For our Nursery herd, the month began with fun and games. Predictably, it was feisty Bondeni who led the charge. He is a young bull with the confidence of a much older one. He engaged Roho in a friendly tussle, but they were soon interrupted by Oldepe, who wanted to play a hugging game with Roho. Three is not the best number for either elephants or children! Ignored by the newcomer, Bondeni wandered off on his own, leaving Oldepe to hang out with his great mate Roho.
The new month began with a hot, sunny day. Enjoying the balmy early morning, the orphan herd were reluctant to wander far into the forest, feeling less energetic than in the colder, cloudy months of July and August. Usually Neshashi, Oldepe, Roho, Bondeni, Kinyei, Naleku, Kerrio, Olorien and Suguroi love exploring - today, however, they were content to stay close to the stockades. Maxwell felt much the same on this sweltering day. In the early morning he rested in the shade and by mid-morning he was chilling in his mud bath.
During the public visit, the orphans gulped down their bottles of milk before also plunging into their mud bath. They were boiling hot too. On cooler days, the likes of Kindani, Tingai, Ziwadi and Rafiki will not dip a toe in the water – today, they were jostling for space in the mud! Esoit was having a lovely time rolling around in the wet dust on the edge of the pool. After her dip, Naleku covered herself with dust and then scratched her large rump against a rock.
This morning, the elephants set off for the forest full of exuberant energy. Bondeni and Roho enjoyed a friendly wrestle and a tussle. Feisty Bondeni may be smaller than mature Roho, but he can’t resist challenging the bigger boy. He is a young bull with the confidence of a much older one. Their fun and games were soon interrupted by Oldepe, who wanted to play a hugging game with Roho. Three is not the best number for either elephants or children! Ignored by the newcomer, Bondeni wandered off on his own, leaving Oldepe to hang out with his great mate Roho.
Blanket babies Mzinga, Nyambeni, Shujaa, Muridjo and Mageno are now sufficiently settled to spend time in the forest with the Nursery herd. It might have been expected that maternal Naleku would transfer her attentions from sweet Kerrio to the new babies. But no - for now, she continues to be devoted to Kerrio. Suguroi is, however, becoming more and more attached to Mzinga and Nyambeni. It is heart-warming to see the developing bond between the increasingly maternal Suguroi and the two babies – the older female trails after and tends the little girls and they clearly love her trunk touches and company. Mzinga and Nyambeni are also getting on well with gentle Mageno.
Although Neshashi is the oldest member of the orphan herd, she has not yet demonstrated strong maternal or matriarchal urges, preferring the life of an independent tomboy who challenges her friends rather than looks after them. She stands out from many of the older female orphans, such as Naleku, Olorien, Suguroi, Kindani and Kinyei, who are always affectionate and caring towards the younger elephants when out and about in the forest. Today, free-spirited Neshashi confronted and deliberately bumped into Bondeni, Esoit, Sileita and Sagateisa, first in the forest and then again during milk feeding time at the mud bath.
A quiet girl, Kamili also loves to do her own thing, especially when enjoying mud bathing or soil dusting. She does not like to share her space with the others and, if anyone bumps into her, she quietly makes her feelings clear. Today during the public visit, Choka and Taabu made the mistake of pretending to mount her but were quickly put in their place. After this, whenever she spotted them walking towards her, she stood up tall, warning them to stay away from her patch!
Today, several orphans were behaving in a rather possessive manner. In the morning, Kerrio did not allow blanket babies Nyambeni, Mzinga, Shujaa and Muridjo to approach Naleku whom she sees as her adopted mother. Whenever one of the babies walked towards Naleku, Kerrio ran at them and chased them away. She was not going to risk the older female abandoning her in favour of her younger peers. Taking her lead from Kerrio, much to the Keepers’ amusement, Suguroi then shielded Nyambeni and Mzinga with her body, preventing them from following Kerrio and Naleku. She too was not running any risk of Naleku whisking away her adopted babies.
The temperature soared in the afternoon. In response, Maxwell spent almost an hour submerged in his mud pool, completely immobile as he tried to cool off. The resident warthogs did their best to join the rhino but to no avail – he was not sharing his cool pool with anyone else and clearly did not want to be disturbed.
Ziwadi is a creature of habit. She starts every day by toddling out of her stockade and immediately drinking deeply from the water trough just outside her door. As she has not yet mastered the skill of sucking water up through her trunk and the squirting it into her mouth, she still slurps water noisily into her mouth. In contrast, many of the other orphans start their days by greeting each other, trunk touching or wrestling. Emerging from her stockade today, she deliberately paused for a time at the water trough outside Latika’s stockade before beginning her drinking ritual. The others had already walked out and settled in the field. The Keepers are always patient, allowing her the time to quench her thirst in her quirky way.
Latika also has her trademark behaviour. Once settled out in the forest, she goes down onto her knees to browse more easily. The clever elephant adapted her eating habits to compensate for her short trunk soon after arriving at the Nursery and is thus able to eat just as much as her friends.
As Mzinga has an upset tummy, she is resting and recovering in her stockade for a few days. The three other babies – Nyambeni, Shujaa and Muridjo – are concerned about their little friend. They are reluctant to head out into the forest without Mzinga and are a little downcast when they have to leave her. Today, rather than pushing the others in her normal cheeky fashion and browsing busily, Nyambeni stood quietly out in the field, dozing at times and appearing almost dazed.
Our blanket babies are developing into individuals with distinct personalities. Muridjo is a changeable little elephant – sometimes she is shy and reserved, on other occasions, she is assertive and delights in mock charges. Although she is taller than Nyambeni, she allows the smaller orphan to push her around. Shujaa likes to hang out with the other babies in the forest until the older orphans arrive, at which time he usually moves away and browses in the shadows of the big boys.
The drought is ongoing with many orphans being rescued and brought to the stockades from different parts of the country. Most arrive suffering from starvation. Recent arrivals at the Nursery have come from Amboseli, Samburu and Tsavo – three areas where the drought is having a severe impact.
Today was an itchy day for Nyambeni! She spent a lot of time scratching her body against the bark of trees and was worrying about being bitten by ticks. This did not stop her from also munching on the trees’ soft leaves. In contrast, Shujaa roamed all over the place searching for greens - which are hard to find amid the current lack of rain.
Arriving at the mud bath on yet another hot day, Choka and Roho wasted no time plunging into the pool. While they were splashing around energetically, sweet Ziwadi quietly wandered up and down the rope cordon, greeting visitors and allowing them to touch her.
Two of our new rescues, Weka and Kitich, are proving to be full of character. Every day, the Keepers open the stockades early in the morning for the orphans to start their day in the park. Most of them are happy to wander out and enjoy a short browse. Except for naughty Weka and Kitich! They love to amble away from the herd and then sneak back to the stockades on their own, often to feast on the sugar cane. Two-year-old Weka tends to be the leader. Today, she led Kitich, Muridjo and Shujaa back to the stockades, outwitting the Keepers who were doing their best to surround them and keep the herd together. Meanwhile, the gang of four arrived home and settled down to drink at the mud bath, leaving the Keepers looking for them out in the park. Kitich even had a quick swim!
Later in the afternoon, as the herd was leaving the mud bath for a final wander in the forest, Mukutan decided to misbehave. The disobedient young bull refused to follow the Keepers’ instructions, ignoring them and standing obstinately under a tree as his friends set off into the bush. A rebellious teenager in the making!
The oldest orphans - Naleku, Nesheshi, Roho and Oldepe - enjoy eating many shrubs. While out and about today, the orphans came across some buffaloes grazing in the place where they wanted to browse. Naleku was the first to spot them. Straight away, she trumpeted loudly to alert her three friends, interrupting their feeding.
When Naleku trumpeted, however, the whole herd reacted immediately and as one. They all ran for home! Nyambeni sprinted as fast as her little legs could go and was one of the first three to reach the stockades. She beat many of the older orphans like Sagateisa, Lodo, Kinyei, Kindani and Esoit, who had a more laid-back approach to the situation.
This was not the first time the orphans have encountered buffaloes in the forest. They have bumped into them several times recently in their feeding areas. Sometimes the buffaloes delight in blocking the path to the mud bath at milk feeding time.
Early this morning, the orphans and their Keepers came across a lioness with her cubs as they wandered out into the park to browse. The lioness was attempting to hunt. Olorien reacted in such a calm, courageous manner, leading the orphans away from the lioness and her cubs in the opposite direction. She looked after the whole herd today rather than just individual elephants like Kerrio and the blanket babies. Her protective instinct is strong.
Soon, everyone settled down contentedly – some orphans munched on small shrubs, others scratched on tree barks and others, including Esoit and her friend Roho, had fun playing the pushing game. Unperturbed by the incident with the lions, perhaps because they feel safe with their Keepers, the orphans wandered further afield in search of green pasture and smooth delicious leaves.
Later on another hot afternoon, many of the orphans had a dip in the mud bath followed by lots of dusting and shaking. Some of the younger ones are becoming adept at dusting themselves with their little trunks, rather than relying on the Keepers shovelling dust all over them.
Sometimes, Neshashi takes on the role of leader of several of the older orphans, in particular big boys like Oldepe, Rafiki, Esoit, Roho and Sagateisa. When this happens, she walks with her mini herd at a distance from the others out in the forest. As the older elephants walk further and faster afield, Naleku then protectively gathers the younger ones around her and remains with them as they browse together closer to the stockades.
Today, Kerrio was uncomfortable with the attention Naleku was giving the babies, seeming to feel abandoned by her adopted mother and taking out her feelings on the vulnerable little ones. Encountering Nyambeni nibbling whatever shoots she could find, Kerrio deliberately knocked over the younger orphan.
Olorien was being really caring this morning towards little Mzinga – she chose to remain close to the stockades with the recovering baby and her Keeper rather than venturing further into the forest with the herd.
It was another dry hot day at the Nursery. In the early morning, Esoit and Bondeni enjoyed a quick sparring and pushing game before joining the other orphans as they wandered out to browse. Rebellious Neshashi snuck off to the newcomers’ stables looking for lucerne and pellets.
Naleku and Kerrio were also hanging around at the stockades waiting for the blanket brigade. As soon as they emerged from their stables, Naleku and then Kerrio ran back to greet them. It was a lovely meeting with lots of joyful rumblings by the older female and also the tiny babies.
As the latecomers arrived in the forest, there was another touching moment – big girls Olorien, Kinyei and Kindani fell back from the others to welcome and then surround Nyambeni, Mzinga and Shujaa, holding them in the centre for a short time before escorting them to join the rest of the herd.
Sileita was in an assertive mood today, putting the boys firmly in their places. During the morning private viewing, naughty Mukutan pushed her as she drank her bottle of milk. Sileita was not going to stand for this behaviour! She chased after him and, to his surprise, confronted him – the Keepers had to separate the squabbling orphans. Soon after, as they walked out into the bush, Mukutan went on the offensive, singling out Sileita in the middle of the herd, kicking her and starting another fight. This time, the Keepers allowed the two elephants to sort out their issue, monitoring the situation and watching to see who gained the upper hand. Sileita was the victor! Mukutan may have started the fight but he was pushed down by this feisty girl and forced to cry out for help.
Still feeling worked up, Sileita then knocked over the unsuspecting Choka as he was browsing. Another confrontation ensued – the younger Choka did his best, refusing to give up in contrast to Mukutan, but was no match for Sileita. She really has proved her strength today.
The day ended in a similar manner with Sagateisa challenging Taabu at the mud bath and being told off by Olorien. Maybe grumpiness is infectious!
Our orphans have distinct personalities – some are more outgoing, others more reserved.
Suguroi is a caring elephant with the potential to develop into a strong matriarch. She loves to spend time with the babies, especially playful Mageno. She is less comfortable, however, with the Keepers and tends to keep her distance from humans unless they are holding bottles of milk.
Olorien is also growing into a strong young female. She looks after the younger orphans responsibly but tends to have favourites. Mzinga and Nyambeni, the little girls, can do no wrong, but Shujaa, their best boyfriend, comes in for a fair amount of disciplining.
Kamili is a lovely young lady who likes to do her own thing. Generally, she can be found dusting herself contentedly as the others are busy browsing in the bush. Although her health is so much better than it was, she is still not quite as active as the others, tending to wander around quietly.
Shy Rafiki is doing his best to make friends with her, but Kamili continues to prefer her own company and, most of the time, rejects his gentle advances. He may be her neighbour in the stockades but that does not mean he can be her best friend!
It is interesting how Esoit, despite being a big bull and one of the oldest orphans, still sometimes sees himself as a baby and chooses to hang out with the little elephants. At feeding time, the blanket babies always have their bottles first - he is getting into the habit of demanding to be fed with them. One large young bull surrounded by several tiny orphans is a sight that makes everyone smile!
At other times, Esoit challenges Lodo and tries to play a sparring game with him. Lodo often refuses to engage with the game, preferring to spend his time feeding with independent Neshashi and big boys Oldepe and Roho.
Sagateisa can be quite a serious girl. When the boisterous pair that is Bondeni and Esoit invite her to join their play fights, she sometimes rebuffs their advances, refusing to engage in such silliness.
Recently-rescued Muridjo was not in a great mood today. He was a bit rough with Shujaa who tends to come off worse in any play fighting. On the upside, the squabbling reflects how well the two small boys have settled in the Nursery.
Shy little Weka is blossoming. Since being allowed out of her stockade to interact with the other orphans several days ago, she has started to come out of her shell. Initially she was nervous, even frightened, of all the other orphans and would refuse to socialise or play at all. The situation was not helped by some rather thoughtless behaviour from the older Kerrio who tends to feel threatened by the new arrivals at the Nursery and push them around a little as a result.
As the days have passed, however, she has grown in confidence and settled into her new life. It is great to see the changes. Today during the morning private viewing, she was at the front of the line of blanket babies charging in to find their bottles of milk. As soon as she had finished hers, she went in search of a second, daring even to push the feisty Mukutan. Then, as the big boy turned around to see who had given him a shove, Weka quickly pretended that she was not the culprit!
Today was an especially happy day. The Keepers were so impressed by the caring attitudes of the orphans towards the little newbies. It began with the herd heading out in friendship groups to browse in the bush as normal. A short time later, they were introduced to a new orphan who was rescued a few days ago but has until today been confined to her stockade while she learns how to drink milk and settles into her new life. Her name is Ahmed.
A few of our friendliest orphans were chosen to escort the newcomer to the forest. Once there, she was welcomed in the most heart-warming way by the herd. Kinyei, Sileita and Naleku surrounded her gently and made happy rumbling sounds. Later on, Bondeni, Kindani and Naleku were seen running around and whistling and including the baby in their pushing game. It was all to no avail, as Admed continued to munch on her greens in a single-minded manner!
This morning, as the Keepers assembled the orphans to head out into the forest, they noticed that Mageno was missing. The crafty little boy was playing hide and seek again, sneaking off to steal some sugar cane from the new rescue’s stable! He knows that the new babies are fed especially nutritious and delicious food during the training period as they settle into the Nursery.
Mageno was not happy when the Keepers finally found him. He ignored their attempts to usher him out, pretending he could not hear them. He had to be surrounded before he reluctantly agreed to move out of the baby’s stockade and join his friends in the forest. Dragging his heels and in a grump, he set off along the path and soon came across Shujaa whom he promptly pushed over, taking out his frustrations on his friend.
On hearing the commotion, Naleku reacted immediately. She ran towards the two younger orphans, trumpeting and behaving in a protective manner to little Shujaa. Mageno promptly ran away with his tail between his legs – he was not risking a telling off from the mini matriarch!
Nyambeni may be the youngest and smallest elephant in the Nursery but it is easy to forget that she is the baby of the babies. During the public visit today, she finished her own bottle of milk and then trundled over to the red soil for some play time. Soon, Mageno came over to join her and made the mistake of stepping on her tail! There is no messing with this orphan. She drew herself up to her full height, pushed him down and scampered away. When she came across Kitich blocking her path, she knocked him over too. Two unhappy boys and one confident little girl who behaves as if she is a big girl. The Keepers could not help but laugh at her behaviour.
Sweet Kerrio was not in a sociable mood today, rebuffing the blanket babies’ attempts to play the pushing game with her and wandering off on her own. They got the message quite quickly and left her to have a little sulk.
Time is passing and our older orphans are growing up and, at times, almost growing out of the sheltered world of the Nursery. Neshashi, Roho, Oldepe, Lodo and Suguroi are more mature than their peers and, increasingly frequently, are behaving like older teenagers rather than docile children. They can be headstrong, harder to control. They do not always do as they are told, following their Keepers sometimes and heading off on their own at other times. It may make the Keepers’ work more challenging but the shift augurs well for their future lives in the wild.
After a busy day of browsing in the bush today, the Keepers were preparing the orphans to come in for their afternoon milk feeds. Most were behaving obediently but not the five teenagers. Rather than running in for their bottles behind the others, they charged off into the forest, ignoring multiple calls and refusing to return.
With Shujaa in hot pursuit! The little orphan loves to hang out with the big guys and he was determined not to be left behind. Off he ran after them as fast as his little legs would take him, leaving Mzinga and Nyambeni looking bemused. Luckily, the rebellious group soon returned and order was restored.
Bondeni, Taabu and Esoit - three young bulls who have become great mates – woke up in exuberant moods this morning. Esoit’s stockade is at a slight distance from those of Bondeni and Taabu. As soon as his gate was opened, he ran to his friends’ adjoining stables where he waited impatiently for them to be let out. Once all three were out, the pushing game began in earnest – first Esoit and Taabu, then Esoit and Bondeni, then Taabu and Bondeni. They kept it up as they chased each other out into the park.
Meanwhile, Kinyei, Kindani and Naleku were loitering around the new babies’ stockades in the hope of finding some special greens to eat before heading out for the day.
Naleku has always been attracted to the youngest and littlest members of the orphan herd. It seems that Kerrio’s primary place in her affections could be under threat from Nyambeni. Maternal Naleku and confident little Nyambeni are spending lots of time together – today, they were at a distance from the others and the baby was resting her trunk on her older friend and trying to suck her ears.
Today, Roho and Oldepe entertained the herd for hours with sparring games. The pushing and shoving and charging around after each other began as they strode out of their stables and lasted for most of the morning. Everyone else was busy browsing except for these boisterous boys who were having a great time flexing their muscles and challenging each other.
Naleku was looking after the smallest orphans as usual. The difference, today, however, was in Kerrio’s reaction. Rather than getting in the way and chasing the little ones away in an effort to have the older female’s undivided attention, she allowed the babies to stay with Naleku. Kerrio seemed to be embracing Nyambeni, in particular, as her younger sister. In recent days, Mageno, Shujaa and Muridjo have all been being pushed away from Naleku by Kerrio. It was wonderful to watch the change in her behaviour today. Joining the happy mini herd, Suguroi then moved away from the main herd to be with Naleku and the two older females tended to the gaggle of blanket babies.
Weka and Muwingu arrived in the Nursery one day apart but from far-flung areas of Kenya. Nevertheless, the two new babies are bonding beautifully and being very welcoming towards a recently-rescued as yet unnamed orphan. At present, the three little orphans are spending lots of time together – a new gang on the block!
Maxwell was up early today, running up and down in his enclosure. He has a new habit of running out of his stockade in the mornings, loosening the dust with his feet and spreading it everywhere with tremendous enjoyment. His warthog friends join in and together they chase each other around – he trundles as they sprint!
The maternal instincts of most female elephants are evident from a young age but not those of Neshashi. She is a complicated and at times unpredictable young elephant who cannot always be trusted with the little ones. Today, she was unduly rough with them, pushing Shujaa, Muwingu, Kitich and Weka around. Naleku and Kinyei were not putting up with her behaviour, reacting protectively when she shoved one of the blanket babies. Lodo is also quite an independent orphan and her attitude towards the babies is less caring than many of the other females.
During the public visit, Kerrio and Choka were the stars of the mud bath, entertaining the crowd as they wallowed and showed off in the middle of the pool with great gusto. Their performance continued on dry land as they showered themselves with red dust and rumbled happily.
Many of our orphans, especially during the first few months after being rescued, seem to recall painful memories. Today, Shujaa had a difficult day – perhaps he was reliving his past trauma. Although he was fine when he left his stable first thing in the morning, when he arrived in the forest he started to behave strangely. He isolated himself from the herd, moving away before rumbling loudly and running off on his own.
Naleku and Suguroi immediately responded, rumbling back to the little orphan and trying to shepherd him back to the herd. To no avail. The Keepers stepped in, trying to bring him back but they also failed. He just kept running. All the Keepers in the stockades came to help. Eventually, they surrounded him and coaxed him back to his friends with a bottle of milk. He soon settled down and was his old self once more.
Gentle, polite Latika used to be somewhat of a loner but has changed since the arrival of Weka, Kitich and Muwingu. She is really enjoying spending time and caring for the new babies with her usual calm demeanour. Today, however, she was in an agitated mood, rebuffing the little orphans and wanting to be on her own.
This afternoon, another rescue arrived, this time from Nasalot.
Last night was a difficult time, for the new rescue and for some of our older female orphans. After a couple of bottles of drip, the new little boy regained consciousness and started rumbling and trumpeting and wandering around his stockade, possibly in search of his mother. Kinyei, Kindani, Naleku and Sileita quickly responded to the young one’s rumble, rumbling back many times. Kinyei and Naleku tried to force their way out of their own stables to find their way to the little boy. They only settled down after the new elephant finally went to sleep. This morning, as soon as the gates were opened, the older females searched all over the stockades for the new arrival, before being driven to the forest by the Keepers to join the herd.
Neshashi and Sileita have developed rather a noisy habit during milk feeding time, trumpeting every day as they run down to the mud bath. The Keepers are hoping that the habit does not catch on with their friends. Nyambeni is continuing to take the lead among the little ones, running in first for her bottle of milk.
Today, Naleku seemed to feel threatened by Suguroi’s presence around the babies. When Naleku arrived at the mud bath and found Suguroi tending the blanket brigade, she charged at her and drove her away.
Amid the hot dry days, Maxwell is continuing to enjoy his daily mud bath and to kick up and spread around lots of dust in the mornings. Clouds of dust could be seen this morning wafting above his enclosure.
Today, Nyambeni was a little unkind to her best friend Mzinga and to the other babies. Early in the morning, she gave the new baby a small shove because she wanted an extra bottle of milk. At milk feeding time, she ran faster than the others to her bottle, gulped it down and then started fighting the others for extra milk. Maybe she is going through a growth spurt! Interestingly, Naleku is reluctant to tell her off when she is naughty.
Almost all the orphans were wallowing and splashing and playing in the mud bath this afternoon. They were having a great time cooling off on this sunny day, following up their dips with energetic dust dowsing. Suguroi was behaving in such a responsible maternal manner towards the younger orphans. It was great to see affectionate Kerrio so full of energy and strength.
Tingai is such a friendly young chap. During the public viewing, he likes to move along the rope cordon and greet the guests. They love saying hi to him and giving him a little stroke. Recently, he has formed a strong friendship with Rafiki. The two orphans are young boys of a similar age and character but differ in ways – Tingai is more independent, happy to head off on his own especially later in the afternoons, and Rafiki is quite timid, although less so that when he first arrived at the Nursery.
After enjoying an afternoon wallow in the mud bath, Kinyei and Taabu led the others in to the forest for an early evening browse. Ziwadi alone chose to stay behind, contentedly hanging out and munching on some greens around the mud bath. But it was not long before she trundled off after the others.
Roho is our oldest and strongest young bull. Today, he was behaving very well - chilling happily with Taabu and Bondeni and not feeling the need to assert himself by throwing his weight around. Sometimes, he can be quite tricky as he is so strong, daring even to push Oldepe and Esoit around.
Today was a day of individual orphans doing their own thing! The morning began well – everyone was happy and healthy and full of energy as they set off from the stockades for the forest.
Everyone that is except for Zawadi. She stayed at the stockades and went around every trough playing with the water. To do this, she uses her mouth as she still has not yet mastered sucking and squirting with her little trunk. She was having a lovely time. A Keeper stayed behind to keep an eye on her until she was ready to head out.
Then, straight after the morning milk feed, Sileita and Choka disappeared! They quietly snuck off on their own into the forest, leaving the herd for a little adventure. The Keepers headed off in hot pursuit, following their trail through the bushes. It is unusual for orphans to wander away from the herd. They were found an hour later, heading home for their bottles of milk. Rumbling tummies had put paid to the adventure!
Naleku is a budding matriarch especially during milk feeding times and forest excursions. Today, she patiently wandered along behind Nyambeni and Mzinga to protect them from any threats and make them feel secure. In contrast, Neshashi is full of an independent energy and struggles to share. This morning, she was determined to find an extra bottle for herself and did her best to grab one with her trunk. There is no holding back this young lady!
Later in the morning during the public viewing, Esoit was in such a playful mood. First, he got stuck into a rowdy pushing game with Oldepe and then he started spraying dust all over some of the guests! Finally, to everyone’s surprise, he strolled around the rope cordon as if ready to play games with the visitors. The Keepers moved in quickly to calm him down as he is a powerful young bull who does not know his own strength.
It was a colder day so none of the orphans had a wallow, preferring instead to munch their greens and cover themselves in dust.
This morning, Maxwell woke up in a strange mood. Instead of playing in the dust, he just moved slowly around his stable before plodding over to the gate and standing still facing the orphans’ stockades. One of the Keepers noticed him gazing at the pile of pellets in the adjacent stockade. He opened the gate to let him through. Maxwell immediately cheered up, trundled over to his favourite food and got stuck in. He had just been hungry!
Once again, Nyambeni charged in at the head of the line of small orphans for her bottle at milk feeding time. Gulping it down, she turned to her friends and started pulling them in the hope of being given extra milk. The Keepers were kind but firm with her, recognising that she is a headstrong child who needs clear boundaries!
Choka was in a really playful mood today, making the visitors laugh during the afternoon visit. On arrival at the mud bath, he had an energetic wallow before covering himself in dust and rolling around in the mud. Meanwhile, Bondeni and Taabu was busy sparring, testing each other’s strength on the other side of the wallow.
This morning was exciting! Out in the forest at the start of the day, the orphan herd came across two buffaloes crossing the road and walking towards them. Widespread panic ensued, with individuals running off in all directions and the herd splitting up into lots of splinter groups and the tiny orphans visibly scared. Sensible Ziwadi quietly made her way back to the stockades as her friends charged off into the bush. Order was soon restored by the Keepers who regrouped the elephants and restarted the day.
After the morning milk feed, the Keepers led Neshashi, Olorien, Naleku, Kinyei and Kindani back to the stockades. It was time for them to welcome the new baby and to escort him to the forest. The little boy has finished his training and is ready to join the herd! All our rescues spend their first days or weeks confined to their stable as they settle into the Nursery, recover physically and mentally from their ordeals, learn how to drink milk from a bottle and get to know the Keepers. The big girls led him out and surrounded him protectively in the forest as he officially joined the herd. A particularly lovely moment on the last day of the month!