Unlike Voi and Ithumba, our Umani Springs Reintegration Unit has only been in existence for seven years. The Keepers have known every orphan since the day they arrived, so it has been very special for them to watch the eldest elephants reclaim their place in the wild.
When Alamaya arrived at the pellets corner this morning, Mwashoti was already there, scooping up trunkfuls of the delicious pellets. Alamaya felt that Mwashoti had already had more than his share and it was time for the younger bull to move along. Even though Mwashoti has broken away from the Umani herd to live an independent life, he is still younger and smaller than Alamaya. When the younger bull didn’t catch Alamaya’s hint, he pushed him with his tusks, perhaps a bit too hard, sending Mwashoti trumpeting in complaint. Mwashoti gets away with pushing around younger bulls, but he is no match for Alamaya and stayed away from the pellets corner until it was time to leave the stockades. Mwashoti still harbors a bit of jealousy towards Kiombo, because Kiombo moved into Sonje’s sleeping quarters and Mwashoti feels replaced. But it’s only a matter of time until this young bull forgets about being Sonje’s baby and embraces the freedom of being a wild elephant.
Kiasa and Maktao were walking together, enjoying their browsing and pushing games, when Zongoloni appeared out of the bushes. Little Kiasa was happy to see her friend. Any time Zongoloni arrives, she takes Kiasa under her wing and probably imparts her wisdom on the young girl, sharing information on the best browsing spots or stories of nighttime adventures.
It was such a hot day that the orphans arrived at the noon feed earlier than usual, making a beeline for the mud bath to cool off. As soon as they were done with their milk feed, all the orphans returned to the mud bath. Murera and Enkesha showed off their wallowing skills by splashing mud on their chests. as Kiombo watched on. The orphans were joined by the nightclubbers, and Lima Lima brought her new bull friend. The wild bull was unsure of the Keepers, so he stayed back with Lima Lima in the bushes.
When the younger babies first arrived at Umani, all the older females jostled over who would look after them. Eventually, Kiasa, Kiombo and Maktao chose their own nannies. Since then, Lima Lima and Murera have started to venture out into the wild, leaving the herd in the capable care of Sonje and Quanza.
Today, the little ones decided to walk with Murera when she arrived early in the morning. Sonje and Quanza kept a close eye on their babies, because they know that while Murera loves being around the babies, she would leave the herd and join her wild friends come evening time. Sonje and Quanza did not want the babies to be left unattended.
While the orphans were on Umani Hill, a wild elephant herd joined their browsing session. As soon as Lima Lima spotted that there were tiny babies in the herd, she walked over and joined them. She eventually snuck off with one of the little ones, in the hopes of integrating it with our herd, but the baby screamed to alert its mother. The wild mum extracted her baby from Lima Lima and trumpeted at her, reprimanding her for her naughty tactics. After that, the herd did not allow Lima Lima to join them again.
Having Kiasa under her care has brought out the nurturing aspect of Quanza’s personality. Initially, Kiasa had settled on Murera as her caregiver, but once Murera started to stay out at night, Kiasa decided that Quanza was more reliable.
Today, it warmed the Keepers hearts to watch Kiasa and Quanza walk together, with Kiasa stopping every now and then to allow Quanza to catch up to her. Kiasa put her trunk in Quanza’s mouth to sniff whatever she was eating. Maktao was watching all of this and feeling very left out, so he decided to join them. However, Kiasa is a very feisty girl and pushed Maktao down. The young bull trumpeted in complaint, which sent Enkesha running to Maktao’s aid.
Faraja and Ngasha were enjoying a friendly strength testing game when Jasiri decided to interfere. He walked up to his friends and pushed them apart, putting an end to Faraja and Ngasha’s fun. Jasiri can be a bit of a bully and enjoys pushing his friends around. Zongoloni, who was nearby, wasn’t too happy with Jasiri’s behavior. With Lima Lima and Alamaya’s help, they chased him off. When Jasiri behaves in this manner, no one wants to be friends with him, especially Murera. She goes out of her way to avoid him and his boisterous ways.
Alamaya and Mwashoti made their way to the waterhole, where they found a small herd of bushbucks peacefully drinking water. They thought it would be fun to chase them and so ran towards them, startling the bushbucks and sending them hopping in different directions. Satisfied with their antics, they walked back to the waterhole and wallowed until the rest of their friends joined them.
Lima Lima arrived with her new bull friend, the same one from the other day. As they were walking towards the Umani herd, the wild bull seemed rather relaxed — but as they got closer, he caught a glimpse of the Keepers and took off towards the Umani Hills.
Enkesha and Kiombo, curious about this new bull, decided to follow him. Lima Lima wouldn’t let her babies go on their own, so she joined Enkesha and Kiombo. They caught up with him and the four browsed together. At noon, Lima Lima returned Enkesha and Kiombo to the milk feeding area, leaving her male friend waiting for her. She took her time having her milk bottle and mingling with her friends and forgot all about returning to her friend, who was waiting for her! The Keepers assumed the bull must have moved on after Lima Lima did not turn up.
Ziwa arrived today, after a very long absence. At first, the Keepers did not recognize him. He looked so different, with torn ears and much bigger in size. When he first approached the Umani babies, the Keepers were not sure if it was him. However, he looked so comfortable around the Umani herd and did not run off like other wild bulls had, plus Zongoloni and Lima Lima greeted him in a very friendly way. The Keepers were overjoyed when they called Ziwa by his name and he responded. It was a joyous reunion for all!
Faraja joined Alamaya and Mwashoti for a short consultation, but it was only for boys. Lima Lima aso wanted to join the conversation, but she was turned away. In fact, it was Mwashoti who chased her away, evidently after getting the okay from the other two boys! Lima Lima joined Maktao and Enkesha and seemed to be deep in conversation with them, perhaps telling them about what had just happened to her.
A hornbill began whistling from the trees, which sounds very much like the cry of a human baby. This surprised Enkesha, who ran for safety, as she thought she was hearing something dangerous. The Keepers called her back, but she was very suspicious and kept her ears spread wide. Murera and Sonje walked over to her, which made Enkehsa feel safer. Everyone held their trunks up to the sky, perhaps to sniff out the hornbill.
The orphans decided to make their way to the Chyulu Hills in search of fresh forage. They encountered a wild elephant herd with young babies. The wild females welcomed the Umani herd, and everyone searched for browse together. There was not much, but whatever they found, they shared. After a while, Murera rumbled at Quanza to communicate something to her friend. For some reason, this startled Kiasa, Kiombo, and Maktao, who ran over to the Keepers and hid behind them. When they realized it was just Murera talking to Quanza, they came out of their hiding places and walked over to the girls.
Murera’s rumbling also attracted the attention of Jasiri, who had joined his friends this morning. Murera does not like Jasiri, because he is always trying to mount her. As soon as she saw him approaching, she made herself scarce and disappeared into the bushes to avoid his unwanted advances.
At the waterhole, a herd of buffaloes decided to join the orphans. The nightclubbers feel as though the mud bath belongs to them and them alone, so Faraja, Ngasha, and Alamaya chased the buffaloes into the forest, so that they could have the mud bath to themselves.
Jasiri continues to be a nuisance to all his friends — and if he continues this behavior, he may find himself on his own. Today at the mud bath, the older girls were enjoying a leisurely wallow with the young babies when Jasiri arrived and disrupted their fun.
He spotted Murera in the middle of the mud bath and started to wade towards her. In the process, he pushed against the babies and poked his tusks into them. Kiasa, Kiombo and Maktao started to trumpet and scream at the intrusion, but Jasiri carried on. Murera was not very happy seeing Jasiri, so she exited as fast as she could. The rest of orphans were not too pleased with him either, so the Keepers had to intervene and chase him out of the mud bath and away towards the forest.
Mwashoti decided to follow Murera out of the mud bath area. Ever since he broke away from the Umani herd, he has spent a lot of time with Murera in the wild, and two have a strong bond. Sonje exited the mud bath, too, but waited nearby for Kiasa and Kiombo. The younger babies were being helped by Zongoloni, who seemed to have the intention of sneaking off with Kiasa to the Chyulu Hills. Zongoloni’s plan was interrupted when a wild herd with many babies arrived at the mud bath area. Lima Lima, who had caught onto Zongoloni’s plan, roped in Quanza to take advantage of this brief distraction and move Kiasa and Kiombo back into the middle of the Umani herd. This effectively stopped Zongoloni from venturing off with them.
A wild herd of elephants arrived at the spot where the orphans were browsing today. Accompanying them were our very own Lima Lima, Ziwa and Faraja. They slowly made their way over to Enkesha and Maktao. Lima Lima sought out Sonje, who was so engrossed in snapping off branches for Kiombo that she only noticed Lima Lima when she touched Sonje with her trunk. Sonje was equally surprised to find a young wild bull next to her. She put her trunk around his belly to check him, but the bull was so taken aback by Sonje that he ran away. Kiombo did not want to be around the wild bull, so he decided to join Quanza and Kiasa. Zongoloni saw that Quanza needed help with the babies and happily obliged, as Lima Lima and Sonje had followed the wild herd into the bushes. Zongoloni will take any opportunity to look after the babies.
On the Umani Hills, Jasiri and Ngasha caught up with Murera again and started to pursue her. Poor Murera did not want to be mounted by these two bulls, so she made a quick getaway and disappeared into the forest. The Keepers keep a vigilant eye out for these bulls and chase them off if they bother Murera too much.
The Umani orphans started their morning on a very energetic note. Lima Lima arrived and decided to help herself to a bale of lucerne. She snuck into the stores unnoticed, grabbed a bale, and tried to make a quick getaway. The Keepers discovered her naughty antics, but she carried on even as they yelled at her, dropping most of the lucerne as she ran. Faraja joined her and they disappeared into the forest with their contraband. In the end, the Keepers gave up and let them enjoy their lucerne. Quanza, Kiasa and Zongoloni watched all of this unfold while enjoying their pellets.
When the orphans arrived at the mud bath today, they found two cranes searching for a safe spot to build their nest. Knowing the rainy season is almost upon us, the birds needed to nest so the female could lay her eggs. Mwashoti had other ideas, so he teamed up with Enkesha to chase the birds until they flew off. In the process, poor Mwashoti fell over and landed in a big heap on the ground. The games ended just as abruptly as they had begun.
Today, the older girls had a surprise visit from some wild bulls. The Umani herd was at the lucerne corner when Zongoloni, Lima Lima, Faraja, Jasiri and Ngasha arrived along with a few of their wild bull friends.
Murera was a bit apprehensive when she spotted Jasiri and Ngasha, but they were on their best behavior today, perhaps because of their wild bull friends. Sonje walked up to one of the bulls and entwined trunks with him. The Keepers wondered it was Osama, one of Sonje’s longtime admirers, but it wasn’t. Nevertheless, this bull was quite taken by Sonje and remained with the herd. He was quite gentle and not perturbed by the presence of the Keepers. Poor Mwashoti took another tumble today, this time it was chasing butterflies in the Chyulu Hills. He was running after the butterflies but failed to notice a log in the way and toppled over it. He screamed out for help but none of his friends came to his rescue so eventually he got up and carried on browsing.
Today, Murera received a visit from her wild friends, a herd of females with their tiny babies. Murera was in baby heaven and remained with them for the better part of the day. Quanza was also intrigued by the wild babies, but she had her duties of looking after Kiombo, Kiasa and Maktao, and settled for just watching them from afar.
Sonje then took over Kiombo and the two walked over to the slopes of Umani Hill, where they found Mwashoti. Sonje encouraged Mwashoti to join them, but he is still very jealous of Kiombo and pushed the young bull very hard. Sonje stepped in and trumpeted at Mwashoti, who walked away hanging his head low, as though sulking.
Enkesha and Maktao were the swimming stars at the mud bath today, both showing off their wallowing skills, splashing mud on themselves and on their friends in the process. Lima Lima and Alamaya were scratching when they spotted a pair of crane birds. Lima Lima started chasing them, blowing her trunk and trying to scare them, but the birds outflew her and landed on a nearby tree.
Today, it was Alamaya who brought the nightclubber boys to the dependent herd. There was no sign of Zongoloni, but she arrived much later in the company of a wild elephant herd. The wild visitors had a few babies with them, and it seemed as though Zongoloni was looking after them as the matriarch and nannies busied themselves with browsing.
Zongoloni loves little babies and is always on the lookout for younger females to add to her growing herd of nightclubbers. In the past, she has tried to recruit Enkesha to join her, and now she does the same with Kiasa. However, both girls are too young to go out in the wild just yet, but the Keepers are confident that they will make excellent matriarchs for any herd. There are many wild herds within the Chyulu Hills, and our ex-orphan bulls walk long distances to meet up with their new friends. After spending a night with them, Jasiri and Ngasha often return to the Umani herd, mimicking the behavior of their wild bull friends. Unfortunately, this means they often try to mount Murera and Sonje. Both girls dislike this behavior and avoid Jasiri and Ngasha at all costs.
Zongoloni took Kiasa for a walk into the bushes, hoping to separate her from the Umani herd and integrate her into her own. However, Kiasa is a smart girl and knows that she would miss her milk bottle if she were to leave the Umani herd. So, she always finds a way back to her Keepers and follows them home, where she knows there is a bottle of milk and warm bed waiting for her.
Before Murera and Lima Lima started their transition into the wild, they used to share the responsibility of looking after the younger babies, which meant Quanza had a less nannying active role. Now that both older females have joined the nightclubbers, Quanza has come into her own and has revealed a natural talent for looking after the younger babies. She has also taken Enkesha under her wing, showing the young girl the skills to perhaps become a matriarch one day.
Mwashoti is now a full-time member of the nightclubbers. Although he has grown, his friends are still bigger and stronger than him. He has learned that they must be treated with respect, as should the other wild elephant friends he meets out at night. Despite being an ex-orphan, Alamaya still loves his Keepers very much. Any time they call out to him, he is sure to return their affection by wrapping his trunk around their head or their arms.
Our big boys are also fiercely protective of their friends in the Umani herd. This afternoon, several male buffaloes blocked the orphans’ path, stopping them from walking down the hill. Jasiri registered the situation and circled back to Faraja’s, where the two bulls seemed to hatch a plan. They ran towards the buffaloes with ears spread wide and trumpeting loudly, forcing them to run off in the opposite direction. Murera took advantage of the diversion to gather the rest of the orphans. Everyone felt very triumphant and trumpeted as they made their way down the hill.
Joy is a little orphaned bushbuck who we rescued as a baby and hand-reared. She is now living a fully wild life, and has plenty of bushbuck friends, but she always returns to her Keepers.
Last night, Joy was waiting patiently for the orphans to return to the stockades in the hopes of joining them for their evening bottle. Kiombo and Maktao were not happy to have another “baby” steal their thunder, so they chased poor Joy back into the bushes. She must have spent the night there, because as soon as the Keepers started preparing the morning milk bottles, they were greeted by little Joy. She received a bottle and a lot of pets before she disappeared into the bushes.
Ngasha and Alamaya arrived from their nightly adventures to join the orphans at the mud bath. With them was a young wild bull, who was about the same age as them. They stopped to have a drink and then engaged in a friendly pushing game. The bull seemed quite comfortable, but when he saw the Keepers resting under the shade, he seemed to get spooked and ran off.
This morning, Zongoloni and her nightclubber boys were waiting at the gate, eager for their friends to finish their routine so they could join them. Zongoloni was pacing impatiently and ultimately tried to push open the compound gate. Unbeknownst to her, the gate and fence that surrounds the stockade compound is electric, which is for the safety of the orphans and the Keepers. Poor Zongoloni got a bit of a shock when she touched it! She was not harmed, but it still made her shout in surprise. Alamaya, who once had a similar experience, was not worried about Zongoloni, but Jasiri immediately came to comfort her.
The Keepers readied the orphans, and everyone left the stockade compound in a single file. On the way to the Umani Hills, the orphans saw a lone klipspringer. Enkesha decided to chase it but gave up when it disappeared into the bushes. The orphans took a break from the heat as they waited for Murera and Kiasa, who were quite a distance behind, to catch up. Sonje and Kiombo initially forged ahead, but after a little while, they also decided to rest under the shade of some trees.
Ziwa showed up this morning, in the company several much older bulls. Ziwa is the largest bull amongst our nightclubbers, but next to them, he looked tiny. The Keepers spotted the group coming towards them but could not see Ziwa, as he was ensconced between them. Lima Lima, who is very comfortable amongst wild bulls, ventured into their midst and extracted Ziwa. The Keepers applauded Lima Lima’s brave efforts. She is fearless and never ceasesd to amaze the Keepers. Ziwa, pleased to see his family, greeted everyone with trunk hugs.
Mwashoti got a bit carried away with all the celebrations. Watching Lima Lima and Ziwa with the wild bulls, he thought he was one of them, too. When he walked over to greet them, he got a rude shock when the older bulls chased him away. Poor Mwashoti was forced to return to his friends, who were resting under the shade of some trees. Zongoloni decided she would take Kiasa and Kiombo on an adventure of their own, and brought them towards Kenze Hill, where they remained for the rest of the day.
The weather took a turn today. By midday, clouds were starting to gather, and the temperature dropped. As soon as the orphans had had their midday milk bottle, they all gathered around the water trough for a long drink. None of the orphans wanted to indulge in wallowing, as the weather was just too cold.
Enkesha and Maktao had a great time playfighting each other. Kiombo wanted to join in the fun, but both Enkesha and Maktao refused his request. Feeling a bit dejected, Kiombo walked over to Sonje and rumbled to her, probably lamenting that his friends did not want to play with him. However, Enkesha and Maktao were smart to deny him, because Kiombo can be a bit rough.
As the orphans left the compound this morning, Enkesha and Kiasa were on high alert. They kept raising their trunks and sniffing the air, as were Lima Lima and Zongoloni. Kiasa decided to investigate further and ventured into the bushes, followed closely by Enkesha. After a few minutes, both girls came running out of the bushes. Soon, a wild bull emerged from the bushes, with Faraja in tow.
The wild bull stayed with the Umani herd as they went about their day. Lima Lima, who is the social butterfly of the herd, immediately walked over to introduce herself. The bull was very gentle and calm. At the midday feed, all the younger babies gathered around him, almost as though they were excited to hear the stories he had to share. Faraja must have been jealous of all the attention his friend was receiving, because he chased away the younger babies and took his friend towards the Umani Springs, which is a popular gathering point for wild bulls.
Enkesha and Maktao enjoyed a very lengthy pushing game today. Mwashoti wanted to join their game, but because he is bigger and can be rough when playing, Enkesha denied his request. Unfortunately, their game ended abruptly when Enkesha got hit in the eye by a branch. Trumpeting in pain, she ran to the Keepers to see if they could help her. They examined her eye and then applied the necessary medication, which settled Enkesha considerably. For the rest of the day, her Keeper remained by her side, to ensure she felt safe and supported.
Maktao felt very sorry for Enkesha and stayed close to her. He kept on wrapping his trunk around her and rumbling softly at her, as though saying he was sorry about her eye and asking if she was ok. Maktao and Enkesha are such good friends and neighbors.
Zongoloni, Alamaya, Ngasha and Lima Lima arrived at the stockade compound this morning, but without Jasiri and Faraja. When the two bull eventually arrived, they came from a completely different direction, which made the Keepers wonder if they had gone their separate ways last night. The nightclubbers don’t usually do this, but our orphans are starting to venture out and explore their own freedom.
Alamaya greeted Jasiri and Faraja, before returning to where Zongoloni was waiting for him. Lima Lima always gets a special trunk hug from Faraja, as they are close friends. Having spent the night out with other wild elephants, Faraja wasted no time in mimicking what he had seen his wild friends doing. He play mounted Lima Lima, who was happy to oblige her friend’s games. Sonje, Murera and Quanza were not as amenable and gave the playful bulls a wide berth.
A brave male baboon decided to walk through the herd today. Alamaya and Mwashoti took it upon themselves to chase the baboon, but poor Mwashoti had to give up when he tripped over a rock that was hidden in the tall grass. Undeterred, Alamaya continued until the baboon climbed up a tree. This really annoyed Alamaya, who trumpeted at the baboon as it watched him from its safe perch.
A fight broke out between our younger girls this morning. Enkesha plucked a rather juicy branch, but Kiasa wanted it for herself, and a fierce tug of war broke out. Kiombo decided to help Kiasa, while Maktao came to Enkesha’s aid. By now, four babies were fighting over one branch. In the end, Mwashoti had to intervene and put a stop to all the fighting. The four orphans went their separate ways as Mwashoti was left with the juicy branch — which he had not even worked that hard to acquire!
Today, Ngasha introduced us to a lovely but very shy female. They emerged from the bushes as the Umani herd passed, almost as though Ngasha had been waiting for his friends. However, as soon as they linked up with the other orphans, the female became skittish and ran off, leaving Ngasha with his friends.
The Keepers spotted two male buffaloes and alerted the orphans, so they could avoid that route. However, Ziwa refused to listen to the Keepers and he carried on regardless. Ziwa is a very stubborn and independent bull. He has always been more of a lone ranger. Even though he joined the orphans today, he did not stay for long. By afternoon, he had disappeared in the Chyulu Forest, no doubt in search of his wild friends.
While the orphans were foraging in the Kenze Hills, they had a surprise visit from a very old bull. He had torn ears and beautiful, long tusks. All the orphans were quite taken by him, as he was a very gentle and calm bull.
Lima Lima as always, was the first to welcome him to the herd. The Keepers lovingly call Lima Lima “the receptionist,” as she is always eager to greet new, wild friend. Sometimes, she even goes so far as to take them to the stockades and give them a tour of her home. All the orphans were admiring the bull’s tusks from afar, but only Lima Lima was brave enough to touch his tusks with her trunk. The bull was enjoying the company of the orphans, but all of this came to an end with arrival of Jasiri and Faraja. Lima Lima tried to introduce them to him, but the wild bull reacted very badly and chased away Faraja and Jasiri, He did want any other bulls near Lima Lima.
Murera and Sonje were not interested in the wild bull and kept their distance, especially after they saw how he chased Jasiri and Faraja away. Kiasa and Enkesha, on the other hand, were very taken by the bull and started to follow him. Zongoloni had to intervene and redirect them back to the Umani herd, where she knew they were safer. When Ziwa and Alamaya arrived, it was unanimous decision that they would leave Lima Lima with her friend and move towards the Chyulu Hills.
A herd of antelopes and a large troop of baboons arrived at the waterhole, but they found Maktao and Kiombo belly deep in the mud enjoying a peaceful wallow. The animals waited patiently on the sidelines, but after a while, the baboons started screaming and causing such a ruckus that Enkesha was forced to chase them away. Even that did not stop them, and they continued to bark and jump from tree to tree, disturbing the peace. Quanza and Alamaya joined forces to successfully chase the baboons away, and in the process, the antelopes also left the area. Finally, peace was restored to the mud bath.
During his adventures in the Chyulu Hills, Ziwa met a rather gentle bull, who he brought back to the dependent herd. He tried to introduce his friend to Sonje and Murera, but they are always interested meeting herds that have female elephants and babies.
As the orphans were taking break from the heat this afternoon, Ngasha appeared from the bushes with an adolescent but majestic bull. Ngasha escorted his friend towards the Umani herd, and all the orphans acquainted themselves with him.
Even Murera was interested in meeting him! She sniffed him all over and touched his tail with her trunk, which the bull happily obliged. Murera soon disappeared into the bushes with her new friend. She stayed away for most of the afternoon, leaving the Umani herd in the capable hands of Quanza and Sonje. As the orphans were getting ready to go home, Lima Lima decided to follow the path Murera and her friend had taken. She came back alone, and the Keepers were happy that Murera was spending time with a bull. By the time Murera returned, she found that Kiombo had helped himself to her share of the evening milk bottle.
This morning, Kiasa and Kiombo shared a very tender moment with Enkesha. As soon as the little ones exited their stockades, they spent time embracing the older girl.
Sonje and Murera were already at the pellets corner, but when they saw Faraja and Jasiri approaching, Sonje started to feel uneasy, knowing the rambunctious bull would disrupt the peace. Zongoloni, who is well respected by all the nightclubber boys, sensed the situation right away. She stood in front of Murera and Sonje, blocking Jasiri and Faraja from having access to her two friends. Faraja and Jasiri got the message and headed towards the water trough.
The Keepers had to discipline Mwashoti today, he pushed little Maktao so hard that the poor bull toppled over. Enkesha rushed to help Maktao back to his feet, while the Keepers chastised Mwashoti. Mwashoti ran of trumpeting, as though complaining that the Keepers had told him off.
As we all know, Ziwa is a lone ranger. Even when he does reunite with the Umani herd, often after lengthy absences, his visits are very brief. Today he arrived with Zongoloni, much to the delight of the Keepers. However, in typical Ziwa fashion, he was on the move as soon as he got through his greetings. Alamaya tried to follow his friend, but Ziwa is very quick and knows his way around Umani. As a result, poor Alamaya’s adventure came to quick end. He rejoined his friends and spent the rest of the day with them.
After yesterday’s incident, Enkesha decided to take Maktao towards the Umani Hills, away from troublesome Mwashoti. They left Mwashoti with Murera and made quick time to the foot of the hills, where they encountered a herd of buffaloes. The buffaloes did not budge from their spot, and in the end, the Keepers had to make a lot of noise. This alerted Sonje and Quanza, who charged at the buffalos and moved them along. Once the path was clear, all the orphans made their way to the top of the Umani Hill, where they continued to forage.
When the Keepers woke up this morning, they found several wild elephant herds and some buffalos at the water trough. Given the delayed rains, there is very little for wildlife to eat. Once the orphans had left the compound, the Keepers topped up the lucerne so that the wild elephants and buffaloes could enjoy them.
Zongoloni had started walking ahead when she heard her baby Kiasa cry out for help. Turning back, she saw that naughty Mwashoti was up to no good again and had pushed Kiasa. Again, he had to be reminded to behave around the younger babies.
At about 5pm, the Keepers started to gather orphans to make their way back to the stockades. To their surprise, Ziwa emerge from the bushes. They called out his name and the bull walked towards them. On closer inspection, however, they realized it was not Ziwa — just another wild bull who looked very similar to him. Equally funny was the fact that the wild bull was so eager to join the dependent herd! They all walked to the compound together, but the Keepers had to stop the visitor from entering.
The orphans decided to spend their day foraging in the Chyulu area, where they quickly realized they were not alone. As usual, it was our “investigator” Lima Lima who alerted the Keepers to their presence. Following Lima Lima’s signals, they saw a female eland with her newborn baby, who was no more than a day old. The Keepers moved the herd away from the mother and her baby, so as not to disturb them.
A herd of buffaloes arrived where Maktao, Enkesha, and Kiasa were browsing. Upon seeing how big the herd was, Enkesha decided to move the babies away from them. However, the buffaloes had spread out, which made it difficult for Enkesha to find her way back to the Keepers. The Keepers realised what she was trying to do and enlisted Sonje and Lima Lima’s help to chase away the interlopers.
There was trouble among the nightclubbers, as Jasiri and Ngasha would not allow Faraja to join the Umani herd. They must have had a big disagreement, because any time Faraja would come close to the orphans, Jasiri and Ngasha chased him away. Lima Lima tried her best to include Faraja with the girls, but Jasiri wouldn’t allow it. In the end, Sonje stood her ground and invited Faraja to join her and Kiombo. If Jasiri or Ngasha tried to chase him, Sonje trumpeted at them and sent them away.
Lima Lima’s friends visited us today. For a change, it was two female elephants with their babies. Murera and Quanza were overjoyed to have two new babies to play with. They looked after the little ones as their mothers browsed.
The orphans decided to stop by the Umani Springs this morning. Enkesha found a lovely spot by the bank, which had enough mud for her to wallow in. Kiombo saw what a good time Enkesha was having and decided to join in. He surveyed the area and thought he had found a space to wallow, but as he moved in, his bottom landed squarely on top of poor Enkesha and pushed her into the mud. Kiombo managed to get out, but poor Enkesha was stuck! Hearing her cries for help, the Keepers, Sonje, and Murera rushed over to her. The two matriarchs slowly moved down the bank and put their trunks under Enkesha’s belly to lift her. The slippery mud made things difficult, so the Keepers jumped in. While Sonje and Murera pulled, the Keepers pushed, until Enkesha was finally free. Maktao, who was observing from the sidelines, was overjoyed that the muddy ordeal had come to an end.
While Jasiri seems to have reconciled with Faraja, Ngasha still bears a grudge. No one knows what transpired, but the Keepers feel something must have happened during one of their nighttime adventures. Every day, Faraja tries to join his friends, but Ngasha always chases him away. Faraja has tried many different tactics, but Ngasha remains vigilant and will not even allow him to get close to Zongoloni. We catch glimpses of Faraja, but always from a distance.
Today all the older girls decided to join Faraja. They had to time their escapade strategically. While Ngasha was busy browsing at the Umani Springs, they joined Faraja at the mud bath, where they knew he was wallowing alone. The bull was overjoyed to see his friends and they all wallowed happily. Eventually, Ngasha approached and Faraja made himself scarce, wanting to avoid any altercations.
Perhaps it was Faraja’s lucky day: A few minutes after he left, Ngasha tried to chase off a herd of buffaloes by himself. He got a rude surprise when the buffaloes turned and chased him instead! Ngasha ran off towards the springs, not to be seen for the rest of the day. Faraja saw his window of opportunity and rejoined his friends at the mud bath.