The month began with a fully-charged mud bath. Even Ndotto, who doesn’t love wallowing these days, made an exception. In fact, he was the chief guest, lying right in the middle of the water. Aruba was delighted with this plot twist, knowing how rare it is for Ndotto to partake in the mud bath, and dove in next to him, her ears flapping in excitement.
After feeding on the supplement food was mostly over, Sagala decided to roll on the ground. She looked like she was having a great time – happy and content with having finished her breakfast and feeling full. She also seemed to be trying to lure some of her other friends to play with her, but they just ignored her and carried on collecting up the last of the lucerne pellets. Rorogoi went over to the rock which is the most favourite for the orphans to scratch against, close to the biggest stockade, and enjoyed scratching the whole of her body there, while Mudanda scratched against one of the terrace walls, before inviting Arruba for a sparring game right there.
The orphan elephants then took off to the browsing grounds and settled halfway up the western side of Msinga Hill. They browsed in single-file before coming down the hill at midday so the milk-dependent orphans could have their next milk feed. Lasayen, Pika Pika and Godoma were in the first group. Once all the orphans had their milk they went down to the water trough beside the baobab for a fresh drink of water, but chose not to wallow today as it was quite cloudy.
The stockade dependent orphans were out parading around the feeding area after their morning milk feed this morning. Embu, Emoli, Tagwa and Tamiyoi were among the first orphans to have their bottles, before moving on to the lucerne feeding area.
Ngilai and Emoli started off their usual sparring games while Pika Pika went for an early morning dust bath. When they were ready, the orphans left for the bush under the leadership of Tagwa, Juni and Tamiyoi.
Later in the morning we witnessed a wonderful and fully charged mud bath after the 11am milk feed. Ndotto, who doesn’t seem to like mud bathing these days, made an exception today and was the chief guest, lying right in the middle of the water where he really enjoyed rolling around. Arruba was happy that Ndotto was mud bathing today and came running over to join him all excited, playing and rolling about with him in the water. When she was done swimming, she came out of the mud bath and went over to one of the depressions in the earth the orphans have made from dust bathing and rolled about there to dry off before joining the rest of her friends.
The orphans were enjoying playing in the compound this morning and we watched as they ran about, playing hide and seek games, whilst others chased after and scattered the troop of baboons who had come down the hill to try and collect up any spare lucerne pellets the orphans left behind. The orphans carried on with their fun and games even as they made their way out to the bush, chasing one another, but as soon as they reached the area they wanted to start browsing in, they settled down for the better half of the morning.
After the noon milk feed, the Voi orphans went for a drink from the baobab tree water trough and then for a mud bath. Lasayen was the most impressive one rolling about in the water today, which made Murit rather jealous. He came over and lay on top off Lasayen, impairing his movements and spoiling his game.
Later in the afternoon the orphans came back to the stockade compound to fetch the new orphans Dabida and Hildana to browse with them for the rest of the afternoon. Mbegu kept close watch over them and stayed close to them as all the orphans enjoyed some supplement range cubes. Ndotto chose to stay close to Mbegu as well, and subsequently Hildana and Dadiba. Mbegu kept glancing at Ndotto, sending him a signal that he could stay browsing with them, but he must do so peacefully around the new babies, and not start any funny business. The orphan elephants later walked back out to the bush to continue with their usual afternoon of browsing.
Ngilai wanted to play with Emoli this morning and he was chasing him around the stockade compound wrestling and initiating pushing matches. Ndotto felt like playing as well and went over to Mudanda, who was busy feeding on pellets from the feeding trough, and Mudanda was all too happy to accept his invitation to play.
Sagala went to scratch against the twin trees while Ndotto also scratched against the orphans’ favourite rock. Tagwa went for a drink of water from the trough alongside Juni, Dabida and Hildana, spending a substantial amount of time there. It seems they wanted to have their fill of water before setting out to begin their day of browsing.
After browsing for over four hours this morning, Ndotto decided to try and woo Lemeki into a sparring match. His methods succeeded and the two enjoyed a gentle pushing game for quite some time, with Ndotto making sure not to be too rough with the young Lemeki.
Later the orphans went for their noon milk feed, followed by a mud bath beside the baobab tree, before continuing with their afternoon of browsing.
After the morning feed, the stockade dependent orphans decided to play for a while in the stockade compound. Juni went to scratch her itchy bottom against one of the stockade terraces, with Ngilai coming up behind her to watch her enjoy her scratching session. Juni suspected that Ngilai might have some other motive of trying to wrestle with her or climb on her back, so she decided to move away before the mischievous bull could try anything.
The Voi orphans then left the compound to begin their usual day out in the Park, walking along the rocky Msinga hill to the open plains. At 11am the orphans walked down to the milk feeding area and later down to the mud wallow beside the baobab tree. Mudanda and Suswa led the older orphans to the water trough to have a drink first.
Godoma was one of the first into the mud bath and was excitedly splashing about everywhere. All her running and splashing made Arruba decide to leave a little early, where she met with Mbegu at the water’s edge rolling on the ground to dry off. Suswa joined Godoma in her wallowing fun, before coming out and striking some poses at the edge of the waterhole. Ndotto had a good time in the mud wallow with Mudanda. Suswa and Mudanda then went for a drink from the water trough. When all the others had left the mud bath, Arruba decided to get back in, along with Embu, Ndotto and Pika Pika, and the four enjoyed a quiet mud bath to themselves. Eventually Ndotto couldn’t help himself and he invited Arruba for a sparring game inside the mud hole. He dominated the game, forcing Arruba to give up and leave the water. Eventually Ndotto was the only one left in the water, which he didn’t like, and he came running out to join Arruba, Embu and Pika Pika at the water trough while the rest of their friends had already started with their afternoon of browsing out across the grassy plains.
It was another bright day without a cloud in the sky and sadly no sign of rain anytime soon. The sun was already out and beating down while the orphans frolicked around the Voi compound.
Later we found Ndotto rolling around in some loose soil within an erosion gulley on the hillside. Rorogoi spent some quality time with Murit; they held trunks and patted each other affectionately. Ndotto sauntered over and decided to interrupt their special time by inviting Rorogoi to a wrestling game, which didn’t last long. Emoli and Pika Pika had a nice time bonding together too, while they browsed.
The orphans were full of excitement on the way down the hill to their midday milk feed. Lasayen took on Murit in a sparring game as they walked, while Emoli engaged Tamiyoi in a pushing match, but Tamiyoi pulled away and walked off, too eager for her milk bottles. Emoli, still hyper, decided to go to little Thamana and challenge him to a sparring match instead. Thamana, eager to please, decided to give in to Emoli but he didn’t entertain him for long, as he too was eager for his milk feed. As the first group finished their bottles, Ndotto and Mudanda decided to have a short pushing game to pass the time while they waited their turn.
A wild family of elephants arrived at the baobab tree mud bath with a tiny baby and interacted with the orphans. After mud wallowing, Murit enjoyed a good scratch again the baobab tree while Ngilai rolling on the ground to have a dust bath and dry off. Godoma was off to the side on the grassy plains already, kneeling and digging for some roots with her tiny little tusks. The orphans then continued with their usual afternoon routine and returned to the stockades at 5pm.
The sun was already rising high as the orphans relished in their usual breakfast routine of milk bottles, pellets and lucerne grass. Juni was being bossy at the pellet feeding trough and bullying little Thamana, but Mbegu and Sagala were there to act as umpires of the whole situation. Pika Pika and Arruba were sharing lucerne together, while Lemeki and Tamiyoi went for an early morning dust bath. Ngilai and his favorite playmate Emoli were having a good time sparring, so when Lasayen came over to disrupt the game Emoli was very unhappy. He pushed Lasayen in a rage, who soon decided to leave as Emoli clearly wasn’t in the mood to be tangled with.
The orphans left for their daily bushwalks and settled to browse on the western side of Msinga Hill overlooking the baobab tree mud wallow. In the afternoon the orphans resumed browsing as soon as they had their milk feed, without wallowing today.
After the morning milk feed, the orphans walked out for their daily browsing session. Embu, Arruba and Pika Pika climbed up Msinga Hill in search of fresh foliage. Mbegu stayed further down the hill with her younger group including Juni, Tagwa, Lemeki and Tamiyoi, while little Thamana chose to accompany Mudanda up the hill.
In the afternoon, Suswa ran down the hill to the water trough beside the baobab tree. Ndotto decided to go for a mud bath and splashed muddy water everything, and later scratched and rolled at the edge of the mud wallow. Suswa came to roll there too with Embu. Lasayen scratched on a tree stump while not far away Mudanda was enjoying a dust bath, digging down at the ground with her strong tusks to churn up more loose soil.
At around 3pm we received a call from our Kaluku Field HQ regarding an elephant that had collapsed on the Ndara plains next to Kijito water pump. We left the compound in a hurry to rescue the orphaned baby that had been spotted all alone. Upon arriving we found the baby in a terrible way and lying in a completely collapsed state. We quickly administered a drip and loaded the elephant into the car and brought him back to the Voi stockades. Unfortunately, the calf died later in the night.
Ndotto was making a spectacle of himself this morning pulling funny poses in the compound as the rest of the herd were enjoying their morning breakfast routine of supplement feeding. Ngilai scratched on the twin trees as Godoma chose to scratch on one of the boulders in the compound. The orphan elephants later left for the bush after playing and feeding.
The situation of the orphan elephant rescued in Ndara yesterday sadly continued to decline and even after administering several drips and trying to revive him, he succumbed at around 10am.
The orphans continued with their normal browsing routine and visited the baobab tree water hole in the afternoon after milk feeding close by. After a wonderful afternoon mud bath, Thamana went to fit into one of the small depressions eroded by the orphans to roll and play. Mudanda, his adopted older sister, and Rorogoi both mistakenly thought that he was stuck in that small hole and came over to try and help him up, only to find that he was happily playing. When Thamana was done the two girls escorted him to where their friends were leaving to continue with their afternoon of browsing.
After the morning milk feed the orphans proceeded to go and feed on their supplements of lucerne grass and range cubes. Ngilai went to play next to the twin trees in the compound. He proceeded to take his games a step further and tried to test his strength against the trunk of that tree, trying to push it down, but without success. Godoma was standing on top of one of the stockade terraces overlooking Ngilai’s efforts while scratching on some rocks at the same time. She seemed to have a smile on her face as she watched Ngilai trying to push the tree down without success!
The orphans had a peaceful morning browsing along Msinga Hill, visiting the water hole later in the morning after the dependent orphans had their milk feed. After the whole herd returned to the Voi compound to collect the new orphans Hildana, Kenderi and Dabida, with Mbegu taking the three to fill their tummies with some range cube supplements.
Another young elephant was spotted all alone by one of the Trust pilots on patrol along a very bushy area of the Voi River. However, when the Voi rescue team arrived on the ground the young elephant joined up with a wild elephant herd and the rescue operation was halted so that the ground teams could monitor and observe in case that was the baby’s original natal herd.
The morning was calm with the orphan elephants leaving the compound soon after the milk and supplement feeding to make the best of the first light of day to browse in the bush. After browsing for a couple of hours, Emoli stood on a rock to take advantage over Ngilai in their sparring match, which they had missed out on in the compound this morning. Mudanda was busy taking on Ndotto in a similar sparring match. This game went on and on and eventually Mudanda became exhausted and went to seek refuge by hiding behind a bush. She kept hitting the bush with her forehead, sending threatening signals to her opponent Ndotto.
Later in the afternoon, a female orphaned elephant baby was found and reported by the Mwatate sisal estate management. The female was about one and a half years old, so the Voi rescue team was mobilized. The young elephant was most likely a victim of this terrible ongoing drought and was rescued and brought back to the Voi stockades. We called her Baraka. She arrived as the Voi dependent orphans also arrived back from their day in the Park and Tamiyoi went over to greet her, extending a warm welcoming trunk touch to offer the young baby some reassurance.
After enjoying some supplement pellets for a while this morning, Murit walked back into his stockade to relax and scratch on some rocks while his friends continued feeding on the lucerne supplement. Tamiyoi rolled on the pile of loose soil kept topped up in the stockade compound, while Tagwa and Sagala stood behind her enjoying a dust bath by throwing soil on themselves with their trunks. Sagala then decided to lie down to roll like Tamiyoi. Ngilai stood at the edge of one of the terraces posing and stretching, just minding his own business and relacing. A little later Emoli came over to interrupt his peaceful moment and pick on Ngilai for a wrestling match. Emoli then went on to initiate a pushing game with Godoma, while Tagwa picked on Ndotto in yet another sparring match.
After quite a long period of silence while Mudanda was committed to nurturing her new little friend Thamana, this morning she decided to leave him in the company of Sagala and engage her old friend Ndotto in a fun wrestling match.
After a brief mud bath in the afternoon, Suswa went on for a soil dusting session in a small depression. Embu stood patiently close by and waited a long time for her own turn, but eventually she gave up and took off to join her friends moving ahead with browsing.
This afternoon we sadly had two rescues: an orphan elephant from Taita Ranch and another one from Mwatate sistal estate who was rescued and brought in by the sisal estate rangers. Unfortunately both orphans were too far gone and did not make it.
Thankfully it was a cool morning today. Mudanda walked at a fast pace to try and catch up with Hildana in an effort to take some lucerne grass that she had in her mouth.
Hildana walked at an even faster pace in a bid to outrun Mudanda and managed to safeguard her bunch of the lucerne, moving to a private area and feasting on it all to herself.
In another encounter, Rorogoi and Pika Pika chased after Dabida, each of them wanting the honour of looking after her. They managed to sandwich her between them, but it was very confusing who was in charge, and they left the compound in a state of confusion. Mbegu noticed how the tree elephants were sprinting out and came over to assume control, allowing for a more peaceful interaction between Dabida and the other two.
After the noon milk feed, the orphan elephants then went to drink clean water from the baobab tree water trough and for a mud bath.
Soon a wild elephant herd arrived which prompted Tamiyoi and Godoma to move to the front to receive and welcome them and invite them to join them at the baobab tree water hole paradise. When the orphans were done, they left the wild herd drinking water and continued with their normal browsing bush walks.
The orphan elephants congregated in the lucerne grass feeding area in the morning after the milk and the range cubes feeding. Mudanda is unable to hide her joy and love for Thamana, which is incredibly sweet to witness. She took a bunch of lucerne grass and lifted it up to sample it before offering it to her darling Thamana. Thamana rumbled in appreciation, stuffing it into his mouth and feasting on it. Mudanda seems to have assumed full management of Thamana these days, completely usurping his old friend Lemeki. As a result, Lemeki has been seeking new friendships — mainly with the Keepers! Sometimes she does manage to spend a bit of quality time with Thamana, when Mudanda is occupied elsewhere, but other times she remains with the Keepers or in the company of Mbegu.
Today sadly the elephant we rescued on the 12th of this month passed away, but it wasn’t long before we had to rescue another orphaned elephant from Rukinga. We went to collect the new baby from their airstrip after the orphan was rescued and brought there by the Rukinga rangers. We named the orphan Jabali.
Another female orphaned elephant found in a totally collapsed state was brought to the stockade compound after it was rescued by Mwatate sisal estate rangers in the evening, and we administered a drip straight away.
It was a busy morning today as we have rescued a lot of new orphaned elephants recently because of the ongoing drought — our stockades are almost at capacity, though we are making more room! The latest arrivals to join the dependent herd, Akina and Kenderi, are doing well and bonding well with the other dependent orphans. Interestingly Tahri is showing quite a few motherly traits and is being very protective of Kenderi – it is sweet to see the two apparently developing quite a strong bond.
The orphans left the compound for their daily browsing routine. Tagwa is being quite overprotective of Juni and she is always jealous when Juni picks Mbegu to spend time with, over her, leaving her quite upset.
Mudanda spent the better part of the morning browsing alongside Thamana and Godoma. Feisty Emoli invited his best friend Ngilai for a sparring game which Pika Pika ended up interrupting.
After the noon milk feed the orphans proceeded to the lucerne feeding area in the bush for their afternoon supplement treat, before walking back up the Msinga Hill to browse.
Later in the afternoon we received a call from the KWS senior warden regarding an elephant baby that had been found collapsed along the water pipeline road. We immediately left the compound fully equipped with rescue and resuscitation gear, but unfortunately the elephant died before we could get there. It was a teenage male elephant about twelve years old.
Suswa was bounding around the compound this morning, playing with a branch, while Lasayen stood posing with his left foot up on a rock. Arruba stood enjoying some lucerne pellets to herself, before following Tamiyoi and Emoli who were leading the way out to the begin their browsing day.
Later just before the 11am milk feed, a herd of buffaloes arrived at the baobab tree water trough to quench their thirst; they seemed to have travelled from quite far away. When the elephant orphans arrived however, even though the two animal species seem to have a peaceful co- existence in the wild, the buffaloes respectfully stepped back and waited for the orphans to have their time at the water trough. Arruba was picking on the thirsty buffaloes and kept on stirring the water with her front leg making it dirty and chasing the buffaloes away from the trough as well. Tamiyoi went to scratch on the baobab tree while Embu decided to lie down for a nap at the edge of the mud bath after a productive mud wallowing session with her friend Suswa, who stayed in the water for a bit longer, rolling, splashing, and posing. Ngilai and Lasayen enjoyed a wrestling game before following their friends out to continue browsing.
The orphan who arrived from the Mwatate estate sadly collapsed and died today, along with Jabali who died later in the afternoon after not responding to drips and all our desperate attempts to resuscitate him.
As Sagala and Tagwa took the lead of the herd out to the bush this morning, Ndotto and Lasayen decided to hang back in the stockades for a while, cleaning up all the leftovers, before finally setting off.
The orphans settled to browse on the rocky side of Msinga Hill, with some choosing to walk up to the peak in search of fresh greens.
Just before 11am the Keepers called down the orphans down and they came running quickly but carefully, so the milk-dependent babies could have their milk feed. Then both herds walked down to drink some water together. None of the orphans wanted to wallow today and they immediately set off back up the hill to continue browsing while the Keepers had their lunch. Murit and Lasayen stayed for a while at the water trough before slowly following their friends.
Later in the afternoon we received a report about an orphan elephant with her trunk almost cut in half by a wire snare from the Rukinga scouts on Rukinga Ranch. She was picked up by the stockade rescue team and brought back to Voi compound. We named her Ashanti.
We had the most unexpected and sensational happy morning today when ex-orphan Mweya, her first born baby Mwitu and a two-week-old new bouncing baby boy arrived at the stockade compound! We were quite surprised to see Mweya during the height of the dry season and couldn’t believe they had made it all the way to the stockades, especially with a newborn. We named the new magical calf, Mojo.
Mweya arrived at the stockade compound very early in the morning when it was still dark, along with Mwitu, Mojo, and Edie's calf, Eden. The Voi dependent orphans were very happy to see the ex-orphans and as soon as they were done with their milk feed they launched a big receiving party for Mweya, rumbling, trumpeting and tenderly touching the new baby – there seemed to be more than twenty trunks touching Mojo at once! Each one wanted to be Mojo’s nanny and were vying for that opportunity, but all were met with opposition from his big sister Mwitu, who was a little jealous and fought to keep everyone away from her little brother. Eden was also helping Mwitu to keep the orphans away as much as possible.
Lots of very green lucerne grass, pellets and range cubes were offered to Mweya and her entire family as a treat. The Voi orphan elephants refused to begin their day out in the Park either, preferring to stay around Mweya and Mojo close to the compound throughout the day.
Rorogoi, Arruba, Embu, Tahri and Pika Pika assembled at the top of one of the stockade terraces enjoying their supplement food. Tagwa seems to have a soft spot for Juni and took up position next to her while they too enjoyed some supplements. Araba approached them in a jealous mood, but Mbegu intervened and, to our eyes, had a calm and extensive conversation with Tagwa about the way forward, and they seemed to come to some unanimous agreement before proceeding to the browsing grounds; Tagwa walked out with Juni by her side and Mbegu walked with Arruba.
The new arrivals Dabida, Hildana and Kenderi were centerstage this morning as the friendly duo Sagala and Tamiyoi tried their luck to win them over and become their closest friends.
An orphan elephant was spotted by one of the Trust pilots on patrol over the Tsavo River in Tsavo West, reported to be in a complete state of collapse. We immediately mounted a rescue and upon reaching the poor elephant we administered drips to resuscitate her, but sadly she didn’t survive the night.
The morning routine went about as usual with the orphans enjoying their milk and supplements, before playing some games in the compound. Suswa took up her position early, rubbing against one of the twin tree trunks. Murit and Rorogoi followed her to do the same. Godoma and Embu then followed, each taking up their preferred position to relief whatever itch was ailing them against the tree trunks. Arruba was over at the stockade compound fence line, harvesting some acacia branches from the other side, with her adopted baby Pika Pika standing calmy under her head and neck.
The orphan elephants then walked out to the bush for the beginning of their busy day, along with ex-orphans Mweya, Mwitu, Mojo, and Eden, who they met with along the way. The ex-orphans followed them and joined them briefly before later returning to the Voi compound for some tasty supplements.
At 6am the orphans started banging on the stockade gates to be opened. When the Keepers came to let them out Tamiyoi sprinted out to the feeing area, followed closely by Lemeki and Thamana who came third, rumbling all the way.
After the morning feed, the orphans left the compound for the browsing fields. There wasn’t much activity this morning, as the orphans paired up with their favourite friends and got stuck into browsing together. Pika Pika and Arruba, who are always seen together, looked inseparable as the two browsed side by side. Emoli was with his best friend Ngilai and Murit teamed up with Lasayen to calmly browse at the foot of Msinga Hill.
Later in the day after the mud wallowing session, the orphans resumed browsing while making their way to the lucerne feeding area out in the Park, which the Keepers make sure to continue while we are in the midst of this drought as it is becoming harder to find something to eat and for the orphans to fill their tummies.
Later in the afternoon an orphaned female elephant was found on the Taita sisal estate, and the stockade rescue team departed quickly as time is of the essence for these poor drought victims. The 18-month-old calf was brought back to the compound and placed in one of the stockades where her head was supported up as we administered drips straight away, for she was very thin and dehydrated. We called her Busara.
It was a busy milk and the supplement feeding session this morning as ex-orphan Mweya her babies were present too. Mojo was of course the centre of attention. The orphans then left the compound without playing so as to catch up with the first light of the day.
After concentrating on browsing for most of the morning, a few orphans decided to take a break from browsing to play. Ngilai of course set off in search of his best friend Emoli, for not a day can pass without these two engaging in some kind of playing game. Lasayen decided to take a break to enjoy scratching against a big boulder he came across. He then stopped to pick up quite a sizeable rock which he carried in his trunk, to show off his strength to all his friends. Quite unusually, as Lasayen doesn’t normally initiate games, he then walked over to Ndotto to invite him to a sparring match. It seems Lasayen was in the mood to show off his strength today!
Later in the day after the noon milk feed, Suswa decided to stay longer in the mud bath than all the others, diving and rolling around. Tamiyoi went to sit on the ground for a dust bath. Arruba, Tahri, and Sagala went back to join a female wild elephant and her teenage calf drinking from the water trough, before catching up with their friends leaving for browsing.
It was a wonderful beginning of the day. Mweya and her family walked off into the Park yesterday evening, and then returned to the compound this morning with another ex-orphan boy, Nguvu! Nguvu went wild some time back and joined up with a herd of wild elephants, although sometimes he can be spotted coming to drink water at the baobab tree water hole. Nguvu was looking really well considering the dry conditions at the moment, and his beautiful long tusks for an elephant his age are amazing to behold. Mudanda and Tahri went to welcome Nguvu, inviting him to enjoy the lucerne grass and range cube supplements.
Later the dependent Voi orphans under the leadership of Sagala and Tagwa left Nguvu, Tahri and Mweya’s herd behind as they walked off into the Park to begin their day of browsing, as they were still feeding on the supplements in the compound.
Mweya’s herd and Nguvu left later in the day with Tahri, but by the time all the dependent orphans returned later in the afternoon, Nguvu and Tahri were missing. Tahri had evidently left with Nguvu to join up with his wild elephant herd who he has been spending time with. We will have to see if and when she chooses to return. At seven years old, she is a good age to go wild. With the ‘streetwise’ boy Nguvu by her side, she will be okay, although we will keep an eye out for her, of course.
Ngilai was in an excitable mood this morning. He ran up and down the compound trumpeting and interrupting all the other orphans who were busy feeding. Emoli went up to him and engaged him in a wrestling game, perhaps hoping this might take some of his energy and calm him down a bit! Little Kenderi, who is a newer member to the Voi orphan family having been rescued just in August, was confused by all the excitement and ran to find his friend Akina (rescued last month on the 8th September). They both walked to link up with Hildana and Dabida.
Juni spent her morning with Mbegu, Sagala and Tagwa as they joined their friends in their routine browsing session throughout the morning.
At 11am the milk-dependent orphans went for their milk feed and then proceeded down to the mud wallow. Embu, Pika Pika, Arruba, Godoma and Suswa were the first in the water and had a great time wallowing. Rorogoi stood watching from the sidelines as she likes having the mud bath all to herself, and as soon as Pika Pika and her group left the water Rorogoi made her way in. She stayed there right up until all her friends had walked off back up the hill to continue browsing, and she had to run out to catch up with them.
The Voi dependent orphans left the compound for the bush early this morning, leaving the ex-orphans in Mweya’s herd behind in the stockade compound. They lifted their trunks up in the air, requesting more supplement food from the Voi Keepers!
The orphans settled on the open grasslands under the shadow of Msinga Hill. Ndotto and Mudanda took a break from browsing to have a wrestling match, but Ndotto was outplayed and ended up losing! Thamana was with Suswa, who he often spends time with whenever Mudanda is occupied elsewhere, as well as Sagala. Juni interacted with the new members of the Voi herd, Kenderi and Akina, as they all browsed throughout the morning towards the baobab tree water hole.
After the milk feed today the orphans decided to head back to the Voi compound for some extra supplemental food today. When they arrived, they found ex-orphan Mweya there with her herd. Her baby Mojo jumped into the stockade water trough and found it hard to get out as he is so small. Pika Pika and Sagala tried to help the baby out but they couldn’t, and all this time Mweya was just busy minding her own business not paying attention to what was going on. Mojo finally found his feet and came out successfully, which is perhaps why Mweya was just ignoring him and not panicking, as she knew he could get out!
The orphans continued their afternoon in the company of Mweya’s herd and they all browsed together. Later two wild elephants came through to the stockade water trough to drink water after browsing up on the hill for most of the day. It wasn’t long before they found the lucerne pellet leftovers which they thoroughly enjoyed as well.
It was quite a chilly morning today for a change as the Voi orphans went about their morning breakfast routine. Suswa was posing and relaxing on one of the terraces, while Mudanda, Thamana and Godoma enjoyed some lucerne pellets below her. Ndotto and Mudanda took each other on in a sparring game while Lemeki and her friend Tamiyoi enjoyed an early morning dust bath.
Despite the colder weather Ngilai and Embu decided to have a splash about in the stockade mud bath, as if to wake themselves up ready to begin their day. Suddenly Rorogoi became all hyper and started running around trumpeting. She was joined by Lemeki and Lasayen, before they all ran to the pile of loose soil to enjoy a dust bath together. Ndotto decided to use the opportunity to climb on Rorogoi while she was rolling on the loose earth, but she didn’t seem to mind too much. The Voi orphans then left the compound to begin their day of browsing, which took place all day to the north of Msinga Hill.
Ndotto and Mudanda were enjoying their usual sparring game in the compound after finishing their lucerne pellets and dairy cubes. Elsewhere, Ngilai was sparring — but not with Emoli for once, but Murit instead. The two really had a good time pushing each other around the compound. Embu was having an early morning dust bath to dry off after a quick splash in the stockade mud wallow. As she walked away, Suswa took her place on the loose soil for her own dust bath. She really loved the dusting activity and took her time rolling and posing. Pike Pika joined Suswa for a bit, but Murit came over to try and climb on her which annoyed her. Ndotto and Arruba decided to copy Embu and went for an early morning mud bath in the stockade mud wall. Ndotto then got out and walked off, leaving Arruba alone in the water. Pika Pika went and did her best to try and stretch her trunk over the electric fence to reach some tasty acacia branches on the other side.
Mbegu took it upon herself to be the head of the welcoming committee for Kilulu, a new male member of the orphan herd rescued from Lualeni Ranch on the 30th September and now a member of the Voi orphan family. Mbegu escorted Kilulu to join the rest of the herd in the compound, where Kilulu spent time bonding with different orphans while in the lucerne pellet feeding area. Sagala, one of the orphans with a strong maternal instinct, linked up with the young boy to spend time with him, before Mbegu came to take over again.
In the afternoon we received a call from the SWT/KWS Tsavo vet team about a young elephant baby around two years of age whose mother had just died and who subsequently needed rescuing in Sobo, along the Galana River. The Voi rescue team left immediately for the site to rescue the calf and safely return her to the Voi stockades. The young boy was named Epiya.
The Voi orphans were going about their morning routine as usual. Mudanda seemed to be in a bad mood for some reason, like she often used to be, and was bossing others around the compound and being a bit of a bully towards some of the youngsters. Ndotto recognized this old behaviour of hers and went to engage her in a wrestling game instead! Rorogoi was enjoying an early morning mud bath and Murit came to join her, but Rorogoi put up a fight to stop Murit from being able to enter the water, for Rorogoi always likes to mud bath alone! Murit, being a calm and peaceful elephant, just walked away without causing any trouble. Instead, he went to invite his friend Ngilai for a pushing match beside the water trough. When she was done, Rorogoi came out of the mud wallow and went straight to the red earth piles for a dust bath to dry off. She rolled around for ages and came away looking all orangey-red in colour, the colour of red clay earth.
The orphans then left the compound for the browsing fields and settled at the foot of Msinga Hill, slowly making their way throughout the morning towards the baobab tree water hole.
Later in the afternoon we were called to rescue a female orphan elephant from the Mwatate sisal estate again. The orphan elephant was weak and thin but started to recuperate under the care of the Keepers at the Voi. We called her Pusa.
The most recent orphans to join with the Voi dependent herd (while many others still recuperate in the stockades) Hildana, Kilulu and Dabida, stood socializing in the company of the older female orphans like Mbegu and Sagala this morning, who are most affectionate and keen to look after any youngsters. They have strong maternal feelings these two, and always show love and care to other babies. Mbegu was the matriarch of the Nursery herd when she was there, a few years back now!
Kilulu, the latest addition to the herd, is bonding nicely with his newfound family and friends. Despite a slow start while he recuperated from his terrible ordeal suffering from the drought and losing his family, he has shown much improvement.
Pika Pika was having fun on the loose earth, rolling about and throwing soil everywhere with her adopted mother, Arruba. Ngilai and Emoli played their usual pushing games while Mudanda scratched against the trunk of the twin trees.
The orphans then left the stockade compound to begin their day of browsing out in the Park. They returned to the stockade compound for the midday milk feed, before climbing up the hill for the afternoon browsing session. The Keepers didn’t want the orphans to have to walk too far with all the new additions to the Voi family who are still putting on condition. As the orphans maneuvered their way up the hill in search of fresh foliage, Hildana and Dabida climbed along at the back, while Mbegu remained at the foot of the hill with Juni, Kenderi and Akina.
It was another cold morning today as heavy pregnant clouds filled the sky which we hope is a sign of rain to come. The Voi dependent orphans were hanging out in the compound playing and bonding with one another after their breakfast. Embu and Rorogoi were feeding on dairy cubes.
All the new orphan babies Hildana, Dabida, Kenderi, Akina and Kilulu spent time together bonding with one another. Rorogoi stood relaxing and scratching her bottom on the terrace wall while Ndotto and Thamana went to join Embu and Rorogoi feeding on dairy cubes. Lasayen was once again in a rare playful mood and engaged Godoma in a sparring game beside the stockade mud hole. Murit came over to ruin the game however by climbing on Lasayen to assert his dominance, and Godoma walked away. Ngilai came charging over to engage Lasayen in another wrestling game while he was sitting down by the mud hole. Lasayen quickly got to his feet and continued his sparring match with Ngilai. It seems all the boys have suddenly noticed that Lasayen is in a playful mood these days and want to play with him and see who is stronger! Sagala was spotted stretching her trunk to feed on the acacia branches on the other side of the fence.
Tamiyoi and Lemeki led the way out to the browsing fields to the west of Msinga Hill where the orphans spent the morning browsing on the open grasslands up to the midday milk feed.
The orphans came out of their night stockades to socialize and play before beginning their day out in the Park. Some were busy feeding on lucerne grass while others like Ndotto decided to play. Ndotto engaged Mudanda in an exciting wrestling game, before sitting down to pose for the Keeper holding the camera! Embu, on the other side of the compound, was climbing up the terrace wall.
The orphans visited the baobab tree water hole after the midday milk feed and had a very brief mud bath.
Later in the afternoon we received a report of a male orphan elephant on the Mwatate sisal estate again, from the sanctuary management. The stockade rescue team was mobilized and because it was a young elephant it was airlifted to the Nairobi Nursery.
The poor elephant was very thin and had lost a lot of condition, with a lot of worms visible in his stools.