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Early this morning, our youngest orphans had a disagreement over some little branches. Mischievous Kapei was trying to steal them from Amali’s stockade, which neighbours his. Amali wasn’t ready to eat the greens yet, but that didn’t mean that she wanted Kapei to have them. As soon as she saw Kapei trying to sneak his trunk into her room, Amali hit him with her trunk until he retreated. Amali stood firmly on guard, ensuring her greens were not invaded again.

Enkesha, in her room, had a similar situation with Maktao, who was also trying to steal from her. Enkesha, who never fights back when wronged, looked to the Keepers for support. When the Keepers saw what was happening, they came to help our humble girl. Maktao knew he was in the wrong and quickly moved to the opposite corner, perhaps trying to claim innocence. The Keepers took back the branches Maktao had taken and returned them to Enkesha, leaving her to enjoy her food without further trouble.

We wonder if Enkesha was still upset about the incident, because when the elephants came out in the morning, she didn’t join her ‘brothers,’ Kiombo and Maktao. Instead, she walked to the springs with Lima Lima and Zongoloni.

Sonje and the other nightclubbers joined the orphans today, but they were very late. When they arrived, they found that the other babies had already gone to the hills, leaving only Murera at the bottom because she didn’t want to go up the hills with Mwana. Mwana was later taken by Amali and Kiasa, who waited until she was finished nursing to collect her. 

The girls took Mwana to Enkesha and Quanza, who were busy trying to pull down a heavy branch. Mwana couldn’t find anything to eat while the older girls were busy working on the branch, so she decided to ‘report’ them to her mother. When Murera heard her baby complaining, she, Lima Lima, and Zongoloni rushed over to see what was wrong. They arrived, only to discover that Mwana was making a drama out of nothing. When Murera realised there was no real issue, she ignored the complaint. When Mwana noticed no one was paying attention to her, she occupied herself by nursing from Murera and then resting in the shade.

In the afternoon, as the elephants were getting ready to return home, a wild herd with small babies joined them in the open grass field. When Kiasa and Enkesha tried to approach the babies, their mothers reacted defensively. The wild mothers didn’t like seeing Enkesha and Kiasa near their babies, thinking they were trying to take them away, which wasn’t true.

The mud bath today was a big party. Mwana was the first to arrive, drinking clean water with her mother Murera and Sonje. Then, she ran to the waterhole and jumped into the water, causing all the elephants to follow her in. Sonje, along with the other nannies, entered the waterhole as if they were on a rescue mission — Mwana had her head submerged and couldn’t be seen, but she was simply enjoying her swim. Kiasa, Amali, and Enkesha surrounded the baby, ensuring no outside forces disrupted her fun. The swimming session went smoothly, with all the babies enjoying the afternoon in the water pool. None of the elephants wanted to leave until Mwana decided to move, and then everyone followed her out. Murera was the last to emerge, and Mwana stopped to wait for her so she could nurse.

They continued to the dust pile. Mwashoti and Maktao had already gone ahead and were waiting for the other babies to join them. Amali climbed to the top of the dust hill, as she loves being on top like a queen of the mountain. Kapei, feeling jealous, tried to remove her from the top, but Kiasa saved Amali and prevented Kapei from touching her. Once Amali felt secure, she moved towards Mwana, who was heading with Enkesha to the bushes for shade.

Many many buffaloes visited us at the mud bath, while the elephants were still having fun and playing in the pool. When Mwashoti spotted a male buffalo coming out of the bushes, he decided to block his way. The buffalo ignored Mwashoti's efforts, so Maktao and Enkesha joined in, firmly stopping him from moving any closer to the waterhole.

Soon after, another large group of buffaloes, including some little calves, approached the waterholes. It was clear the buffaloes were thirsty in the hot weather. However, they found no way to access the waterhole because the orphans had blocked their path. Even Faraja, the biggest bull, helped the little ones chase the buffalos away. Amali and her sister Mwana trumpeted loudly and then celebrated their victory as the animals retreated — but really, it was Faraja who sent them off.

The Keepers laughed as the scene unfolded. One male buffalo managed to dodge Faraja, sneaking into the swimming pool while his friends were forced to return to the Kibwezi forests.

As the orphans saw Mwana heading to the bushes for shade, they all followed her. Murera did not go immediately, as she was still enjoying her dust bath and trusted the nannies to keep an eye on Mwana. Zongoloni, Lima Lima, little Enkesha, and Kiasa took over, following Mwana into the bushes while leaving Murera behind.

The playground was set for Kiombo and his friend Maktao to engage in their usual pushing games, which began as soon as the orphans stepped out of their rooms. Maktao found his friend with Mwashoti, scratching against a rock, and jumped at him, eager to start a pushing game. However, Kiombo wasn’t quite in the mood. He tried to ignore Maktao's advances, but Maktao persisted, eventually annoying Kiombo enough to defend himself.

As the two boys started to get serious, Mwashoti intervened, stepping between them to stop the escalating fight. Maktao, still determined, tried to sneak his trunk under Mwashoti, but Mwashoti pushed Maktao aside. Little Enkesha tried to calm Maktao down, and when her attempts didn’t succeed, Quanza pushed Maktao hard to get him to stop. Maktao, realising he had been warned by an older girl, backed off, and both boys moved in separate directions towards the springs.

Meanwhile, Murera and Sonje stayed close to Mwana, keeping a watchful eye on the baby. However, Mwana was soon led away by the younger nannies. Amali, who adores Mwana as her little sister, stepped in to collect her from Murera. After Mwana was done nursing and feeling satisfied, they both moved towards the Kibwezi Forest.

Faraja and Mwashoti arrived in the company of a few older wild boys. They had been with Faraja in the Chyulu Hills and decided to walk back home with him. When Mwashoti got close to the orphan herd, he stopped and began dusting himself with soil. We believe this was a clever tactic to trick the wild bulls into not following him to where Sonje and Murera were having a peaceful time with the other nannies. He knew that Murera gets uneasy when wild visitors are around and usually runs away.

 Indeed, Murera did just as Mwashoti had predicted. When Murera sensed the wild boys getting close, Murera led a hasty retreat. Amali, Kiasa, and Enkesha put Mwana in the middle of the herd to keep the baby secure. Kiasa and Enkesha were very protective, surrounding Mwana with no space left as the elephants escaped.

Kiombo started a game with Maktao by grabbing his tail. Maktao felt it was wrong for Kiombo to pull him by the tail and a fight broke out. Mwashoti slowly walked over to find out what the two young boys were disagreeing about. He stepped in between them, pushing Kiombo, who was trying to act stronger and more serious. Before Mwashoti could teach them a lesson, however, Maktao moved to higher ground to boost his strength, which allowed him to overpower Kiombo. Mwashoti did not show sympathy for Kiombo, as he knew that he was the instigator of the whole argument.

Playful Kapei tried to show off his mounting skills with Maktao, but he found himself turned upside down by the bigger bull, who didn’t want him on his back. Maktao wasn’t in the mood to play with younger boys and felt that Kapei, being a little boy, wasn’t worthy of mounting him as if they were agemates. Maktao always prefers playing with his close ally Kiombo, along with Mwashoti and Faraja, who train them like older brothers. 

After being chased by Maktao, Kapei moved on, hoping to play with Amali, but Amali sensed Kapei wasn’t up to any good and moved away to where Mwana and Sonje were playing. Kapei then turned to Kiasa, who played with him for a bit before nudging him over to Enkesha.

The orphans then put their heads together to plan where they would go for more browsing. The forest is very dry at the moment and they were hoping to find a place still rich with food. Quanza led the way to Kenzili, a spot both Murera, Lima Lima, and Sonje also approved of.

Along the journey, a baby bushbuck tried to cross the path, but the elephants blocked her way. The mother quickly crossed over and fetched her baby. Lima Lima charged at them with a flare of trumpets, causing the bushbucks to flee in a hurry. Quanza and her group didn’t stop to check what the trumpeting was about; she was focused on leading the babies to Kenzili, with her mouth full of grass.

The evening was a celebration for the arrival of Ziwa and his wild friends, who came in large numbers. Today, Ziwa looks like a very big boy with long, thick tusks — this makes it hard for the Keepers to identify him from afar. We first spotted Jasiri, and upon closer inspection, Ziwa was identified when he moved towards the lucerne. Sonje welcomed him into the ex-orphan group. 

Some wild elephants arrived shortly after. As soon as they came from the springs, the orphans made way for them since the wild herd came with little babies and chased Sonje and her friends away. Ziwa and Jasiri, however, did not move; they seemed friendly with the wild herd. The Keepers believe this is the wild herd that has adopted the two boys. Ziwa, in particular, had been away from home for a very long time, but today, he brought his friends and family to visit the orphans. Unfortunately, Murera and the others were already inside their stockade rooms, so Ziwa did not get to catch up with her.

After celebrating with a lucerne feast, all the wild herd moved to the Umani Springs for clean water and to wallow. Later, Ziwa, Jasiri, and the wild herd returned to the Chyulu hills. Zongoli and her friends came back to the stockade fence line to finish up what had been left behind before heading out to the night party. 

In the evening, a few wild bulls returned with two females, causing a lot of commotion. They were on a mating mission, which was the source of the noise. Inside the stockades, Enkesha and Kiasa thought something was wrong and began blowing their trumpets. Murera was not disturbed by the wild screaming, as she knew what the noise was about. However, Enkesha and Kiasa, being younger, were not aware of the reason behind all the commotion.

This evening, many wild elephants visited the area near the stockades and were welcomed by Sonje and other nightclubbers, who joined them for an evening gathering. They spent time together until it was nearly dark. However, one of the wild elephants got greedy and tried to prevent Mwashoti and Quanza from eating close to them. This prompted the Keepers to intervene, reminding the wild elephants to stop intimidating the orphans. It was the orphans, after all, who allowed the lucerne hay to be shared with them, yet the wild elephants were behaving as if they owned everything and didn't want to share it as a family. The Keepers defended their babies, ensuring they weren’t chased away from their own food.

Around midnight, another wild herd came by to see if there was any leftover lucerne, but they found buffaloes celebrating and eating everything. With no food left, the wild elephants departed for the Umani Springs to wallow. 

Meanwhile, Maktao and his neighbour Enkesha tried pushing at the stockade gates, as if they wanted to follow the wild elephants. However, they soon realised the gates were locked. After some noisy attempts to get out, the Keepers came and spoke to them. Enkesha returned to her bedroom and fell asleep. Maktao, still awake, was left wondering what else he could do now that Enkesha was sound asleep.

A wild herd visited the orphans this morning with Sonje. The visitor was calm and friendly towards the Keepers, feeling welcomed by the other girls in the herd. Quanza was initially cautious of him, but she later gathered courage and joined the wild friend, moving into the bushes together with Zongoloni and Lima Lima. Even Kiasa and Enkesha took Mwana to meet the wild bull. Murera, as usual, kept herself safe and away — she is always distant when a wild bull or a crowd is around. 

At the waterhole, it was a fun time, with every elephant swimming and cooling off as the day grew too hot for everyone. None of the babies wanted to get out of the mud bath. Eventually, Kiombo walked over to Maktao and Mwashoti. The junior boys’ play-fighting turned aggressive, prompting the orphans to leave the waterhole and try to stop them from fighting. Mwashoti tried to help, then Zongoloni joined in, but neither had success until Lima Lima arrived and stood between them. With the support of Zongoloni, Lima Lima used her strength to separate the two, restoring peace among the orphans after the intense play-fighting between Kiombo and Maktao.

The elephants moved to Kenze Hills for their morning browsing time today, which many of the Keepers did not expect, as the orphans don’t usually go to Kenze. However, this morning, Zongoloni and her nightclubbing friends arrived and gathered all the babies after pellets, with the orphans moving strictly behind her. 

Later, it was Lima Lima and Quanza taking the lead, while the other orphans followed them to today’s destination, with Mwana and Amali in the middle of the group. Upon their arrival, they found plenty of food waiting for them, which was a real celebration for the orphans. Kenze isn’t frequently visited by other elephants, which has left plenty of food for our herd to enjoy. After filling their stomachs, the orphans wanted to go for a mud bath, but there was no waterhole nearby, so the Keepers led all the babies back to their usual mud bath area. It was quite a journey, with little Amali and Mwana taking breaks along the way. Mwana walked back to her mother to nurse, while Amali waited with Murera.

When they arrived, the first stop was the mud bath, where everyone jumped into the waterhole to swim, and no one was left behind. After the babies finished swimming, they gave Murera space to enjoy a good swim by herself. Afterward, some of the babies moved to the dust pile to dry their backs. Later, Sonje whispered something to Enkesha, and both orphans left for the shade as they felt it was too hot, moving to keep little Mwana safe from the strong sunshine.

The baboons had a rough time today when two of them attempted to scare little Mwana. That was when things took a turn for them: After one of the baboons tried to scare Mwana, she screamed for help, and she was promptly rescued as the baboons were shown the door, in a hurry. All the orphans banded together to chase off the animals who had upset Mwana. The baboons climbed trees as they fled, realising the big mistake they had made in attempting such an unthinkable thing — scaring a baby elephant was a very poor decision.

Murera did not stay silent when her baby alarmed them of the danger. She acted swiftly and moved to see why Mwana had been frightened, but fortunately, all the nannies were on high alert and acted even more swiftly, ensuring that the baboons would no longer dare approach the elephants. With that, the place was completely deserted by the baboons.

The orphans then moved to a new area where they encountered some bushbuck. Since the elephants had just chased off the baboons, they weren’t in the mood to see any other animals around. The bushes were filled with the noise of charging elephants and loud trumpets that could be heard from far away. Kapei later turned to Amali, but she didn’t want to engage in the pushing game that he was eager for. Girls generally don’t play pushing games like boys, and Amali was not happy with Kapei’s insistence. She decided to run away from him and joined Kiasa and Enkesha instead.

Two wild bulls, one with a single tusk and the other with long, large tusks, visited the mud bath when the orphans were about to leave for the bushes after their midday wallowing and bottles. The Keepers saw Lima Lima and Sonje raising their trunks in the air and knew they were alerting them of wild elephants nearby. Lima Lima moved towards Zongoloni, and after a brief interaction with Quanza, the girls decided to meet the massive bulls. Lima Lima often does this, distracting visitors so the orphans and Keepers can move away.

Kapei, Kiombo, and Maktao stayed behind, choosing to linger with the two bulls. The young nannies shepherded Mwana over to Murera, while the boys felt mature enough to remain with their wild friends. As a result, Kiombo and Maktao missed their evening bottles, which Amali, Kiasa, and Enkesha celebrated by drinking the extra portions meant for them.

Around midnight, Kiombo was found by the gate, waiting to be let into the stockades. The Keepers allowed him in for some rest. Since he was so late, he missed his bottle, which had already been given to Amali. He expressed his disappointment, but the Keepers gave him pellets to calm him down, promising him his morning bottle to make up for the missed one.

In the afternoon, the orphans were joined by wild elephants at the waterhole for a mud bath. The wild herd included tiny babies much younger than Mwana. When Mwana spotted the little ones, she moved over to join them. As the wild herd began to leave for the bushes, the orphans followed. Mwana thought she’d found a friend to play with, unaware that she was much older than the tiny wild baby. She played roughly and, using too much strength, accidentally pushed the little baby down.

Mwana soon found herself surrounded by wild elephants, who came rushing to help their baby as it cried for help. The Keepers stepped in to rescue Mwana and calm the situation by calling the orphans away from the wild herd.The Keepers called Murera, then Kiasa and Enkesha, who made their way back from afar. The wild elephants, however, continued to follow Mwana, intent upon punishing her.

Lima Lima and Zongoloni stepped in to help. They guided the nannies to the other side, creating space for the Keepers and orphans to return to the stockades. The Keepers were very grateful to Lima Lima and Zongoloni for helping Murera and Mwana get away from the wild herd. After an eventful end to the day, Amali led Mwana ahead of the group, with Murera following, and brought her straight back to the stockades.

Amali and Kapei wandered off together towards the bushes, leaving the other babies behind, as if they only wanted to associate with each other. When Mwana noticed, she followed her ‘big sister,’ Amali. Amali spotted Mwana following them, and this prompted her to leave Kapei on his own so that she and Mwana could be together. The two girls tend to avoid Kapei since he plays rough and often doesn’t know how to interact gently with the younger girls.

Sonje, Enkesha, and Kiasa joined Mwana, who led everyone back into the bushes. Murera trailed behind, following them slowly. As they approached the Umani Springs, they spotted two crocodiles basking on the dry land in the sunshine. The crocodiles, sensing the movement of the approaching elephants, quickly retreated into the water to hide. After crossing the springs, Kiasa, Quanza, and Mwashoti proposed a new direction for the day. After a brief discussion among the leading girls and Murera, they all agreed to follow Kiasa’s suggestion, allowing the younger girls to take on decision-making roles. These experiences help them develop the leadership skills they will need if they become matriarchs someday.

At the mud bath, the elephants arrived later than usual, having spent more time browsing on the hilltops. Most of them didn’t seem eager for their midday bottles or a mud bath, except for Kapei, Amali, and Mwana, who were feeling the heat and wished to cool off. Sonje and Quanza understood and agreed to bring the little ones down to the waterhole. The babies cooled off with a refreshing mud bath before heading back for their bottles. After swimming and lowering their body temperatures, they finally went for their bottles.

As they left the waterhole, Mwana spotted some warthogs running across the field, trying to avoid the elephants. She blew her little trunk and trumpeted, doing her best to keep the warthogs away from the field.

Kiombo lost the motivation today to push Maktao, after realising that Maktao was stronger than him. Mwashoti, acting as their referee, encouraged them to spar and then watched from the side as they pushed each other. Kapei charged over to where Kiombo was trying to retreat and watched the larger boys go back and forth. 

When the orphans moved to the browsing field, they found Lima Lima pulling down some branches to feed everyone. This was a perfect moment for the younger babies with shorter trunks who couldn’t reach the high branches, like Amali and Mwana and Kapei. They waited for Lima Lima to bring the fresh acacia greens within reach.

Enkesha and Kiasa pulled their branches toward Mwana, who enjoyed a few bites. She found it hard to keep up with the pace of the older babies, who were eating fast and leaving her with little to enjoy. She moved toward her mother, Murera, for a drink, and Murera kindly stepped her front leg forward to create space for Mwana to suckle. Lima Lima and the other nannies circled around them, keeping close while Murera and Mwana had some time together.

As the day grew hotter, Mwana began feeling the intensity of the sun. This prompted Zongoloni, Lima Lima, and Sonje to guide the little one to the shade for a soil dusting exercise. Everyone enjoyed cooling off.

The orphans had visitors in the early morning hours, as they found both Faraja and Alamaya waiting patiently outside. Behind Faraja, two wild bulls followed. As everyone exchanged greetings, the wild friends noticed the humans nearby, but quick-thinking Lima Lima and Sonje ran interference, distracting them from the Keepers and younger orphans.

Kiombo, Maktao, and Mwashoti joined the visitors. This time around, Mwashoti had a busy schedule, as he showed Kiombo and Maktao around to prepare them to become nightclubbers. Recently, Kiombo and Maktao have been increasingly eager to be allowed to go out with Sonje’s team for day excursions and even the nights away from the stockades. The Keepers still feel it was too early for the boys, but boys will be boys; they will leave when they want, unlike the girls who stay close, keeping the babies and family intact.

Meanwhile, young girls Enkesha and Kiasa kept a close eye on Mwana more than ever. Kiasa and Enkesha once left with a wild herd that misled them and caused them to fail to return home, but since that time they have remained with the orphan. Now, they show an even deeper sense of responsibility toward caring for the baby. Remembering that experience, the girls have learned and been more cautious ever since.