukkoka, being the most vocal, began to rumble loudly when the Keepers came over to call him. When Mukkoka walked out he seemed to be carefully stepping, making sure to not slip or get too wet. Luggard and Ziwadi refused to come out of their rooms until the rain had subsided. 

As the orphans were protesting the cold weather, Maxwell was having a great time rolling around in his mud pool and rubbing himself up and down his stockade wall. Maxwell always thoroughly enjoys the rain and mud. 

Dololo has become quite naughty in recent weeks and is often seen trying to push around some of the younger orphans. Today, he seemed to be in a particularly naughty mood as he wouldn’t let any of the younger orphans browse anywhere near him. As the orphans settled in the forest, Ziwadi happened to get slightly too close to him and he was quick to push her away and rumble at her. The Keepers were quick on the scene and warned Dololo away from Ziwadi, he reluctantly walked off and began to browse on some bushes further away. 

Later at the mud bath, when Larro was busy running around playing with a branch, Dololo jumped in her way and rumbled at her as if to chase her away. Larro quickly ran off in the opposite direction trumpeting loudly. Mukkoka was also pushed away by Dololo when he tried to share a water trough with him. As he is growing in strength and size, he appears to know that he can easily push the smaller orphans around and potentially challenge some of the other Nursery bulls. 

It was a very cold day as there were heavy downpours throughout most of the morning and afternoon. Luggard and Ziwadi spent most of their day sheltered under trees or within the warmth of their stables. The rest of the Nursery herd spent their morning in the forest, rolling around in the patches of mud and charging around. As Tagwa and Maisha were enjoying their mud bath, they seemed to be keeping their distance from the boys such as Dololo, Kiombo, Sattao, and Mukkoka as they were all rolling around and playing strength testing matches against each other. The two girls even tried to chase the boisterous boys away. 

Maxwell was once again seen bouncing around his stockade in the rain and was seen enjoying a long mud bath. He could be seen rolling around covering his entire body in mud. Kiko on the other hand was not a fan of the rain and stayed under the trees, sheltering himself from the rain. 

Due to Dololo misbehaving and being very mean towards Ziwadi, Larro, Roho and sometimes Mukkoka, he has been moved from the younger first group into the older group with Tagwa, Tamiyoi, Maisha, Enkesha and Nabulu during the public visiting hour. The presence of the older girls will have a calming effect on him and he wouldn’t dare misbehave towards any of them. Today he was much better behaved during the feeding hour under the watchful eye of the older girls and wasn’t a bully at all, he just browsed quietly on the greens laid out for the orphans. He remained quieter than expected for the rest of the day, and even when he went back out to the forest he didn’t bully any of the other youngsters like Roho, Larro or Ziwadi like he has been doing recently. Perhaps this change has already had the desired effect on the little naughty bull!

The orphans had a quiet morning this morning and all were seen browsing quietly with each other, following the big girls Tagwa, Tamiyoi, Enkesha, Maisha and Nabulu. The big girls walked at the front and lead the way as all the little ones followed behind them. There wasn’t any showing off or any games of any kind going on at all really. The playful ones like Maktao, Musiara and Mukkoka were all quiet and concentrated solely on browsing. Even the naughty ones like Dololo were being quiet this morning! 

By the afternoon the calm of the morning had been broken when Maktao, Musiara and Kiombo decided to start a play fighting match for almost a whole hour from 2pm. Maisha, Tamiyoi and Nabulu each tried to separate them but with no success. Nabulu tried her best to force Kiombo to leave the play fight by trying to push him away from Maktao and Musiara but Kiombo wasn’t willing to leave the fun game. Eventually she poked him hard in his hind legs with her tusks which sent him off running, and Nabulu followed behind him running so that he couldn’t turn back! She drove Kiombo deep into the bushes where the others were busy browsing and stayed beside him so he couldn’t sneak back either – Nabulu has become more attached to Kiombo recently after all the affection he has always shown her – she loves to brows with him these days. 

When Maktao walked out of his stable early in the morning and found neighbours Mukkoka and Dololo still in their rooms, it was funny to watch him knocking on Dololo’s door as if to tell them to wake up so they could walk out to the forest together to begin their day. Dololo and Mukkoka responded to Maktao who was patiently waiting outside for them by pushing on their doors from the other side, trying to alert the Keepers that they wanted to come out and join Maktao. When their doors were opened, Dololo and Mukkoka quickly walked out to meet their playmate Maktao who they greeted with trunk hugs and by pushing each other as they made their way out to the forest. When they reached the forest Mukkoka and Maktao started wrestling with each other but they tried to avoid Dololo as sometimes he can be a bit of a bully and a bit too boisterous. When Dololo realized the boys were intentionally leaving him out he got angry and poked them with his tusks in their backs, sending them off yelling towards the Keepers, who warned Dololo away for being naughty.