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On a beautiful sunny morning, the orphans enjoyed playing a game of Hide and Seek around the compound. Nyika is still extremely weak and withdrawn, not wishing to interact with any of the others. He has to be helped up each morning, as was Orwa, and was given 2 litres of Dextrose and Saline intravenously to boost his strength. He did not attend the noon mudbath along with the others but instead remained behind in the bush along with Mutara who chose to stay beside him.

The days in Nairobi are warmer with the onset of September, so most of the orphans enjoy their noon mudbath, Ishaq-B always the last to go in. Sonje has been promoted to the Big Group, being very greedy at milk feeding times, when she has taken to pushing Ishaq-B and Orwa around. Today she pushed Faraja as he was standing peacefully beside the mudbath. She was disciplined by the Keepers, who sent her off to spend “time out”, the measure elephants themselves use against wrong-doers.

Orwa has always been a very polite and gentle boy. As such he is a favourite with the Keepers and also enjoys “mothering” baby Kinango, even allowing the little one to suckle his tiny teats! Solio is very independent now, and continues to elude her Keepers whenever she feels that she does not want their company. These days, several White Rhinos come to take salt on the rocks near the mudbath, and Solio picks up their scent and follows them. Today she left her Keepers at 7.30 a.m. and did not return until 4 p.m. when she went straight into her Stockade.

Orwa tried to get his own back on Ishaq-B yesterday by mounting onto her as she lay in the red soil pile. She threw him off, and hurt his leg, because this morning he is limping. Ishaq-B tried to persuade the Keepers to return her to the younger Group, where she could bully the smaller elephants, but the Keepers resisted. She behaves well during milk feeds with the Bigger Elephants, aware that Sonje is at hand to discipline her! At 3 p.m. there was a Rescue alert, this time for a yearling calf who had wandered onto Settlement near Mt. Kenya. The baby bull arrived at the Nursery just after 6 p.m. and has a machete cut on his shoulder. He had apparently been sighted alone 3 days ago and has been named “Teleki”, the name of a valley on Mt. Kenya.

Today a blood sample from Nyika was taken for analysis. He is still not doing well, and remains very weak, wanting to be on his own all the time, and not interacting with the others. Teleki, on the other hand, is doing very well, spending time with Orwa, Faraja and Bomani, who are all very friendly towards him. He is a cool and lovely young bull, with a lot of hair on his body, having been brought up on Mt. Kenya. He is still nursing the wound he received when he was attacked by tribesmen before being rescued.

As the Big Girls ran to greet the babies (Barsilinga, Kinango, Kithaka and Balguda), Orwa and Kwale enjoyed a Pushing Game which attracted the attention of Naipoki and Ishaq-B and this prompted the two boys to end their game. The two girls then began to play, hoping that this would tempt the boys back, but that tactic did not work! Little Nyika is still not doing well. He is now having Vitamin B complex daily in his milk, but can get up from a sleeping position unaided. He spends the Public Viewing Hour with Murera and does not attend the mudbath.

This morning Bomani and Orwa enjoyed a Pushing Game, which ended when Orwa bit Bomani’s tail. Bomani then went to play with Teleki who was rolling in some soil. Since Ishaq-B was upgraded to the Big Girls’ group, she has become well behaved and no longer pushes the Youngsters around, seemingly understanding that it was because of bad behaviour that she was transferred.