The month began with a special visit from a special friend. Almost ten years ago, a one-tusked wild elephant appeared on the scene at Ithumba. She was a very disruptive presence, so the Keepers nicknamed her 'Crazy One.'
Well, how things change! Over the years, the ex-orphans taught Crazy One that the Keepers are kind and to be trusted. She has become a fixture around Ithumba and is just as friendly as an elephant raised by our hand. When Crazy One first became a mother in 2022, our ex-orphans served as the main nannies to her baby.
We knew she was expecting again and, on 1st October, Crazy One strolled up to the stockades with a two-day-old baby in tow — debuting her newborn just as our ex-orphans do! While she wanted to introduce us to her little one, she did not want the orphans to be over-familiar. Both Naleku and Suguroi tried to get close to the baby, but Crazy One blocked their advances.
4th October brought some unwelcome drama. Something spooked the orphans, and Muwingu, Mageno, Kitich, Weka, Shujaa, Esoit, Mayan, Vaarti, Loldaiga, Mukutan, and Choka continued running eastwards. Three kilometres away, Mayan, Vaarti, Esoit, Loldaiga, and Mukutan gave up and returned to the Kepers, but Muwingu continued leading Choka, Shujaa, Weka, Kitich, and Mageno further east, disappearing completely into the thick bush.
We mounted a full search effort, on the ground and in the air, but without success. Night fell with no sign of the six adventurers, who seemed determined to give us stress and prove they were cleverer than we imagined. In the evening, Mukutan led the thirteen obedient orphans back to the stockades for the night.
The following morning, we had a spot of positivity on what was shaping up to be a stressful day. At dawn, ex-orphan Naserian arrived at the stockades with her newborn baby, along with her firstborn, Njema, plus Kinna, Kama, Kaia, Kito, Tumaren, Tembo, Esampu, Oltaiyoni, Sana Sana, and the 'Crazy One' and her baby. It is very special that Naserian and Crazy One will raise their new babies side by side. We named Naserian's new baby Nyika, which means bush or wilderness in Swahili. It was a favourite word of Daphne's and thus felt like an auspicious name for our newest grandkid.
It ended up being a happy day, in every which way. At 10:30 that morning, the six missing orphans finally presented themselves at the mud bath, after stressing everyone for twenty-five hours. Muwingu, who had led the group astray, was still leading the way. She marched the team right up to the feeding point, where they waited expectantly for their milk bottles — as if we were the tardy ones, not them!
The orphans love nothing more than a fruitless chase after harmless adversaries. A few days after the disappearing drama, the youngsters were at it again. Loldaiga came across two dik-diks and decided they were the foe of the afternoon. His trumpeting and chasing drew the attention of Shujaa, Mageno, Kitich, and Choka, who joined his mission. The small antelope easily dodged the unruly boys, who were left charging at empty bushes.
9th October was a memorable day, for it marked our first sign of rain. In the afternoon, the weather changed as the cloudy sky gave way to light drizzles. The orphans were delighted and began playing in the wet soil. Kinyei, Vaarti, Olorien, Mageno, Kindani, Bondeni, and Mayan enjoyed it the most, having a prolonged wallow in the fresh mud.
Mayan has always been very curious about wild bulls, but sometimes he forgets his place. After wallowing one day, he attempted to charge at a passing wild elephant. The visitor didn't take this lightly and decided to punish Mayan for being disrespectful. It took the intervention of the Keepers for the wild bull to pardon Mayan — we are sure he warned him to never try such nonsense with his seniors again.
As October progressed, we were reminded that we are well and truly at the height of the dry season. One morning, 150 elephants flooded the stockade compound. Giving them 40 bales of lucerne was like a drop of water in the ocean. It took less than 20 minutes for every blade of lucerne to disappear. When times are difficult, this supplementary food is a huge help for northern Tsavo’s elephants.
Early this month, our 'baby lover' Naleku made a big decision — she decided to join Mutara’s ex-orphan herd, so she could look after Sities’ little baby, Sunni. In the evening, Sities brought Naleku back to the stockades so she could join her dependent friends, but Naleku was not interested in going into her room. Instead, she started spending her nights in the wild with baby Sunni. She is in good hands with Mutara and company.
Naleku’s departure led to a slight changing of the guard with our dependent herd. Suguroi started taking charge, leading the way to the browsing fields in the morning. This arrangement will continue until Naleku decides to re-join the stockade-dependent orphans, as she did last time. If she doesn't, then Suguroi will continue with her duties.
It must be said that not every female loves babies unreservedly. One day, Weka went to greet newborn Nyika, but instead of handling her gently, she started pulling her trunk. Nyika cried, alerting her mother that someone was hurting her. Naserian turned quickly but didn’t manage to discipline Weka, who had already run away. Given her naughty character, Weka's action was intentional — most of the time, she enjoys bullying her junior wild-borns.
Different personalities deal with impudent babies differently. One day, Gala pushed Suguroi, who was passing close by, simply because she counted on her mother to defend her in case Suguroi turned against her. Suguroi just walked away, knowing that Gala was only a baby and that's how most babies behave. Gala then made the mistake of attacking the no-nonsense Shujaa. Shujaa couldn't take this attack lightly and, without wasting time, turned to defend himself. He knocked Gala to the ground, then ran away before Gala's mother, Galana, could get to him.
Ex-orphan Wendi is a notorious character, known for her unpredictability and love for causing mischief. It seems that the apple doesn't fall far from the tree! One afternoon, Wendi's youngest daughters, Wema and Wimbi, threatened to push kindly Esoit, who wouldn’t hurt a fly. Roho, Lodo, and Vaarti, who were close by, ganged up against the two sisters to save their friend’s honour. Wimbi and Wema had to run away for their dear lives, as they didn’t stand a chance against the three boys.
Different personalities deal with impudent babies differently. One day, Gala pushed Suguroi, who was passing close by, simply because she counted on her mother to defend her. Suguroi just walked away, knowing that Gala is young and that's how most babies behave. Gala then made the mistake of attacking the no-nonsense Shujaa. Shujaa isn’t quite so generous and, without wasting time, turned to defend himself. He knocked Gala to the ground, then ran away before Gala's mother, Galana, could get to him.
Unsurprisingly, we were treated to visits from many much-loved, familiar faces this month. One morning, a group of ex-orphans and wild elephants were waiting outside. Kithaka, our naughty boy, was among them. Later, at the mud bath, some wild bulls were in the area, including Challa. The big-but-gentle bull enjoyed playing in the dust with the babies after wallowing.
The month ended with another wonderful baby debut. On 28th October, shortly after the morning milk feed, Makireti, Kilabasi, Kofi, and our newest baby girl arrived at the stockade compound. The baby belonged to Kilabasi, who saw it wise to come and introduce her to her human family. Makireti, who has been a long-time friend of Kilabasi, was the main nanny. We named her Kanika.
October was a wonderful month in Ithumba — two new babies born to our ex-orphans, plus visits from hundreds of wild elephants and old friends. Next month, we hope for rain.