The month began with a triumphant return from Mwashoti. He had been carried away by the girls for several days, but on the first morning of October, he decided to come back.
He went straight to Maktao, only to find him busy playing with Kapei. The two tried to avoid Mwashoti, as they knew he would easily win, but he forced himself into their games. Eventually, he joined them in the bushes as comrades. The young bulls seemed to listen to Mwashoti, who was explaining where he had been for the past few days on his safari.
Early in the month, a dastardly leopard interrupted the dependent herd's sleep. The orphans had a good night until around midnight, when the cat stalked through the trees by the stockades. Enkesha, Kapei, and Maktao picked up the strange scent and immediately became alert and suspicious. Enkesha started pulling and banging her gate — her typical way of alerting the Keepers when something unusual is going on.
Her noise woke Murera and Mwana, who joined in the commotion. Murera gave her gate a strong push, which quickly brought all the Keepers out of their tents to see what was happening. They just managed to spot the leopard walking outside the fenceline before he disappeared into the night.
Although the orphans were never in any real danger, it showed good instincts to be aware of the leopard. Once he went on his way, the herd settled again. Amali slept soundly, reassured that all was well and the place was safe. However, Kapei and Maktao remained unsettled until morning, still thinking about the leopard. They kept blowing trumpets and charging at shrubs as they made their way out to the forest to browse.
Even sisters have their disagreements! A little spat came up between Amali and Mwana over a stick that everyone seemed interested in. Amali had picked it up to scratch an itch, but Mwana tried to grab it from her. With an itch and wounded pride, Amali refused to relinquish her stick. A tug-of-war ensued until Enkesha stepped in and brokered peace.
In fact, sticks turned out to be quite a contentious subject for Mwana this month. Another day, she got a taste of her own medicine when her own mother stole the stick she was snacking on. This made Mwana scream loudly in protest, but Murera ignored her and continued eating. Amali came over to see what was happening but, after seeing it was a family matter, decided not to interfere.
We often joke that Lenny has two mothers — his birth mother, Lima Lima, is his mother by night; Murera is his mother by day. Lima Lima is very happy with this arrangement. She loves her son, but she also has many interests and does not seem to want to be hemmed in by a baby all day.
Most mornings, when Lima Lima and her team reunite with the dependent herd, Lenny makes a beeline for Murera. Mwana doesn’t seem to mind this arrangement. She even stands by as he nurses from her mother — she accepts that he is her little brother and she must share.
Not every mother is so generous. Sonje loves her own baby, Sulwe, but not her friends' babies. She does not allow Lenny or Zigi to nurse from her. In fact, one afternoon, we heard one of the babies scream from within the group. It turned out to be Lenny, who had been pushed by Sonje. He was only passing under her, but she thought he was trying to sneak a nurse and wanted to make it clear that such behaviour would not be tolerated.
Zongoloni falls somewhere in the middle — while she is more generous than Sonje, she is not a surrogate mother to many, like Murera. To a lesser degree than Lima Lima, she also enjoys her own time. One day, Kiasa and Amali were assigned to walk closely with Zigi while Zongoloni was off on her own. Quanza also joined them for a while.
Mid-month brought a visit from Ziwa. His adopted family — a full team of females — escorted him back to his original family. The Keepers could not recognise Ziwa at first, with his torn ears making him not easy to identify as we used to know him many years ago. But when they called his name, he came. He was very gentle and still responded to the Keepers' voices, walking close to them.
Now that Murera is progressing in her second pregnancy, her infamous mood swings are back. The only elephant Murera still respects and consults is her close friend Sonje — the one she never fights with. One morning, Murera disagreed with Maktao and Enkesha to the extent that she didn't even want to see them near her. She kept her ears raised, watching their movements carefully to ensure they stayed away.
Later, Quanza and Lima Lima went to fetch Mwana, who was close to her mother. They rumbled softly to get Mwana’s attention, while taking care to give Murera space. Seeing everyone leaving, Murera decided to follow the herd into the Kibwezi Forest rather than be left behind.
Another day, as she approached the waterhole, Murera went behind Quanza and Lima Lima and pushed both girls into the water, trying to create more space for herself. It didn't end there — when she followed everyone again to the big waterhole, she found Mwashoti and Enkesha wallowing peacefully together, enjoying the cooling off time. Once again, both had it rough as Murera jumped into action and pushed whoever was in front of her out of the way.
The Keepers tried to stop her, calling out for her to stop, but Murera ignored them completely. When she finally realised she had done wrong — not only against the other orphans but also by ignoring her Keepers — she seemed to feel sorry. She later walked back to her Keepers as if to apologise, then moved away quietly with Mwana and Amali. These mood swings are natural and we know they will pass in time. Murera remains a respected — though now a bit feared — leader among her friends.
Our little nannies — Mwana, Amali, Enkesha, and Kiasa — are getting excellent training with Zigi, Sulwe, and Lenny. One day, the girls were doing their best to look after the babies, but Zigi was being unruly. At wit’s end, Mwana warned him to listen to her. Zigi was not happy about this, because he thought that Mwana did not have the right to discipline him. He was more amenable to Amali, who found a softer and better way to explain what he was doing wrong.
Alamaya continues to visit us. These days, he is keeping company with a large wild family with several wild babies. He sometimes visits with them in tow, but he is equally happy to come on his own. One afternoon, Murera approached Alamaya as if she wanted to ask him a few questions, but he thought she was in one of her tricky moods and did not feel safe. Before Murera could get too close, he moved away and walked back into the bushes.
The next day, Faraja also made an appearance. Alamaya and Faraja came in the morning before the orphans left for the day. Behind them was a wild friend who was accompanying the two boys. When the wild bull heard the Keepers talking, he moved away with Faraja. This was his end to the visit — and Murera welcomed the idea of him leaving. While Murera always has time for Mwashoti, she isn’t as comfortable around Faraja or Jasiri.
Among our senior girls, Quanza is the only one who is not yet a mother. We think she enjoys the independence this affords her. We were reminded of this one morning, when Quanza arrived first and by herself. The Keepers wondered what was happening, seeing Quanza without Lima Lima and her team as usual.
As it turned out, Quanza just didn’t feel like waiting. She headed to meet us after realising that the babies were still asleep, which delayed the mothers from walking them to the stockades on time. This made the nightclubbers late, but Quanza knew that their lie-in didn’t have to make her late.
The end of the month brought some welcomed rain. The skies opened above the Kibwezi Forest, and the elephants, who were not expecting it, began running under trees. Little Zigi could be seen under his lovely mother, Zongoloni, shielded from the storm. By contrast, Kapei, Maktao, and Ziwa welcomed every raindrop. They played in the mud until their bodies were completely muddy.