Keepers' Diaries, September 2014

Ithumba Reintegration Unit



The month of September at Ithumba has been a very sad month with an incident on the 10th leaving keepers and elephants stunned and heartbroken. Precious Sabachi who has been struggling with weak health in recent months despite undergoing medical treatment and having extra supplements was tragically attacked by hyenas in the early hours of the morning within earshot of the stockades. The elephant trumpets that woke the keepers at 4.00am were blood curdling and they knew full well something dramatic was happening. When they went to investigate, which was challenging in itself given that it was still dark, and a good distance from the stockades, they discovered Sabachi being chewed by five hyenas. Between them and the elephants they managed to get the hyenas away from Sabachi and remained guarding him until day break, but it was obvious the situation was dire. More details can be read in the keepers daily entries on the 10th.

01 September 2014

Soon after leaving the stockade, Shukuru opted to have a good scratch instead of feeding on lucerne like the others. As the orphans were busy eating, our wild friend Half Trunk with eight other wild bulls arrived at the stockade water trough whilst Suguta and her group joined the juniors for lucerne. Soon after finishing the lucerne, the juniors headed out to browse leaving Suguta’s group at the stockade. In the browsing field it was all quiet as the orphans tried to get the best out of the dry vegetation. This morning Bongo and Vuria had a difference to settle and they decided to engage in a pushing competition which Vuria surrendered by turning his back to bongo. At mud bath time, the weather was chilly and none of the orphans participated in wallowing. The orphans took milk then settled for water. At the water trough, bongo and Vuria had another strength testing exercise that was cut short by Kanjoro who pushed Bongo away and tackled Vuria. Vuria wasn't interested in playing with Kanjoro and he quit the game. The orphans returned back to the browsing field and searched for more food until the evening where Sities, Shukuru, Mutara and Kanjoro dodged the keepers. When it was time to return to the stockade, the four had still not been located. The rest of the orphans were taken back to the stockade and then the keepers returned to the bush to continue the search for the missing ones. At six o'clock in the evening, they found them quite unaware of the worry they had caused and brought them back to the stockade.

02 September 2014

Fifteen wild elephants came to the stockade early before dawn and waited for water whilst the orphans were leaving their stockades. When the orphans were about to take their morning milk Sabachi, who had spent the night out, returned home for his share of milk, it was good to see him home. As the orphans waited for the keepers to provide them with lucerne, Kainuk pushed Vuria, who was standing very close to her. The keepers had just provided them with lucerne and it seemed that Kainuk was not willing to share. Suguta’s team, in the company of Rapsu and Kamboyo arrived. Shukuru opted for scratching rather than feeding on lucerne. After sharing lucerne with Suguta’s group, Mutara led the way to the browsing field. Once the elephants reached a good spot they spread out to browse in different places. Shortly before eleven o'clock in the morning, the orphans played in soft soil before beginning their journey to the mud bath. Only bongo and Laragai dared to play in the cold water and mud whilst Ziwa scratched against a nearby tree as Vuria, Garzi and Orwa relaxed under another tree. The orphans had had a day full of activities and by the time the sun began to fall it was Vuria who led the tired orphans back home.

03 September 2014

Mulika with her baby Mwende, Orok, Sunyei, Tomboi, Lenana, Makena, Kijana and thirteen wild elephants came to the stockade early before dawn and waited for the keepers to re fill the water trough with the water bowser truck. At six o'clock in the morning, the dependent orphans were let out immediately after they had taken their milk. Mulika and her group joined the orphans feeding on the lucerne as the wild elephants settled for water. Shukuru decided to join the bulls for water but was surprised when she was chased away by one of them as she drew close to the water trough. When she was turned away, Shukuru went some few meters from the water trough and began to throw dust on her hiding her humiliation. At around seven o'clock in the morning, the bulls left after having their full, and Mulika and her team then finally got their chance to drink uninterrupted. By mud bath time the sun was extremely hot and Laragai was first in the mud bath enjoying the cold mud. It didn't take long before Vuria, Teleki, Narok, Bongo and Shukuru joined in. Laragai charged out of the mud hole playing with Teleki and encouraging some fun and games in the water. Orwa and Kainuk were busy scratching on the nearby acacia tree as Garzi rolled in the hard earth near to where the visitor’s concrete bench is.

04 September 2014

Semi dependent orphans Kibo, Suguta, Melia, Tumaren, Olare, Murka, Kalama and Chaimu reported to the stockade early before the juniors had their morning milk. They proceeded to join the fully dependent orphans for a while. While the orphans remained around the Ithumba stockades feeding and drinking they were joined by six magnificent wild bulls who had cruised in looking for water. Laragai enjoyed showing off and walked close to the the big boys strutting around them trying to catch their attention, and kept checking to see that her friends saw what was unfolding too. When the bulls left, Suguta and her herd got a chance to drink from the trough and eventually left to browse together with the junior dependent orphans. At mud bath time, the weather was chilly and the orphans had milk and water before returning back into the bush to browse. They were totally disinterested in a mudbath today due to the drop in temperature. At around four o'clock in the evening when Orwa and Ziwa opted to play in soil Mutara walked around for hours with a stick in her mouth until Ziwa walked over and bit half of it off! This was not appreciated and Mutara sped off back towards the stockades earlier than usual leading the way.

05 September 2014

Kilaguni, Half Trunk and three wild elephants were at the stockade water trough at dawn before the orphans were even let out of their stockades. Once the orphans were let out, Kilaguni joined them as the wild elephants continued to take water. At mud bath time, the weather was chilly and none of the orphans participated in wallowing. Narok, Laragai and Bomani opted to scratch as the rest scattered to feed. Later, the orphans returned back to the mud bath where Shukuru, Bongo, Kanjoro, Garzi played in the soil before being led away by Mutara back to Kanziku area where the orphans settled to browse, Vuria, Bongo, Mutara, Ziwa, Narok, Kanjoro and Shukuru concentrated on feeding on dry grass.

06 September 2014

Sabachi came to the stockade compound early before the juniors were let out. Sabachi lately has been avoiding spending the night in the stockade but comes for his milk in the early hours of the morning and again in the evening before the juniors arrive. At midday mud bath time, the temperatures were very low and the orphans didn't participate in wallowing. Instead Bomani had a funny game of swinging his trunk sideways as Vuria coiled his trunk to his mouth. This game made all the keepers giggle and these two naughty elephants continued encouraged by the reception they were receiving. In the evening, Sabachi usually leaves to an unknown location soon after taking his milk, reluctant to overnight with the juniors. Today the same happened, he had is milk and then left the stockade compound and disappeared into the bush. As for the other orphans such as Teleki, Shukuru and Garzi they instead opted to scratch their bottoms on nearby rocks before heading into their stockades for the night.

07 September 2014

Early in the morning, before sun rise, the stockade compound was flooded with wild elephants. All the ex-orphans groups were present as well as 16 wild elephants, it was spectacular to see, and the dependent orphans were desperate to join the crowd but they had to wait until 6am came. At six o'clock in the morning, the orphans had their morning milk and were let out for their stockades to much excitement and went straight to join all the ex-orphans and wild elephants. They all interacted happily amongst one another for a good long time before the keepers ushered them into the bush to browse. Kanjoro, Turkwel and Kainuk fed separately from the others. By mid day the elephants had all wondered off in different directions but had somehow all congregated at the mud hole for the normal mid day mud wallow meticulously keeping time. The weather was unfortunately chilly, so the orphans didn't participate in wallowing but instead had their milk and went back to browse. Orwa pushed Bomani from a tree he was scratching against and proceeded to scratch himself. Bomani was not impressed, but instead very maturely walked away rather than create a scene. By the afternoon, the chilly weather had cleared, giving way to little bit of sun shine. Kainuk spent some time in the soil before resuming browsing alongside Ziwa for the remainder of the day before heading home to the stockades.

08 September 2014

After the orphans drank their morning milk, they left the stockade one by one. On their way out Vuria had gotten a fright from a falling branch and in his panic had accidentally knocked Ziwa down to the ground. Poor Ziwa was then unable to stand by himself and the keepers had to assist him back to his feet. As the orphans settled on lucerne, they were joined by semi independent orphans Suguta, Chemi Chemi, Melia, Chaimu, Sabachi, Kalama, Kandecha, Tumaren, Olare, Makireti, Kilabasi, Murka, Kibo, Kitirua and Kasigau. During the day Ziwa disappeared shortly before mud bath time and was nowhere to be found. The keepers gathered the orphans to take them for mud bath, but they couldn't trace Ziwa, so two keepers remained behind to continue searching for him. He was finally found in the afternoon near the seasonal Kalovoto River relaxing under a tree all alone and was returned to the safety of the orphan herd. At mud bath time the sun was hot and both Teleki and Laragai headed straight to the mud bath after drinking their milk. While the two wallowed away they were joined by 11 wild bulls who too wanted to cool off and enjoy the quenching water. The boldly remained in the mudbath with their wild friends, but soon thought better of it. The rest of the day was quiet as the orphans browsed together. In the evening, Yatta and her group, in the company of ten wild elephants, came for water at the stockade where Tomboi and Zurura began to test each other’s strength and with all the commotion the orphans were kept up for quite some time until the two finally stopped fighting.

09 September 2014

Thirty five wild elephants were lining up for water early in the morning, all the noise and trumpeting woke everyone which meant the day was off to an early start. Shukuru decided to open up the day's activities by scratching on a nearby rock but was pushed away by big independent boy Tomboi. Feeling disgruntled, Shukuru went to stand near Ziwa instead and placed her trunk on Ziwa’s back in hope for some affection and love after her rude interlude with Tomboi. When Tomboi had finished Orwa, Garzi and Narok went and enjoyed a good scratch on the same rock, so again Shukuru was out of luck. Eventually she gave up on any thoughts of scratching on that particular rock. In the bush the temperatures soared and Kainuk decided to relax under a tree with her ears flapping in an effort to cool herself down before she resumed browsing. Laragai and Ziwa fed under separate trees searching for shade giving them respite from the hot midday heat.

10 September 2014

Today wasn’t like any other day, it was a day of great drama, sadness and heartbreak for both elephants and keepers. At four o'clock in the morning, there was so much noise coming from the elephants quite a distance outside the stockades but also a slight cry that could be heard from hyenas, and that meant one thing. There was a fight between the elephants and hyenas. Six hundred meters from the stockade, that's where the struggle was. The elephants both wild and ex-orphans were chasing five hyenas that had attacked Sabachi. By the time we arrived to help, the hyenas had severely mauled Sabachi and damaged the back muscles so severely he was unable to stand. Sabachi was six years old and had chosen to leave the stockade to join the semi independent Suguta’s group at the beginning of the year. He had enjoyed a world straddling both lives - his keepers, milk bottles and the joys of the wild with his special orphan friends along with many new wild ones. All the ex orphans groups were present on this morning along with wild elephant too. We had no choice but to take Sabachi to a safer area where he could be treated. Lualeni, Sunyei and Wendi were protesting by knocking down bushes when they saw us loading Sabachi into a tractor. Sabachi was put into the stockade to wait for the vet. Upon arrival, the vet examined him and the damage done by the hyenas, was so severe that the only course of action was to put him to sleep. Sabachi was in so much pain that with a heavy heart a decision was made to euthanize him. Hyenas had cut short the life our special friend. It was a difficult moment for the keepers to watch Sabachi slip away after all that he had been through. The elephants browsed on their own as none of them seemed to have the urge to play together as they all mourned in their private and quiet ways. Their heavy hearts could be felt throughout the day.

11 September 2014

Sixteen wild bulls were drinking water at the stockade water trough in the morning. After taking their morning milk, the orphans left the stockade and relaxed in the compound for awhile they were all still very scared after the happenings of yesterday and still seemed to be very depressed. At mud bath time, the sun was extremely hot and the orphans finished their milk, and immediately headed straight for the irresistible mud. Only Ziwa, Vuria, Garzi and Orwa partake, but instead Ziwa relaxed under a nearby acacia tree while Garzi and Vuria used one tree to scratch against. Only Sities, Laragai, Shukuru, Bongo and Mutara decided to soil dust today. At one time there was a standoff between Kainuk and Kanjoro when Kainuk blocked Kanjoro from passing near her, Kanjoro surrendered and went around the mud bath and joined the rest of the orphans. In the evening, a wild herd consisting of 11 elephants and a small baby checked in at the stockade. Soon after taking enough water, the wild herd left and headed towards the Kalovoto water course.

12 September 2014

Wild elephants arrived at the stockade compound as early as at 4am this morning. Suguta’s group in the company of big orphans Nasalot, Kamboyo, Sidai and Loijuk joined the wild elephants shortly before 6am as they waited until the wild bulls had taken enough water before they got a chance to drink. Once the orphans had wandered into the bush, Teleki and Bongo began to challenge one another but Bongo clearly won the contest. Narok and Garzi then began to challenge one another but this sparing game was quickly stopped after Teleki tried to join in. At mud bath time, several bulls arrived at the mudbath accompanied by Yatta’s group. One of the bulls had an arrow injury in the left side of his belly. We immediately reported this to our field teams and the DSWT mobile veterinary unit was flown it. He was able to treat the elephant and thankfully the prognosis was excellent because of the lucky chance that he came to drink at the orphans mudbath where the keepers happened be.

13 September 2014

The stockade compound was clear of wild elephants as the dependent orphans strolled out from the stockade early in the morning. Shukuru opted to go straight to the stockade water trough as the rest decided to relax nearby. Once in the bush the orphans concentrated on browsing, some of them like Vuria, Ziwa, Narok and Garzi preferring grass while the rest broke down branches to feed on. In the evening only Kilaguni showed up at the stockade. We tried to show him lucerne in the stockade but he refused to enter the stockade. He took water and very confidently walked back into the bush for the night, Kilaguni is growing up quickly and eventually he too won’t come home as often.

14 September 2014

Ten wild bulls were taking water at the stockade water trough early in the morning. Independent orphans Makireti, Kasigau, Lualeni, Ishanga, Rapsu and Lualeni were just standing nearby waiting for their turn to take water. When the juniors left the stockade, they were joined by Lualeni and her small group. At mud bath time the orphans took their milk and water then returned back to browse where they continued to feed until four o'clock in the evening when Teleki came across a hole with loose soil. Teleki spent so much time at that hole as she played in the loose soil and crushed the lumps of soil around it.

15 September 2014

Today in the morning hours, about 15 wild elephants came to the stockade for water, shortly afterwards there were signs of rain! The clouds formed and within an hour Tsavo was being blessed with a great thunder storm that poured across the hot dry and parched landscape – the first rains for a long long time. Ziwa was forced to be brought back into the stockade because of the very heavy rain. The rain poured until late hours of the afternoon, where we recorded 28mm of rain, over 1 inch. Predictably there were no elephants at the water trough in the evening but as the sun set and the frogs went wild chirping like crazy awoken from their long rest through the dry season. The orphans loved the rain and were in very jovial mood.

16 September 2014

It was very cold at 6am this morning when the orphans excitedly left the stockades and went slowly and quietly to feed on lucerne. Ziwa, who is looking a bit weak, threw lucerne on his head whilst flapping his ears. Orwa thought this looked like fun and stopped scratching on the rocks to also throw lucerne on his head. After the rains there was mud everywhere which only meant one thing… slipping, sliding and diving as all the elephants loved the mud and spent hours enjoying the aftermath of the storm. Bomani played in the mud all day with the company of Orwa close by and together they played endlessly as they rolled and threw mud clumps all the elephants that came close by.

17 September 2014

The night was far from peaceful; at midnight Ziwa was calling out and was unable to stand up on his own. The three keepers who were on duty helped him up and gave him some milk after which he seemed stronger and was able to stand. However from 3 to 3.30am he was down again and had to be helped up and given more milk. At 5am he was sleeping normally but at6am, when it was time to get up, he again couldn’t stand and this time didn’t drink his milk either. Angela was called and she guided us how to best get him back to his feet with IV drips. Ziwa was just strong enough after that to stand, take his milk and eat some lucerne and dairy cubes. Angela in the meantime had decided that he should be returned to Nairobi so that he could have intensive care as his problem was baffling everyone. A team flew down from Nairobi and he was put onto the tractor trailer and transported to the Ithumba airstrip and loaded onto the rescue plane. It was so sad to say goodbye to Ziwa but we all knew that if he stayed he would not make it at Ithumba, and he is already a very big elephant so just able to still fit in an aircraft – just!

18 September 2014

At 5am three wild elephants were waiting at the drinking trough for the keepers to open the taps and let the water through. When the orphans were let out of the stockade they were very quiet as they realized that their friend Ziwa was no longer with them. They did not really want to leave the stockades but finally Vuria and Mutara led them out into the bush but they still remained close together, perhaps not wanting to lose another member from their herd as it had already been a very stressful and sad month for them all with both Sabachi and Ziwa gone. The mudbath was deserted and sad, with no elephants in the area, the orphans took their milk and together walked back into the bush. Everyone had a heavy heart, elephants and keepers alike.

19 September 2014

In the bush, the elephants were very busy browsing despite the cold. Orwa and Bongo played in the dust for a short while until they searched for lush greens that had recently bloomed after the rains. Lovely new green food everywhere has made feeding on a delicious array of new food priority. Once the elephants arrived at the stockade in the evening they found a group of Wild elephants with a very young baby drinking water. Unfortunately none of the ex- orphans came to the stockade during the evening, but since the rain there is plenty of water and greens in the area.

20 September 2014

It has been a very quiet and wonderful morning today with orphan elephants having their milk as usual before heading out into the bush. Vuria and Bomani were inseparable today but it seems Vuria has made yet another great friend in Garzi. During the day the elephants came across a new carved trench that had been eroded by all the rain water sweeping by, despite the cold it didn’t take long until all the elephants were in this little lugga playing with the mud and rushing water. Ithumba has been transformed into a wet paradise for them, a huge contrast from the dry beginning of the month.

21 September 2014

In the morning a group of ex–orphans along with a few wild elephants joined the dependent babies at the stockade. Wendi played with Teleki while Yetu played with Garzi, and the four played together for quite some time until the keepers were forced to call the two dependent orphans to join the rest of the herd who were busy walking off into the bush to browse. Out in the browsing fields Garzi was in an amazing mood even lying down with his trunk in the air while Vuria and Bongo couldn’t help but join this funny elephant. The three rolled on top of each other and enjoyed their time out in the bush.

22 September 2014

It was very hot today and the dependent orphans seemed disappointed because only four wild elephants come to visit them this morning. The ex-orphans and wild elephants usually keep them company at this time and the orphans seem to feel more secure when they are there unfortunately that wasn’t the case today. Vuria was the only one feeling playful today, Shukuru and Bongo interacted a little, but the others concentrating on filling their bellies all day.

23 September 2014

The sky was clear in the morning with not a single cloud to be seen. This was an indication of a hot day ahead. Tomboi, Lualeni, Ololoo, Zurura and seven wild elephants were drinking water at the water trough when the juniors strolled out from the stockade. Since the water trough had been occupied by the wild elephants, the juniors relaxed by the stockade compound with Bomani opting to scratch her neck on a nearby rock. Teleki was attracted by Bomani scratching and so he joined in on the exercise. Shortly later, the wild bulls left and this gave way to the orphans that hurriedly went to drink water before leaving for browsing. At the browsing field, Bongo had an enjoyable moment playing in the soil before settling to browse. Shukuru also took some time off from browsing and joined in on all the fun that soil dusting brings. Later Bongo decided to challenge Teleki in a full on head pushing game, Teleki picked up a stick to try and discourage Bongo, Teleki threw the stick up in the air and ran away from Bongo who didn’t seem to want to turn down from the battle. Hopefully more rains will come and dry landscape will be replenished.

24 September 2014

Early in the morning before the orphans left the stockade, Yatta’s group including Yatta, Yetu, Galana, Tomboi, Sunyei, Kinna, Lenana, Taita, Kamboyo, Kora, Lualeni, Chyulu, Ololoo and a wild bull were at the stockade water trough. At 6am the dependent orphans left the stockade soon after taking their milk. By then Tomboi and Kamboyo were busy challenging each other in a strength testing exercise. At one point Tomboi fell down as he retreated to gain momentum for a forward push. Tomboi continued to defend himself even after he fell down. Then Lenana started to act strangely trying to pull Bongos hind legs using her trunk, Bongo had no interest and instead ran away from naughty Lenana, Lenana then went to Shukuru to only again cause havoc but Shukuru instead trumpeted for the keepers help. Lenana was on a mission to disrupt everyone today! At mud bath time the weather was cloudy and only Bongo braved a mudbath. The rest headed to drink water soon after taking their milk. As Vuria, Bomani, Narok, Garzi and Orwa were drinking four wild bulls joined them. As a sign of respect the five juniors stepped back and gave way to the bulls.

25 September 2014

As the orphans left the stockade as usual in the early hours of the morning, three wild elephants emerged from the western side. The three bulls headed straight to the water trough to drink. When Shukuru saw the bulls she decided to go and share water with them but she quickly lost her nerve when she got closer and saw the size of the three bulls so instead she retreated back to all her friends in the herd. At mudbath time Bomani hung around the keepers hoping that one of the other orphans might not take all their milk leaving some for him. He was out of luck though. During the day Orwa came across a blooming tree, he bent down onto his knees hoping to somehow push over the tree but there was no hope, the tree was solid! So instead he reached high up into the branches and collected beautiful green leaves.

26 September 2014

Today Mutara led the way to the browsing fields. Once out there Orwa had an itchy ear so he decided to take a break from browsing and somehow find a way to itch his ear. He went to a nearby tree and persisted on rubbing his head against the tree until he was finally satisfied. At around ten o'clock in the morning, the temperatures soared causing Bongo to go and relax under a tree, though the tree didn't have good shade but for him it was better than standing under the direct sun light. It had been a hot and exhausting day so the walk home was slow as Laragai led the herd. Once the orphans arrived back home a flock of weaver birds perched on the nearby acacia tree. The weaver birds are an indication that the rains are coming. They were beginning to build their nests in anticipation of bountiful times.

27 September 2014

Ithumba hill was partly covered by mist this morning as the orphans left their stockades. At the water trough, sixteen wild elephants were there taking water. As the juniors were relaxing within the stockade compound, ex-orphans Kenze Madiba Tomboi Taita Nasalot and Buchuma came by, and about 5minutes after their arrival Narok and Shukuru very bravely went towards the wild bulls and joined them for a drink of water. Everything was peaceful and the bulls didn’t seem to mind too much as they all interacted happily. Later, all the orphans joined two wild bulls at the mud bath, but it didn’t take long until Teleki had gotten all the orphans to join him in the soil.

28 September 2014

It was an amazing start to the day, all the ex-orphans came home to the stockade and this is a sight to see with 52 of them. Our dependant orphans seemed so excited and thrilled to see all their friends. Mwende is looking a little thin, but the keepers were sure to take her aside and give her some extra lucerne and milk to try and give her some extra nutrients that she might be missing from her diet this dry season. Orwa, Shukuru and the drama queen Laragai headed straight to the water trough where they found several bulls drinking. Shukuru and Orwa analyzed the mood of the bulls and decided to wait for awhile as the bulls didn’t seem too comfortable with the two joining them at the water trough. Later the orphans left for the browsing fields leaving more than sixty elephants at the stockade. At mud bath time, half trunk with four wild elephants came for water and to spend time with their little friends. Teleki was the first one to get into the mud while Kanjoro Mutara and Turkwel headed straight to join the bulls. As for Vuria and his friend Garzi they used the same tree to scratch, Vuria scratched his neck while Garzi scratched his buttocks. It had been a lovely day and the elephants were happily content as they slowly one by one fell asleep in their stockade.

29 September 2014

Eighteen wild elephants emerged from east side of the Ithumba stockades and came straight to drink water. At the browsing field, Bongo and Vuria began challenging one another’s strength but of course Bongo wasn’t going to give up until he came out victorious… and indeed he did! At mud bath time the sun was hot and therefore all the orphans wallowed in the mud except Vuria who stood on his own under a tree playing with the broken branches, it seemed after his battle with Bongo he wasn’t impressed by the fact that he lost. The orphans had a quiet afternoon as they only concentrated on browsing. It was only Kainuk who took a break from feeding and played in the soil but no one was interested in joined her.

30 September 2014

Shortly before six o'clock in the morning, five wild dogs passed by a few meters from the stockade. The wild dogs didn't stop but instead headed towards the Kalovoto water course. Once the wild dogs had moved off the orphans were let out their stockade. Shukuru walked to her favorite rock where she scratched her belly and later her buttocks. When Shukuru left the rock, Bomani was waiting and quickly stepped in and started scratching on the same rock. Towards ten o'clock in the morning, the sun was getting hot and Mutara opted to feed under a tree while Orwa resorted to drawing water from his stomach and spraying it under his ears in attempt to cool off. At mud bath time the sun was still hot and amazingly enough Bomani, Vuria and Garzi didn't even bother to step into the mud bath water for a cool off. All the other orphans did but not those three. After the hot day the sun began to fall and the wild creatures slowly began to emerge from the bushes and begin to feed and hunt, the orphans fell asleep under the watchful eyes of the keepers… they were safe for tonight.