On the rescue front, this has been one of the most hectic months we can remember. The prolonged dry season has taken an enormous toll on creatures great and small, but especially elephants. For months, they were able to struggle through, but now it is crunch time. Herds are forced to leave their weak behind, as they move on in search of life-sustaining food and browse.
Olorien is quite a relaxed orphan, as she is always happy to follow the Nursery herd wherever they choose to go. Recently, with all the new rescues and being older than the little ones, she graduated from her stable to a big stockade with the older girls and boys of the Nursery. As soon as the Keepers decided to move her, she didn’t protest one bit and happily followed the Keepers towards her new stockade. Perhaps she was even happier about it, because this now meant that she didn’t have to avoid the gutter anymore when leaving or returning to the stockade compound.
The Keepers put her in the stockade between Rama and Shukuru. Although Olorien used to be a bit of a bully towards Rama, they have been getting along much better as of late and have even been sharing trunk hugs through the partitions in their stockade wall.
On top of this, all the new rescues are doing well. As they continue to settle into their new life at the Nursery, the Keepers are still walking them out on their own and they have not met the Nursery orphans yet.
Just after the orphans had their 9 o’clock bottles of milk, Roho and Kinyei began to enjoy a wrestling match. They were having the best time, chasing each other around the forest. Roho could even be seen rolling around on the ground, letting Kinyei take the lead and sometimes even climb on his back. They have become the best of friends and will often be seen playing together.
After some long games in the forest, the orphans enjoyed a quiet afternoon of browsing.
In the early hours of the morning, as most of the Nursery orphans were peacefully browsing, Larro and Mukkoka engaged each other in a wrestling match. They were having the best time chasing each other around the forest and pushing against one another, sizing each other up and testing each other’s strength. At one point in their game, Mukkoka could even be seen playfully rolling around on the floor near Larro as if he was trying to convince her to lie down too so he could climb on her back. This morning, however, Larro was too smart for the older bull and she lay down facing Mukkoka, keeping a watchful eye on his movements. Eventually as their game came to an end with both of them rolling near one another.
Nairobi has been experiencing some extremely hot weather as of late, so all the orphans are extremely eager to have their mud baths. Even Maxwell has been thoroughly enjoying his mud baths. This afternoon, he could be seen rolling around in his mud bath and rubbing his face along the banks, covering his entire body in mud. At one point, all the Keepers could see were his legs whaling about in the air! After a long mud wallow, he got out and then scratched up and down along his stockade wall. He settled to eat his evening greens as the orphans ran back for the evening.
This afternoon, we received a new rescue from Tsavo East National Park.
As the new rescue settled down at the Nursery, the rest of the herd went about their normal daily routine. Out in the forest, as the orphans were getting ready to run down for their midday bottles of milk, it was funny to see Kindani and Roho both too preoccupied with trying to break off a tasty branch than head down for their milk. When they finally managed to break the branch, they then began to wrestle over it, each of them trying to run off with it. Kindani seemed convinced that she would get the branch, so she bit down on it and began to pull away. As soon as Roho felt her pulling away, he quickly snatched the branch away and ran off. Kindani yelled out in protest and ran after him, but Roho was too quick for her and she eventually gave up. By the time their game ended, the Keepers were calling them to run down for their 9 o’clock bottles of milk.
Ziwadi and Rama continue to be close friends, following each other out the stockade compound and throughout the forest. Whilst in the forest, they can often be seen browsing in each other’s company and sharing their greens. Rama has always enjoyed spending time with Ziwadi and often hangs back with her as opposed to following the rest of the Nursery herd. Recently, Rama has started getting upset if he is not let down for the milk feeds with Ziwadi. As she ran off for her midday bottle of milk with the younger orphans, Rama became restless and began to pace back and forth at his Keepers until he was let down. Both Ziwadi and Rama are very welcoming to any of the new arrivals at the Nursery.
Despite Shukuru’s struggles with her health, she continues to be in good spirits and continues to be so gentle and caring with the rest of the Nursery herd. Since her return to the Nursery, she has really settled back into life at the Nursery and enjoys her time with all the orphans. No matter who is keeping her company, she is always so respectful, and the younger orphans seem to adore her.
Being the tallest in the Nursery, she could certainly be the fastest when running down for her milk, but funnily enough, she is never too bothered about being first. Often, when the Keepers let her down with a group, she will happily allow the other orphans to overtake her. She seems to have a similar attitude towards the mud bath, where she will allow the other orphans to wallow first and then once most of them are done, she will enter the muddy waters. These are all reasons why the younger orphans love to spend time with her, because she is also so respectful of their size and space.
Naboishu and Bondeni have been a little bit less mischievous recently. The Keepers have been enjoying a bit of a break from constantly having to chase after them, and even Mukkoka hasn’t had to intervene as often. They still both have their moments throughout the day where they will try to do something, be it charge at visitors or bully a friend, that will get them into trouble and the Keepers will have to chase them to the naughty corner. Naboishu is so used to the naughty corner that whenever the Keepers step in to discipline him, they won’t even have to chase him off as he is already making his way there!
Little Kerrio continues to be such a gentle, friendly, and interactive young girl. She has settled into her new life at the Nursery so well. Despite being wobbly on her feet, she is such a happy girl, and she absolutely adores her Keepers. Since her arrival at the Nursery, she has shown amazing progress with her hind legs. day, the Keepers will walk her a little further into the forest with the Nursery herd, helping her gain strength but also settle in the new routine at the Nursery.
She is adored by so many of the Nursery herd. Kinyei, Larro, Shukuru, Naleku, Olorien and Mukkoka love to dote upon her whenever they are all together in the forest or at the mud bath. Even naughty Naboishu is gentle with this sweet girl, although he is not much of a caregiver, as he doesn’t spend much time looking after her. After the orphans’ midday bottles of milk, Kerrio enjoyed a lovely moment with Kinyei, Roho and Larro. The three accompanied her back to the forest and happily shared their greens with her as they settled back into the forest.
It was another hot afternoon, so as soon as the orphans finished their 3 o’clock bottles of milk, they all dashed into the muddy waters to cool off. Rama could be seen splashing about on the edge, whereas Naleku, Roho, Mukkoka, and Larro were right in the middle of the mud bath, wallowing. Kindani and Kinyei were getting splashed by Rama and their Keepers and so too was Ziwadi. Ziwadi eventually moved off to continue enjoying her greens. Bondeni, on the other hand, was charging around the mud bath and trying to knock over one of the water troughs. He eventually managed and the water spilt everywhere.
New rescues Taabu and Suguroi, who arrived at the end of September, are both settling in well. Because they are still getting used to life at the Nursery, they are still not venturing as far as the rest of the Nursery and sweet little Kerrio.
Larro continues to grow as a matriarch and as her little Nursery herd is growing, she is taking on these new responsibilities in strides. This morning, as the Keepers were letting the orphans out of their stockades and stables, Larro was busy going up to each and every orphan, greeting them with either a warm trunk hug or a deep rumble. She started with Kerrio, Taabu, Suguroi and the other new rescue, and then continued to Esoit, Bondeni, Kindani, Kinyei, Ziwadi, Naleku, Olorien, and Roho. Once she was finished greeting the younger groups, she went over to greet Rama, Shukuru, Mukkoka and Naboishu. She then led the herd to the forest, where they enjoyed a wonderful morning of browsing.
This afternoon, as the orphans were making their way back to the forest, Olorien and Esoit came across a bushbuck. They seemed to get caught off guard by the bushbuck, but they turned it into a big game to charge after the animal that frightened them. As bushbucks are so agile and fast, it managed to get away quite quickly. Having lost sight of the bushbuck and the rest of the Nursery herd, Olorien and Esoit seemed to panic and Olorien yelled out loudly as if calling the others. As soon as Olorien could be heard trumpeting, Larro, Kindani and Naleku went running off in their direction to retrieve them. It wasn’t long before they were found and reunited with the Nursery herd.
Bondeni seemed to be in a jealous mood this morning. As the orphans settled to browse in the forest, he could be seen chasing after any of the orphans that tried to approach where he and Larro were browsing. If any of the orphans tried to get close to Larro, he would push them away. Young Esoit was amongst the first to experience Bondeni’s wrath, as he too enjoys browsing with Larro and often follows her in the forest.
Next up was Olorien, who was eagerly browsing on some of the shrubs near Larro and Bondeni. Bondeni began to push her, but Olorien it quite a tough girl and had no interest in giving up her fresh shrubs, so she took no notice of the little bull and just stood her ground. Eventually, Bondeni realized that Olorien was not moving anywhere, so he did the unthinkable and bit her tail. It is very bad behaviour for an elephant to bite another’s tail, and as a result Olorien yelled out in pain and ran off. Bondeni, all proud of himself, went back to browsing with Larro.
Mukkoka and the Keepers checked on Olorien and when they realized she was fine they went about their mornings.
Ziwadi has her funny little habits of wandering off from the Nursery herd. The Keepers have noticed that if she wanders off throughout the day, she will often make her way down to the mud bath to wait for the Nursery herd. However, if she wanders off after the orphans’ 3 o’clock bottles of milk, she will head straight back to her stable. As the Keepers have now figured out her plan, they keep a close eye on her so they can catch her before she wanders too far away.
Mukkoka and Naboishu continue to be great friends. As they came out of their stockades this morning, they immediately engaged each other in a wrestling match. Being so evenly sized, these bulls always have the most intense games and neither of them will ever let up. This morning, however, Naboishu tripped and lost his footing. This gave Mukkoka an unfair advantage in their game and he managed to overpower Naboishu, taking the victory.
It was another very hot day. After the orphans finished their midday bottles of milk, they all went to cool off in the mud bath. Some of the orphans just splashed about briefly, but Naboishu, Larro and Roho went straight into the mud bath and began to roll around next to each other. Esoit joined them for a little bit before joining Kindani, Kinyei and Bondeni on the dust mound. After a long mud wallow and dust bath, the orphans were ushered back to the forest by their Keepers.
This afternoon, as the orphans were settling back in the forest to browse, Ziwadi settled near Kerrio. As the rest of the Nursery herd headed further into the forest, Ziwadi and Kerrio stayed closed to the stockade compound, happily browsing in the company of some of the Keepers. Taabu, Suguroi and the other new rescue are all doing well, but as they are still getting used to their new routine at the Nursery, they are not venturing as far into the forest.
As the orphans were settling back in the forest after their 9 o’clock bottles of milk, Mukkoka, Larro, Kinyei and Bondeni all enjoyed a playful moment together. Although Larro just seemed to be watching over them, Mukkoka was having the best time, playfully wrestling Kinyei as Bondeni tried to climb on him. Bondeni then began to playfully roll around on the floor and dash off around the forest.
After a couple of minutes, their game ended and Mukkoka walked over to Rama to now challenge him. Rama always loves a good wrestling match, especially with Mukkoka, as he is so gentle and doesn’t try to immediately win the game. They were having such fun that Naboishu came over and joined in on their game, taking over from Mukkoka. Despite being such a naughty boy, Naboishu is always gentle when he wrestles Rama. It is so special for the Keepers to see how much Rama has grown in confidence in the Nursery herd.
Once their game ended, Naboishu went on to challenge Roho who was browsing nearby. They pushed each other around the forest for quite some time and Naboishu seemed to be really testing out Roho’s strength not letting up an inch. Eventually, they both seemed to get tired and resumed their browsing activities. The orphans then had a quiet day out in the forest.
As the orphans were settling down in the forest in the early hours of the morning, Larro, Naboishu, Roho, Kinyei, Mukkoka and Naleku got this burst of energy and started to charge around, bulldozing through the bushes and running up and down the paths, trumpeting and rumbling in excitement. The Keepers wondered if their excitement was because Taabu and Suguroi joined them this morning. The orphans always get excited when a new rescue is able to join them out in the forest. Once they had finished charging around, they came over to greet Taabu and Suguroi.
Taabu is a gentle and affectionate little boy, whereas Suguroi is a feisty young girl who enjoys flaring her ear ears whenever someone approaches, but they have both settled in so well since their rescues.
Throughout today, Esoit would not leave little Kerrio’s side. As soon as the orphans were in the forest he could be seen keeping her company as they browsed and he followed her wherever she went, as if he was her little shadow. Esoit, much like Mukkoka, is a gentle and caring bull. He is friends with all the orphans in the Nursery, and will constantly look out for smaller orphans such as Kerrio. In addition, Kerrio and Esoit are neighbours. He has happily spends his evenings watching over her, helping her settle into her new home.
In the evening of the 10th, we received a new rescue from the Taita Salt Lick area in Tsavo. With new rescues, especially younger ones, the Keepers always try to move them into the stables so that they can settle and get used to the Nursery. This, however, has not been the easiest of tasks: Some of our longstanding orphans are very attached to their stables and don’t particularly want to be moved to the bigger stockades! All the orphans will eventually graduate to a bigger stockade as they get older, as this will help them get used to the rooms they will have have at the Reintegration Units.
As the new rescue arrived, the Keepers decided to move Kindani to one of the bigger stockades. She is the most grown up of the trio consisting of her, Kinyei, and Bondeni, and she is slightly taller and bigger than her best friends. When the Keepers initially moved Kindani, all three of them were calm and didn’t seem to mind too much but as night fell, Kindani started rumbling, trying to climb over the gate, and throwing the fresh hay all over the place. The more restless she became, the more restless Kinyei and Bondeni also became.
Because they have been inseparable since their days at Kaluku together, they were extremely upset to have been separated and none of them slept a wink throughout the night. Fortunately, the rest of the herd managed to get some shut eye, despite the noise. As soon as the orphans were let out of their stables, Bondeni and Kinyei went running over to greet Kindani who appeared to be so excited to see her friends. Once out in the forest, the three of them spent most of their day napping and catching up on their sleep near one another. At one point, Larro and the Keepers even had to usher them down for their milk. The orphans had a very quiet day in the forest.
At the midday feeding time, Kerrio is let down to the mud bath first to enjoy her bottle before all the orphans come charging down. Still being wobbly on her feet, the Keepers do not want her getting unnecessarily knocked over in all the excitement. As soon as she finished her milk, she walked over to the mud bath and kept trying to get in. Because she seemed a bit uncertain, the Keepers decided to build her her very own mud bath right near the dust mound. She excitedly began to roll around, covering herself in mud and basking in the sunshine.
Once Kerrio was finished enjoying her mud bath, she went over to the dust mound. By this point, all the orphans were down at the mud bath. Suguroi wanted to join Kerrio and roll around in the small mud bath, but as soon as she tried to lie down, Kindani shoved her out of the way to make room for Bondeni. Larro was not impressed with any of their behaviour, so she chased them all away and stood guard over Kerrio.
Eventually, Mukkoka would come over to join Larro and Kerrio, but once again Larro was being overly protective and didn’t allow anyone near her. The Keepers eventually came over and ushered the orphans away from Kerrio, giving her space. This turned the herd’s attention over to Roho and Naleku, who were happily rolling around at the center of the mud bath. Naboishu ran in and immediately tried to climb on Naleku, causing her to yell out in protest. Shukuru quickly came to her rescue, which sent Naboishu quickly running off, allowing them all to carry on with their mud bath.
Once everyone had cooled off and dusted, the Keepers led the orphans back to the forest for a lovely afternoon of browsing.
Every new arrival at the Nursery will have their closest friends, much like the older orphans in the Nursery. When Kerrio arrived, all the orphans took an interest in looking after her, but Kinyei emerged as her main caregiver. Out in the forest, Kinyei would often try to sneak away from the herd to go and find Kerrio, who wouldn’t always walk as far as them. It was so important for Kerrio to have this affection and company, which helped her settle in.
More recently, however, Kindani has taken over as Kerrio’s main caregiver. As Bondeni is so close to Kindani and Kinyei, he seems to get upset when he cannot find either of them, so today he left Larro to search for Kindani. Kindani, Bondeni and Kerrio spent most of their day together browsing near one another.
Kinyei and Naleku have become far gentler with the new arrivals and the rest of the Nursery herd. However, they have both been bullying Taabu and Suguroi. The Keepers had wondered if it is perhaps because these newcomers are more independent and not as reliant on the older orphans as Kerrio is. Today, Naleku was being such a bully to Taabu that the Keepers had to intervene. The Keepers are confident that Taabu and Suguroi will eventually start to stand up for themselves.
The new rescue from Tsavo has been named Kamili. Because she is still settling into the Nursery, she does not join the rest of the herd in the early hours of the morning. This means that she gets lots of attention from all the other orphans when they are leaving to the forest. This morning, she was first greeted by Larro and Suguroi, and they could all be heard rumbling at each other. Mukkoka then came over to greet the new girl and started to compete with Larro over some of her leftover greens. The orphans are so sneaky, stealing greens whilst they greet the new orphans.
Larro and Suguroi eventually moved off to join Shukuru, Naleku, Roho, Kindani and Esoit, who were all standing at the other new rescue’s door. This little girl, who we have called Latika, seems to be settling in well and is enjoying all the attention from the other orphans. Everyone spent a few minutes greeting and stealing each other’s greens, before the Keepers and Larro’s rumbles ushered them out to the forest.
As the orphans got out to the forest, Kinyei, Naleku, Roho, Larro, Naboishu, Esoit and some of the others began to chase the impala and baboons who were foraging. After chasing the baboons and impala, they broke off into pairs and started their own wrestling matches. They paired off in duos: Mukkoka and Larro, Naboishu and Roho, and Kinyei and Esoit. Naleku went over to Shukuru and began to browse near her. Their games continued until it was time for them to run down for their 9 o’clock bottles of milk.
Although he is entirely blind, Maxwell always seems to be able to tell when there is a new arrival within the resident warthogs. This is probably because of his acute sense of smell. One of the warthogs recently gave birth to four little piglets. This morning, she led them straight to Max’s stockade. She seemed to want to show them around and perhaps also introduce them to Max, so they too can share in his lucerne pellets.
Max was in a great mood and appeared to be so happy to meet the new piglets, following them around and smelling them. Being so small, the piglets were very cautious of this large rhino, but their mum was completely relaxed. As soon as the piglets would dash off, Max would follow them. Eventually, they all settled to enjoy Max’s lucerne pellets.
As the orphans were getting ready to run down for their midday bottles of milk, some of them were misbehaving, which annoyed Shukuru. Naboishu began to climb on Olorien’s back, which upset her as she is so much smaller than him. Larro intervened and pushed him off, but then he fell onto Mukkoka, who got angry and chased him away from the group.
Upon his return, Naboishu caused even more mischief and went after Roho, Naleku and Ziwadi, who were all standing peacefully. As he was pushing and shoving them, Shukuru got very upset with him. She stepped over and separated all of them from each other. As she doesn’t often intervene, all the orphans quickly backed off and got back in line to run down for their bottles.
Since the Keepers tried to swap Kindani into one of the bigger stockades, there has been a lot of commotion around the compound. The move was unsuccessful, and the Keepers promptly put Kindani back with her friends, Kinyei and Bondeni. However, Kinyei continues with her strange new habit she has adopted. When the Keepers try to usher her into her stable, she throws a real fuss and often refuses to go in on the first try. In addition, once the Keepers have successfully gotten her to enter, she then does everything in her power to sneak out.
The evening before, as the orphans were heading home, Kinyei managed to sneak out past her Keeper. She ran straight to Kamili’s stockade, where she began to share her greens with the new shy girl. The Keepers then had to struggle to get her back down to her stable. Once she was in, she yelled out in protest, stirring up all the other orphans. The Keepers aren’t sure whether she wants to be in a different room or whether she just likes being closer to the new rescues.
On the evening of the 15th, we received a new rescue, a 2.5-year-old male. He arrived late in the evening, which created quite a stir around the stockade compound, as Larro and Mukkoka were both awake and could sense the new arrival. This morning, all the orphans all crowded at his gate to greet him. He was a little nervous, so he just stood at the back of his stockade.
Today, was Kamili’s first day out with the Nursery herd. She behaved so well and was given such a warm welcome from all the orphans, but especially Naleku, Kindani, and Kinyei. Kinyei has shown that she is an excellent nanny, and the Keepers are even curious to see whether she could perhaps become a matriarch to her own herd, as she used to be so quiet and shy. She can be a little selfish with the new rescues, although it comes from a place of love. For example, today she kept blocking Kamili from following the herd, as she wanted to keep her all to herself. Kamili had a wonderful day with the herd.
Once again, as soon as the orphans were let out of the stockades and stables, they ran over to greet the new rescue. As he is still shy and not used to his new environment, the Keepers quickly ushered them away to give him some peace and quiet. All the orphans seemed disappointed and even got a little grumpy with each other. Naleku and Kindani began pushing one another, creating such a fuss that Mukkoka had to step in between them to separate them. He shepherded Naleku ahead of him and let Kindani follow.
When the orphans headed down to the mud bath, the Keepers sent Suguroi down with one of the first groups. Suguroi was so happy to be leading her small group that she ran off ahead of the others. Her energy and excitement was infectious, and Roho followed her straight into the mud bath. They were having such fun, splashing around with some of the older orphans.
Kamili also joined the Nursery herd down at the mud bath. Because she is still gaining her strength, the Keepers tried to keep her a bit distant from the others, as some of the older orphans can be a little rough as they roll around. However, Kamili managed to sneak past the Keepers and walked straight into the center of the mud bath. The Keepers kept a close eye on her and helped her out when she was ready to come out.
Although Rama is generally a gentle bull, he can have his moments when he can be a bit of a bully. This afternoon, he kept going after Kamili and eventually managed to push her over. Poor little Kamili didn’t know what happened, but she fortunately got back on her feet quite quickly. Unluckily for Rama, Larro, Roho, and Naleku were standing nearby and promptly chased him away. For the rest of the afternoon, Rama kept his distance.
As the orphans spend more time together, new friendships form. When Kerrio arrived, Roho graduated from his smaller stable to the bigger stockades, near Larro and Mukkoka. Now that Esoit and Kerrio are neighbours, the two have a budding friendship.
As Kerrio continues to gain her strength, the Keepers let the morning chill fade before she joins the others out in the forest. There were some heavy showers throughout the evening, so the Keepers kept Kerrio within the warmth of her stable a bit longer today. As she was approaching the herd, Esoit seemed to spot her in the distance. He was in the midst of a wrestling match with Kinyei, but the moment he saw Kerrio, he immediately ended his game and ran towards her. Kerrio let out a little rumble to greet her friend. Kindani heard her rumble and also came running over to meet the little girl. They had a wonderful interaction before joining the rest of the herd.
After the orphans finished their 9 o’clock bottles, Larro, Naleku, Kinyei and Suguroi went back to the stockade compound to escort Latika out to the forest for her first time. Mukkoka, Esoit, Olorien and Kindani all got excited when they saw Latika arriving with the others. They all ran over to greet her and spent quite a bit of time with her. Naboishu and Rama, however, were being very naughty and kept trying to bully Latika. Mukkoka immediately noticed them and stood guard, chasing them both away every time they approached.
Latika spent her entire day with the Nursery herd, and she even returned with them in the evening without any fuss.
Esoit and Kinyei had such a fun-filled morning. From the moment the Keepers let the orphans out of their bedrooms, Esoit was bouncing with energy. As soon as his door was opened, Esoit said good morning to Shukuru and then ran over to greet Latika. As Latika came out of her stable, they shared a trunk hug before Latika continued towards the forest. Esoit then ran over to play with the water troughs and buckets where the milk bottles are kept.
As soon as he spotted Kinyei, he ran towards her flapping his ears, as if trying to entice her to play a game with him. Kinyei responded by also flapping her ears. This was evidently a signal to begin a wrestling and pushing game. They played for a few minutes within the stockade compound before chasing each other out to the forest.
In the forest, their game caught Roho’s attention. He tried to engage Esoit, but he was too busy with Kinyei, so he then went on to challenge Naboishu. They engaged each other only for a couple of minutes, as Mukkoka came over and pushed Roho aside so he could play with Naboishu. Roho, disappointed by the turn of events, walked over and began to push at a tree.
The new rescues have been spending a lot of time of Ziwadi whilst out in the forest. Kamili, Taabu, Latika, and Suguroi all happily follow her throughout the forest. They are smart to browse near Ziwadi, as she seems to choose the best greens and is always so gentle. Ziwadi is always such a welcoming character to the new rescues and appears to be one of their best friends as they grow in confidence and settle down.
This afternoon, the Nursery received another rescue from Amboseli.
It was another exciting morning for the Nursery herd as they carried out their usual routine of greeting all the new rescues. They were very excited to say hello to the latest arrival. Like most of the new rescues, he was still quite shy and did not interact with them, but instead just held up his trunk to smell them.
Naleku, Shukuru, Larro, Mukkoka, Kinyei and Kindani were spending time with the other new bull, who is called Barnoti. As they greeted him and exchanged trunk hugs, Ziwadi was busy with her normal morning routine of having a drink of water from each of the water troughs. Although Ziwadi is always so gentle with the new rescues, she does not spend as much time greeting them in the morning. As the orphans started to head off, Barnoti seemed eager to join them, but as he is still new and not used to his Keepers or his new environment, he remained within the stockade compound.
It continued to drizzle throughout the day, so the Keepers decided to keep Kerrio within the warmth of her stockade compound. Unfortunately, it was cold for most of the day, so she spent her time with her Keepers within her stable and the stockade compound.
After the orphans finished their midday bottles of milk, they made their way back to the forest for the afternoon. As it had rained for most of the day, there were puddles throughout the forest. Suguroi and Roho had a great time wallowing in the muddy puddles.
Like most mornings, Larro and Naboishu immediately walked over to greet their newest neighbour, Barnoti. He seems to be settling in well and will often approach his stockade door to greet them and the rest of the orphans. He appears very eager to head out with them, but he is still too new and needs to continue to gain his strength.
Once out in the forest, Kerrio settled to browse near Kinyei. Kinyei thoroughly enjoys looking after Kerrio, and often tries to keep the little girl all to herself. Sadly, for Kinyei, she has a lot of competition from the rest of the Nursery orphans, who are also all so eager to care for the newest arrivals.
Kerrio continues to head down to the mud bath for her midday bottles of milk before the rest of the herd. Because she gets there far ahead of the others, she will quickly drink her milk bottle and then will often end up playing near the mud bath. Today, she decided to enjoy a dust bath. As Kinyei and the others arrived, she was happily entertaining herself, throwing soil all over the place with her trunk. As soon as Kinyei finished her milk she ran over to join the little girl.
After a fun mud bath, all the orphans made their way back up to the forest for the remainder of their day.
The orphans had a great start to their day. It was a beautiful morning and they all seemed to be excited to get out to the forest. Ziwadi kept trying to sneak off in her own direction, but as newcomers Kamili, Latika, and Suguroi have been following her, the Keepers kept ushering them back to the herd. On her own, Ziwadi was able to often sneak off, but now she has a little entourage she often must remain with the herd.
Rama and Shukuru have been spending quite a bit of time together recently. Although Rama has been quite naughty with the new rescues, he is always so gentle with Shukuru and loves to spend time with her. They were peacefully browsing near one another, at the edge of one of the open plains they walk through. In front of them, and in complete contrast from their peace and serenity, was Roho and Mukkoka engaging each other in a wrestling match and chasing each other around the field.
Roho and Mukkoka continue to be the best of friends and will often engage each other in a wrestling match throughout the day. Roho loves to challenge the bigger bulls, but he also enjoys wrestling Esoit and Kinyei. Learning how to wrestle is an important part of a bull’s growth. In the wild, bulls often fight over a female or territory, or they just wrestle for fun.
As the orphans headed out into the forest, Ziwadi went ahead with her morning routine of drinking from the water troughs. This morning, Rama was waiting for her at the top of the stockade compound. As soon as Ziwadi joined him, they made their way out to the forest. Once all the orphans were together, Larro led everyone further afield, but Ziwadi and Rama decided to go their own way. As they were not walking too far away, one of the Keepers just kept a close eye on them.
As the Keepers were watching Ziwadi and Rama, Shukuru managed to sneak off in her own direction. Being so tall, they were able to quickly spot her. As it was getting close to the orphans’ midday milk feed, the Keepers had to usher them back together. As soon as they got all the orphans, together Naboishu and some of the others began to get restless and rumble at their Keepers, eagerly wanting to run down for their bottles.
Ziwadi and Rama were let down in the first group, with Suguroi, Kamili and Latika. Kerrio was already at the mud bath, standing near the Keepers. Once they all finished their bottles, the rest of the Nursery herd was let down in groups. Naboishu came down in the last group, as he continues to be the loudest and most boisterous when it comes to his milk feeds. After they all finished their milk bottles, some of the orphans mud bathed, others played in the dust, and the rest enjoyed the freshly cut greens before heading back to the forest for the rest of the day.
Despite sometimes having a temper, Olorien continues to be a friendly girl. This morning, she was happily browsing with Kindani, Kinyei, Esoit and Bondeni, and they were soon joined by Kamili. Kamili appeared to be having a wonderful time with them. Unlike Naboishu and Rama, who can sometimes bully the newer orphans, Olorien and the others have always been so gentle. All the new orphans seem to be settling in well and whenever the bulls do start to bully them, Mukkoka, Larro and the Keepers step in to protect them.
After the orphans finished their midday mud bath, the herd happily let Kamili lead them back to the forest. The Keepers were glad to see this, as it’s a sign that her confidence is growing and she is settling down well. The Keepers walked up in front of her to help direct her to the usual browsing spots.
The orphans had a lovely afternoon browsing in the forest before heading back to the stockade compound for the evening.
As the Keepers were getting ready to let the orphans out of their stables, a huge dust cloud suddenly swept across the compound. The Keepers had a look around and discovered Maxwell stomping around his stockade in a state. The warthogs were in Max’s stockade bright and early, which is probably what aggravated him. The warthogs know when Max is in a mood and quickly made themselves scarce.
As Max got to his lucerne pellets, he immediately calmed down. His ears were flicking back and forth, as if he was keeping an ear to the ground for the warthogs. After he had his fill, he took a nap in his favourite corner, which captures the perfect amount of morning sunshine. The warthogs didn’t dare come back while he was eating, but once Max was napping, they ran back into his stockade and ate their share of pellets.
After his nap, Max went to his neighbouring stockade, where he ate some of the longer grass and walked around for a couple of minutes before settling in the shade. It was such an extremely hot day, so Max enjoyed a long wallow in the mud bath right up until it was almost time for the orphans to return for the evening.
Naleku is one of the quieter orphans, but she is always great company to all the other babies. She barely ever causes any drama, unless Naboishu and Roho are bugging her, in which case she will stand her ground against them. Naboishu and Roho often try to climb on her or push her around, but Naleku has never been one to tolerate this behaviour. She continues to enjoy leading the orphans out to the forest, supported by Mukkoka. Beause she is such an independent girl, the Keepers believe she could be a great matriarch or second-in-command one day.
Maxwell was in a much better mood today. He happily shared his space with all the resident warthogs, including the four little piglets, who are growing in size and seem to be doing really well. Max started off his morning by finishing off all his acacia branches, then headed up to his lucerne pellets, which he shared with the warthogs. After breakfast, he settled in the morning sun to nap.
Nairobi continues to be extremely hot. Although it is still dry, Nairobi National Park has a lot of vegetation for the orphans to enjoy. As the sun comes up nice and early, the Keepers have been letting all the orphans, including little Kerrio, out to the forest at the same time. She is still gaining her strength, so the Keepers walk her out after all the excitement of the other orphans, and then she joins the herd in the forest.
Kinyei is still extremely protective of Kerrio. As soon as she spots her, she runs over and starts to block all the other orphans from spending time with her. Esoit, who is Kerrio’s neighbour, also enjoys spending time with her, but he rarely will compete with Kinyei to get her attention. Instead, he just wait for Kerrio to be alone and then heads over to spend time with her.
Larro and the older orphans also spend time with Kerrio, Latika, Kamili, Taabu and Suguroi whilst out in the forest. They enjoy checking in on the new group and making sure everything is okay before resuming their daily activities. Despite being older, Bondeni continues to be Larro’s favourite — and he takes full advantage of all the attention. In the evenings, the Nursery herd heads back to the stockade compound together. Little Kerrio can be seen walking slowly with Ziwadi and Shukuru.
The orphans started their day out and about in the forest, browsing on their favourite greens. Ziwadi, Olorien, Esoit and Kerrio spent their morning together. The younger orphans were eagerly following Ziwadi, as she always knows how to pick the most luscious greens in the forest. Ziwadi and Olorien have been the best of friends since Olorien’s arrival at the Nursery.
Esoit continues to be such a friendly bull and is a friend to all the orphans in the in the Nursery, including the new arrivals. The Keepers wonder if he perhaps likes to imitate his favourite uncle figure, Mukkoka, but they also believe he is just a kind-natured bull. Taabu is also a very friendly and gentle bull. He seems to be settling in with the Nursery herd and is making friends with the other orphans, including Esoit. Surugoi enjoys spending time with Taabu, as he is always so gentle with her.
Kinyei seems to branch off with her other friendships a bit more than Bondeni and Kindani, but all three remain so close after growing up together at Kaluku. Bondeni and Kindani spent most of their day together, browsing and napping near one another. At some point in the afternoon, they too spent time with Kerrio, escorting her through the forest. When it was time for the orphans to head back to the stockade compound, they all walked together, accompanied by Shukuru.
It was beautiful, sunny morning as the orphans headed out to the forest. As usual, the Keepers kept Kerrio in her stable until all the other orphans had finished chasing each other out to the forest. This morning, however, Kerrio was not happy about staying in her stable and kept banging at her door. Eventually, the Keepers let her out and walked her up to the top of the stockade compound, where the rest of the herd was browsing.
As Esoit saw his neighbour approaching, he excitedly ran up to her and accompanied her the rest of the way to the forest. Kerrio has the sweetest relationship with so many of the orphans. The Keepers are so proud of how well she and all the other rescues have settled into their new life at the Nursery.
Shukuru is doing well and is thoroughly enjoying her greens and milk bottles these days. She also seems happy to look after the little charges, escorting them as they walk through the forest, down to the mud bath, and even back to the stockade compound. The younger orphans all dote upon her. It is so nice to see how much energy Shukuru has these days, compared to when she returned.
Bondeni is usually the most playful orphan around the Nursery, and today was no exception. At the midday mud bath, he was back to his mischievous ways of trying to sneak under the rope that cordoned off the mud bath. He kept sprinting around as the Keepers tried to stop his antics. Bondeni was creating such a stir amongst the visitors, and the more the visitors got excited, the naughtier Bondeni would become.
He continued to charge everywhere and even tried to knock over the water troughs. Unfortunately, every time the Keepers tried to stop him, he would run in the opposite direction, making it almost impossible to catch up. The Keepers eventually managed to calm him down, which allowed them to relax for a bit, watching all the orphans around the mud bath.
Apart from Bondeni, the other orphans had a really quiet time at the mud bath. Afterwards, they headed back to the forest for a calm afternoon of browsing.
Some of the newer rescues are still getting used to life at the Nursery. Because of this, the Keepers are keeping them within the stockade compound and just walking them on the border of the forest. We closely monitor any new rescue’s condition, and only once the Keepers feel they are strong and comfortable enough will they be allowed out to join the others.
Kamili, Latika, Suguroi, and Taabu have all settled into the Nursery so well. They are each forming their own friendships, but they all enjoy spending time with Bondeni, Kindani, Kinyei, Ziwadi, Olorien, and Shukuru, as they are all so gentle and welcoming. Larro and Mukkoka are also very attentive, but because they are the senior members of the Nursery herd, they are often busy with their duties.
Rama is generally nice to everyone, but sometimes he can be a bit of a bully, so the younger orphans tend to keep their distance from him. Naboishu is another orphan they are a bit cautious around. The Nursery has really grown into a family, with its budding friendships and family feuds, and the Keepers certainly have had their hands full with all the new rescues arriving!