01 September 2016

The young elephants receive all the trust, love and care they need from the older females. Today as soon as Ngilai stepped out of his pen he went up to Kamok stockades to see if she was still inside, as he usually does. Normally if she is still inside he will hang around after saying hello to her at her door, and wait for her so that you can go out to the forest together. All the babies were coming out at the same time today, normally the little babies come out later, but today there was filming at the nursery so the babies came out at the same time. Ambo had come out before okay Oltaiyoni today, and he went directly to her gate. He started pushing the gate for his adopted mother to come out faster. They all eventually came out and proceeded to the forest together. Everything went on as usual, some were browsing and others were playing in pairs. Sometimes the little babies can envy their older friends. Ambo was having a good time with one of the keepers and was being hand fed some nice, soft vegetation. Ngilai moved in to share, but Ambo jumped on him and head-butted him away. He did this in front of the keeper as he knew his presence would protect him from any retaliation from Ngilai. Ngilai wanted to push them back but he couldn’t as the keeper would protect Ambo because he is much smaller. When the babies were crowded around one place a warthog found its way among the orphans and was confused how to get out of the crowd. Tagwa and Roi gave the warthog a hard time and drove her out of the group. Naseku and Godoma had sneaked out of the group and moved farther into the bushes. They were standing some distance away from the rest. It was not yet fully light and there was other wildlife around. That was a long bull buffalo in the area where the two were browsing and when Naseku saw it she started trumpeting to attract the other orphans to help her drive to the buffalo away. Only Roi responded by trumpeting, but she did not go to her. In the end Naseku and Godoma backed away from the buffalo and returned to the rest of the group, still trumpeting away.

02 September 2016

It is 6:30 in the morning everyone is already out in the park. We are never sure why Ndotto feels the need to entertain and keep the others active and happy; perhaps it is just for his own entertainment. By 6:30 this morning the majority of the orphans were busy browsing, apart from Oltaiyoni. She was down on her front knees poking her tusks into a warthog hide, loosening some soil for Ambo to play with. Ndotto had engaged Naseku a game that he loves most, pushing each other around! We always say that if Ndotto is standing still, there must be something wrong with him! This morning his choice of playmate was Naseku. The two were wrestling and sizing each other up. He wasn't giving Naseku a break at all and whenever she attempted to walk away from him and concentrate on browsing instead, he walked up behind her and patted her back with his trunk, as if he were asking 'can we keep playing'? Naseku would try to ignore him, but Ndotto is very persistent and she would eventually give up and comply to his demands to play. The game went on in the long grass and they were having a great time rolling around before standing up and pushing down the short bushes, and pushing each other to! The game only came to an end when the rest of the herd went for the milk feed. Jotto has a unique character that we have not seen another baby before. He seems to like human babies, just as much as he does his elephant baby peers! During the public visit he will walk up and down the rope cordon interacting and greeting people, and he especially likes young children. It seems he can even spot pregnant and mothers with young babies particularly. He holds and rests his trunk on the mother, which is something very special to witness.

03 September 2016

It was a great start to the day this morning. The babies came out of their pens and headed to the forest. Most of the orphans were very excited, trumpeting and charging around, rumbling and shoving each other. Kamok happens to be a very good trumpeter and led the trumpeting choir. Dupotto and some of the others responded very well. It was a big celebration, but nobody could tell what the celebration was all about! Then we received a phone call from the Voi stockades that they had rescued a young baby boy elephant the night before. It was too late so the baby had to spend the night with them in the Voi stockades. We immediately sent a rescue team from Nairobi to Voi to collect the little one. At the same time there was another phone call from the Ithumba stockades; Ex Orphan Galana had showed up at the stockades with a tiny newborn baby boy! Could these be the reasons the nursery babies were celebrating this morning? We are not sure, but we are always astounded by the intuition of all our elephant charges on occasions such as this. By 11:30am the calf rescued in Voi had arrived back at the nursery. He was in relatively good condition but was a bit dehydrated. He was charging about so much, a good sign as he has some energy and fight in him. He was put in a stockade next to Rapa, and when the orphans returned for the evening Rapa was very nice to him, allowing him to share his food through the stockade bars and communicating with him throughout the night.

04 September 2016

Oltaiyoni, Mbegu, Dupotto, Roi and the little babies Ambo, Jotto, Tamiyoi as well as Murit were all crowded around the new babies stockade this morning. We have called the new baby Wanjala from where he was rescued. The older females were ready and prepared to give a warm welcome to the new baby boy, who they had not really seen in the excitement for their milk in the evening before. But Wanjala was staying well back from his gate obviously still getting accustomed to his new surroundings and the strange faces. He looked nervous and after trying for some time to coax him to the front of his stockade without success, they started to walk away to the forest. Mbegu, Jotto, Luggard and Tamiyoi stayed a little longer and after seeing most of the bigger ones move away, Wanjala at last moved towards his gate. Luggard was the first to communicate with him, then Mbegu as she is the one who can welcome new babies the best. After some time they decided to catch up with the others who were already in the forest. Mbegu opted to stay back and hang with the little babies. She was later joined by Ambo and Esampu and only later joined up with Oltaiyoni’s group at milk feeding time. When the orphans returned home that evening Oltaiyoni wouldn’t go into her stockade until she had communicated with Wanjala; she spent almost 5 minutes at his stockade gate communicating with him before proceeding to her room.

05 September 2016

It was quite a dull and cold morning this morning as the orphans were walking out to the forest. Due to the weather most of the orphans remained quiet and the very little ones stayed with their blankets on. Ndotto really put smiles on people’s faces during the public visit today. This is his way and this is why he is loved by every human and baby elephant too. It was all quiet, most of the orphans were just idling after having their 11am milk feed as it was too cold to mud bath, the audience was quiet and just listening to the talk by the head keeper, when Ndotto arrived in his normal playful mood. He picked on Mbegu and the two started playing and having fun. They were wrestling, doing ‘hand stands’ and climbing games, Ndotto’s favourite. Ndotto is still small but he is strong enough to wrestle with almost everybody! He would never dare to wrestle or play serious pushing games with Oltaiyoni though. After the orphans went back to the forest they started to separate into smaller groups and moving in different directions. As they moved further into the thicket Ngilai realised he had been left alone. He came out of the bushes calling but no one was close enough to respond. He was running all over the place calling but no one responded, until he changed his tone to a rumble and then Mbegu and Kamok heard him. Kamok trumpeted in order for him to find them and Ngilai ran to meet up them, happy and cheerful to be reunited with the duo.

06 September 2016

Sana Sana missed running out in the first group for her milk bottle at the 11am feed today. She is normally one of the first and later she came charging down, shouting in protest at having been left behind. Arriving in the mud bathe feeding area she started rumbling as she saw the keeper ready and waiting, holding a milk bottle for her. She was happily welcome by Mbegu, who embraced her as she enjoyed her milk bottles. Sana Sana’s milk feeding time was interrupted however by Tagwa and Esampu who are becoming troublesome these days at feeding times. Sometimes they are forced to be the last ones down to the feeding area to avoid them interrupting others. During the visit they are seen to be hanging around by the wheelbarrow holding the milk bottles, trying to snatch some of the bottles and feed themselves – though they are too little! Some of the keepers have to stand guard and make sure they do not try to steal any and drop them in the process.

07 September 2016

When the orphans settled out in the bush this morning Roi, Mbegu, Dupotto and Ndotto were all having a happy time playing on some loose soil which had been dug up in the night by an aardvark. Roi, Dupotto and Mbegu were taking their time, rolling in the soil, and of course Ndotto seized the opportunity to turn anything into a game; he went to clamber over those lying on the ground regardless of their age and size! He could hardly climb on the big girls as he is only small compared to them. In most of his attempts to climb on the big girl Roi, he slid down and landed on his hind, but he kept trying. When the girls stood up Ndotto ran away to avoid being pushed to stop misbehaving. He enjoys pushing big elephants Kamok, Naseku, Tusuja learning more techniques in the art of pushing games, hoping one day he will beat them despite his small body size!

08 September 2016

As the orphans were approaching the forest this morning Kauro and Tusuja were having a playful game of running out of the thicket, engaging each other in a pushing game, before running back into the bushes again. At one stage when they were in the bushes they came across Maramoja who was happily enjoying some browse, and funnily enough both boys decided to run after her trying to play with her. Maramoja looked for a quick escape though the boys kept following her with no intention to give up. This prompted Maramoja to yell out loudly to be rescued from the bully boys. This drew the attention of Oltaiyoni, Roi and Mbegu accompanied by their adopted babies Jotto and Ambo. By the time the big girls arrived to check on what was troubling Maramoja, Kauro and Tusuja were hiding themselves in the bushes to avoid punishment. After checking her over Oltaiyoni, Roi and Mbegu escorted Maramoja out to join the others, leaving Kauro and Tusuja engaged in their pushing game they had begun. This game swiftly came to an end when two male warthogs started fighting near them, which sent them running out of the bushes rumbling and heading to join the others.

09 September 2016

Early this morning the orphans were very active, charging and scampering into the bushes. Led by Rapa, Naseku, Dupotto, Kamok and Ngilai they were charging around the dense bushes and trumpeting, prompting the others who were trying to browse there to do the same. Even the young ones Esampu, Jotto, Ambo, Tamiyoi and Pare joined in. They enjoyed the energy and reaction in the older elephants and wanted to be a part of the scene. The happy game took a turn though when Kauro accidentally bumped into Murit and knocked him down. He shouted out which drew the attention of Oltaiyoni, Mbegu, Roi and Dupotto who came running over to assist poor Murit. They rumbled loudly and checked him over to make sure he was okay; elephants are such caring creatures towards each other.

10 September 2016

The visiting public was amazed this morning when Sana Sana finished her first bottle of milk and instead of allowing her keeper to turn and pick up her second bottle she yelled and started pulling on his dust coat for her second bottle. The keeper tried to calm her and make her be patient so he could get the other bottle – but she yelled loudly and started pushing the keeper from behind towards the wheelbarrow holding the milk bottles! Lovely Mbegu came over to try and help calm her down by putting her trunk in her mouth, but Sana Sana continued to yell until the keeper handed her a second bottle, and as soon as she was done she walked away quietly up to the rope cordon where the visiting public were watching.

11 September 2016

The two great friends Lasayen and Ndotto were allowed at 11am to head out with the first group down to the public visiting and milk feeding area. They took the lead of Esampu, Ambo, Jotto, Sana Sana and Tagwa but just before they were going to arrive at the feeding area, cheeky Ndotto and Lasayen blocked the path, preventing the others from going down to get their bottles. The keepers in the mud bath area were waiting for them but no elephants came down the path, and then they could hear some yelling from the bushes on the edge of the forest. The keepers communicated with the ones in the forest who said they had already sent Ndotto and Lasayen down with the young ones, and when they walked up the path they were amazed to see naughty Ndotto and Lasayen blocking the way there! They wouldn’t let any of them past and would head butt them to prevent them! Esampu and Sana Sana who were very eager to run down for their milk bottles were the ones yelling due to being blocked. The keeper warned Ndotto and Lasayen and they ran away, finally allowing the others past for their milk.

12 September 2016

Out in the park this morning the orphans were very calm, busy enjoying their browse and not playing any games. Just before 8am their peaceful browsing session came to a swift end when Kiko came running towards them, which frightened them and made them trumpet and charge around. Playful Kiko started running up and down, turning when he came too close to the orphans who were protesting the disturbance! Naughty Kamok, Maramoja, Tusuja, Kauro and Naseku tried to chase him in the bushes, though Kiko challenged them by running fast and leaving them behind. Kiko’s game of chicken came to an end though when he mistimed his steps and bumped into some small thickets; so he stopped and just watched the elephants trumpet and charge around, before they settled down once more after realizing Kiko had stopped his silly antics.

13 September 2016

Wanjala left his stockade to join the other orphans out in the bush today. Right after the 9am milk feed some of the orphans such as Mbegu, Oltaiyoni and Dupotto were chosen to go and bring him from the compound out to the bush. The naughty ones such as Rapa, Galla were left behind in the forest. When the small party to collect Wanjala arrived in the stockade area, they seemed to already know when they had been sent back for! They all went directly to Wanjala’s gate and started pushing and pulling on it willing it to open. When the keepers arrived and opened the gate, the shy little boy was hesitant at first to leave the stockade, but eventually he came out in his own time and in no hurry. The girls all pushed and shoved to get to him and greet him first. He handled his first morning out very well and when he arrived out in the forest he immediately went to browse on all the different types of vegetation he enjoys. Tusuja was very welcoming and wanted to show him around. Though his friend Rapa was also at his side and caused some problems due to his jealous nature. Mbegu was also watching however and would not allow any harm to come to the new arrival! She drove Rapa away from Wanjala so he would not be able to disturb him, and that gave Tusuja some space to welcome the new boy. When it came time for the public visit Wanjala was switched to Tamiyoi’s little group who he was very compatible with, as he was too new to attend the public visit just yet. Later he was reunited with the whole group again in the afternoon. During the 3pm private visit today it was very hot so all the orphans led by Jotto and Murit enjoyed a lengthy mud and dust bath. They all had a great time. Wanjala’s return home for bed also went smoothly as he followed Pare, Luggard and Tamiyoi; he already knew which was his pen and he went in without any problem. As soon as the foster parents left this evening, Solio paid us a visit. Maxwell was happy to see her and was very playful. He kept running up and down from his bedroom to the top of his stockade where Solio was. After eating some lucerne Solio decided to have a rest in her old home and only left the stockade compound at around 8pm.

14 September 2016

Jotto as the little baby in the family is used to having a nap in the afternoon, especially when it is too hot. He will just try and find a cooler place normally somewhere around where the keepers are. Tagwa will also sometimes join him as she is never far from her beloved keepers, but she never takes a nap whilst out in the forest. Today Mbegu didn’t want Jotto to have a nap though, and she just wanted him to be awake so she could spend time with him. He tried several times to find a good spot to have a nap but Mbegu kept waking him up, using her front legs and her trunk to lift him up. Eventually Jotto moved closer to the keepers who stopped Mbegu from waking him. When he lay down this time Mbegu decided not to wake up, under orders from the keepers, and stood vigil beside him whilst he slept instead. To make sure no one else bothered him, she stood over his sleeping body and browsed there on the same spot. Once she thought he had enough sleep, the little girl started waking him up again, using her front legs to kick him gently, just how real mothers would do in the wild. Roi can sometimes be a little cheeky girl. When she is stopped from doing something wrong, just like a human child sometimes she will get angry and start throwing things around and stamping. Today during visiting, the keeper doing the talk warned her by pointing his finger at her, as she was trying to bully Maramoja. She turned against him and wanted to smack him with her trunk but another keeper came over to stop her. Then she rushed to the speaker where the keeper’s voice was coming from and tried to pick that up in a strop, but the keeper stopped her from doing that as well. The she turned around and started kicking the stand the speaker was on with her hind legs! Several keepers had to come and control her in this bad mood she was in and send her away from the group.

15 September 2016

It’s quite rare for Murit to be involved in any serious active play with his friends at the nursery, but this morning was different and we wondered if he had had a really good night’s sleep! When he came out of his stable this morning he walked straight over to Maxwell’s stockade and started sharing his lucerne that had been put out the previous evening. Maxwell was sleeping by his gate and Murit started pulling on his ears using his trunk to wake him up to play. It worked and Max seemed to have been waiting for someone to play with as he started running up and down in circles and pushing on the gate. Murit started pushing the gate from his side too and they both had a lot of fun in this charging game for a few minutes, before they got too tired and called it off. They had had a lot of fun, and Max went to go and rest in his bedroom whilst Murit walked off to catch up with his friends in the forest. When he reached there it seemed he was still in a playful mood. He found Luggard and started a small wrestling match with him, but he is so good and knows the weaknesses of the others like Luggard, with his broken leg. The two had a lot of fun playing and were soon joined by baby Jotto. Jotto also happens to like pushing and climbing games. Murit and Jotto ended up rolling in the fresh, loose soil dug from the warthog holes. Their fun time only ended when the 9am milk feed arrived in the forest. When we increase the milk feed of an orphan we need to be prepared. They are aware of the change and will expect it to increase every time! Then you end up with one greedy elephant. Tagwa and Esampu’s milk feed was increased a few days ago and since then he duo have caused a lot of problems at milk feeding time. Tagwa is getting the maximum two bottles but still fights to demand for more! Esampu now gets one big bottle for a small elephant of her size, but this little girl is just greedy and becomes pushy at milk time. Today at the 11am feed she caused a lot of drama, forcing Mbegu to intervene by driving her away from everyone! She had been pushing everyone around including Mbegu, demanding more milk when she saw others still having theirs.

16 September 2016

We think Ambo is becoming a slightly spoilt little boy, from all the love, care and protection he is receiving from Oltaiyoni. He is almost over protected, and if anyone is found pushing him they will e severally disciplined by the likes of Oltaiyoni. This has led to Ambo believing he is the baby of the ‘big’ mama and no one can touch him! Oltaiyoni will even decide who can play and interact with the young boy. If the boy ever complains or shouts, that always reaches Oltaiyoni’s ear and whoever is standing near him will be roughly pushed away, even if it is Ambo who is antagonizing them! For this reason if he is ever in the charging mood or mock charges anyone, most of the time the other young ones will just ignore him and walk away. Today Ambo was very hard on Godoma and Ngilai. Although these two can be quite pushy, Ambo was pushing them every time he walked past them. At the public visit he kept going after these two and provoking them. Ambo even head butted Galla, who turned around for revenge but luckily a keeper was there to prevent him from doing anything to the boisterous but still very young Ambo! Ambo can even push his keepers and they need to be ready when he comes running down for his milk bottle or he can just push them over. This morning during visiting we had some other guests as well; the first of which was a tortoise who walked into the feeding area from the bushes. He bumped into Tagwa and Esampu who were browsing on some branches laid there. Tagwa looked down and must have thought he was a kind of rock but when she put her trunk out to touch the back of the tortoise it raised its head high in the air. This gave them both a fright and Tagwa and Esampu ran shouting for help from this strange creature they had not seen before. This drew everyone’s attention and the keepers carried the tortoise back to the bushes whilst others tried to settle the orphans down. A few minutes later a warthog jumped into the mud bath without the orphans knowing. Mbegu and Jotto turned and got a fright, and ran out of the mud bath. When they realised it was just a warthog Mbegu, Godoma and Ngilai drove it away back into the bushes.

17 September 2016

There was lots of excitement amidst the babies this morning as they headed out to the forest. They were all engaged in different games – Ndotto was wrestling with Roi and Dupotto, Oltaiyoni and Mbegu were rolling around in the long grass as the two little boys Ambo and Jotto were sliding on them. Rapa, Tusuja, Naseku and Kauro were busy playing hide and seek games, running all over the place as Naseku trumpeted to flush the warthogs out of the bushes. It was a happy start to the day for everybody. Last night we received a call from the Voi stockades that they had rescued a baby female elephant. The mother had died from natural causes and old age, but it was too late in the day to fly the orphan to Nairobi. So today by 8am the rescue team had left Nairobi for Voi to collect the little girl. She is around 10 months old and we have named her Malkia. She drank the elephant formula well and settled into her stockade to eat some soft greens. She is not very aggressive but still a wild elephant. With her arrival at the nursery Ndotto had to move to the stockades next to his best friend Lasayen. Ngilai moved into Ndotto’s stable and Malkia moved into his old room. Ngilai was so nice to her, communicating to her throughout the night and reassuring her all was well.

18 September 2016

Ngilai looked after the new little one so well last night that when it came time for him to leave for the forest this morning, Malkia fought to join him. She turned very aggressive and started trying to climb over the wall into Ngilai’s room. He never stopped communicating with her throughout the night and that is why she grew so attached to him. Ndotto was fine sleeping in his new stockade next to his friends. He was also trying to climb over the wall into Lasayen’s pen in order to play with him. Galla and Sana Sana were also very okay with the moves, as if nothing had happened! Today at 3pm we decided to take the whole group down including the babies to the mud bath for their milk as well. Luggard, Pare, Tamiyoi and Wanjala were so excited to be in the mud bathing area, as they do not come down for visits. Luggard was having the most fun and after he drank his bottle of milk he went down to the mud pool and started enjoying the mud. Wanjala and Pare followed suit but Tamiyoi stayed behind. They loved the bath and after enjoyed soil dusting as well, whilst Mbegu, Dupotto and Rapa all enjoyed the mud bath as well.

19 September 2016

At milk feeding time even the quieter orphans can turn aggressive! There was a bit of drama during the 11am public visit between Ambo, Esampu and Jotto today. Everything was okay before Esampu arrived at the feeding area. Jotto and Ambo had arrived a little earlier and had their milk feed. They then went to dust in the red soil away from the milk wheelbarrow. When Jotto saw a keeper go to the wheelbarrow and pick up a bottle for Esampu, he went running over in order to hopefully be the recipient of this bottle! He pushed Esampu so she couldn’t have the milk, and the keeper was stuck in the middle of the two pushing each other, while he tried to hold the milk bottle. It turned into a fight and Esampu ran shouting and fighting to have her milk, whilst Jotto charged after her. Ambo became concerned and joined the struggle, and he is very strong and very fast too and he pushed the keeper, not understanding if he was saving his friends from the keeper or what. This forced the other keepers to stop what they were doing and come to help, but none of the three babies were ready to give up their fight! The milk bottle had to be put down aside so that the keepers could calm everyone down, so that Esampu could finally have her milk. However, as the saying goes, an elephant never forgets. Usually Jotto is the last one to leave the feeding area and Esampu knows this as well. Today she hung back to walk behind Jotto and before they crossed the water, she pushed him hard so he fell in. Jotto is a strong boy though and tried to turn back but Esampu grabbed his hind leg with her trunk. He over powered her turned back to charge, pushing her back into the line when a keeper saw what was happening and came to save the situation. Mbegu had heard the shouting and ran back to find out what was happening. Wangala came down to the show for his first visit today with the other orphans. He looked very comfortable and opted to play in the mud bath which he really enjoyed from the start until the end of the show.

20 September 2016

Sana Sana is such a little sweetie and she seems to be stealing everyone’s heart! Every morning when her gate is opened she doesn’t hang around in the compound but she walks straight out to the forest. She doesn’t seek company from anyone and is happy to do this on her own, and this is how her day began today as well with her friends joining her later. She browsed this morning until it was milk feeding time and she seemed not to have an appetite for her milk. She only came over and tasted it which was very strange, and she is one that usually loved her milk! She mingled with her friends browsing and played with them for a bit, and around 10.30 in the morning she snuck off and led Esampu and Rapa to the mud bathing area. When they found the area vacant of people and the milk bottles Sana Sana started shouting. This caught the keepers by surprise as they had not realised she had left! The trio were led back to the group so they could wait altogether for the right feeding time. Her time might have been a little off because she rejected her 9am feed, so when she heard the radio noise signaling the time to the keepers, she shoved past the others and ran down to the feeding area. She overtook them all and ran the whole way right up until she got to her milk bottles! By the time the second baby arrived which was Ambo, Sana Sana had already finished her two bottles! She was fine the rest of the day until it was the next feeding time at 3pm. Again she didn’t want to wait and she ran all the way down to the stockade area. When she got there and found no one again she started shouting and calling for the milk. She was again led back to the group and made to wait for the right time. During the 3pm private visit Ndotto was in a very good mood and played with Tusuja and Kauro. They enjoyed rolling in some loose soil and wrestling games from the beginning of the visit right up until the end.

21 September 2016

Today Kiko was out early to join the orphans out in the forest. From a distance Kamok saw him coming and she started charging at him, with her ears raised high and wise to try and scare him away from the group. None of this stopped Kiko’s plan of joining the orphans however and the closer he got the more agitated and aggressive Kamok became. She decided to meet him on the way to try and stop him but Kiko kept marching towards the herd. Kamok walked right up to him and smacked him with her trunk and Kiko retaliated with his hind legs kicks and Kamok chased him around! He eventually gave up and disappeared into the forest, only to show up later for his milk. After the public visit this morning, a few of the elephants were escorted back in order to help lead Malkia out to the forest for the first time. Godoma, Oltaiyoni, Mbegu, Kamok, Ndotto and Roi were a part of this welcoming committee. Godoma thought she had been brought back early for bed and went into her stockade, only to be redirected by the keepers. Roi was the first one to communicate with and introduce Malkia to the rest of the family. She used her trunk to touch and cuddle the new baby, which really helped her to relax. Then there was a lot of shoving between Oltaiyoni, Kamok and Mbegu to try and challenge Roi and get to the baby next. By then Roi had won her heart though and they all walked out to the forest. When they reached the forest Roi decided to give the new girl some space and see how she would do. Unfortunately Tusuja came over and started bullying the new baby, so Roi intervened and drove him away. Mbegu and Dupotto joined Roi and Malkia and then Naseku, but then Naseku started prodding her in the back with her tusks too so Roi drove her away as well. She returned home later with Tamiyoi, Pare and Luggard around 4:30 and she went into her pen without any trouble after a nice day out in the forest.

22 September 2016

Just one day out seems to have been enough for the keepers to win Malkia’s trust! This morning she hardly wanted to leave their side at all, she kept walking away slightly then coming back to ask for a finger to suckle on. Luggard became slightly jealous and pushed her away when she was suckling on a keeper’s finger close to him. She turned to defend herself though, showing Luggard that she had as much right to be there as him! Wanjala seems particularly close with Malkia and follows her around everywhere. Often they are seen linking trunks and communicating. Because of Malkia being a new arrival, Mbegu did not want to join the others out deeper in the forest. She stayed browsing beside the group of little ones who stay near the keepers. She watched every step that Malkia made, with Wanjala always close behind, all the time. Roi seemed to have handed over this torch of guardianship to Mbegu as she was in the group that was browsing deep in the thicket. She had been there for some time before she suddenly seemed to remember and she came out running to find the new little one. By that time Malkia was with Tamiyoi, Wanjala and Luggard beside the keepers. Mbegu has gone to attend to Jotto who was complaining after his blanket had got stuck on the branches of a low tree. When she spotted Roi she quickly pulled Jotto out and ran over back to where the babies were; it was as if she didn’t want Roi around Malkia. She started pushing Malkia to walk away from the group but Roi kept following them. Malkia remained calm the whole time and even went down for the private viewing and had lots of fun bathing in the mud bath and dusting in the red soil. Kamok teamed up with Maramoja to prevent Pea the ostrich from drinking water from the same trough as them, but they were stopped by a keeper and Pea was allowed to have some water.

23 September 2016

The orphans had settled out in the field in the early morning and many enjoyed browsing quietly. Sana Sana however led Esampu, Tagwa, Malkia, Pare, Wanjala and Murit through the forest down to the mud wallow, and failing to find any keepers there with the wheelbarrow she started shouting. She and Esampu both yelled to get the keepers’ attention to bring them some milk bottles, but their timing was very off as it was only just past 7am! When the keepers walked down to herd them back to the forest, they found Sana Sana and Esampu still standing their shouting, with Murit leading Pare, Wanjala and Malkia back into the bushes. As the keepers tried to sake Sana Sana and Esampu back they started bellowing loudly and trying to run back to the mud wallow. They gave their keepers a tough time as they firmly resisted return. This promoted the keepers to lure them back to the forest with empty bottles, which saw the girls happily run after them believing it was milk. When Esampu realised the milk bottle was empty she got angry and started pushing the keeper. She kept demanding milk even though it wasn’t time yet! After awhile she relaxed when she realized the keepers were not going to pander to her and she had to wait until 9 o’clock like everyone else for her milk.

24 September 2016

Recently Jotto has had loose stools and woke up this morning looking dull and quiet, certainly not his usual playful self! As he came out of his stockade he was spotted by caring Mbegu who quickly ran over to check on him. She tried to embrace and cuddle the boy but Jotto did not respond as usual with a rumble, something which made sure that Mbegu stayed put for some time and then slowly escort him out to the forest where she browsed shoulder to shoulder with him. Jotto was given some medication to treat his symptoms and did not come down for the public visit. This made Mbegu restless and she continued to walk between Esampu, Ambo and Malkia looking for little Jotto until she went back out to the forest.

25 September 2016

Early this morning Ndotto, Lasayen, Ngilai, Murit, Godoma and Roi were all witnessed running around in the bushes happy enjoying the new day. It was lovely to watch Murit who is normally quiet and calm, running around and playing a pushing game with Ngilai. The keepers were so happy to watch him in this mood, and playing with Ngilai too who can sometimes be a bully (he doesn’t always mean to be, but he loves pushing games!) As Ngilai was engaged playing with Murit, Ndotto started a pushing game with Roi, who is almost twice his size! Ndotto likes to play with anyone though and will take on any of his peers no matter how big they are! Roi is big and strong compared to Ndotto and she did not use all of her full might in the pushing game, but Ndotto gave it his best and took the game seriously! Their happy came attracted Lasayen and then Rapa too but they were all up against Roi who was wise enough to fold the game before things got out of hand.

26 September 2016

Jotto has been unwell for almost two days, however today he woke up looking much better and back to his usual antics. He came out of his stable and went to look for Tamiyoi, Esampu and Tagwa and upon seeing them he ran after them, playing a chasing game with Tamiyoi and Esampu and trying to climb on them; definitely back to his usual self! Today we were very happy that Pare joined the public visit for the first time. He was very happy walking out and about and walking along the rope cordon greeting the public. However whilst he was walking along enjoying the attention, naughty Ndotto and Ngilai were watching and became jealous. They came over to bully and bump against him, though Ngilai’s mission was actually to bump against those who were next to the rope cordon! At one point he spotted a lady, who was very low under the rope cordon with her camera, as she tried to capture Rapa playing with Lasayen. Ngilai ran over quickly and bumped into her camera with his hind, before running off quickly to avoid being told off, leaving the lady laughing over his cheeky behaviour.

27 September 2016

Out in the bush today the orphans were all enjoying calming browsing. Most of the morning passed by in this fashion and no one really played any games. During the public visit however, soon after finishing their milk those in the first session like Godoma, Rapa, Ambo and Esampu were busy enjoying the mud bath. Young Ambo rolled in the mud bath and then quickly ran out to avoid being bumped into by the naughty bully Rapa, who was doing just that and bumping into Godoma. During the private visit at 3pm poor Luggard and Tamiyoi also joined and Luggard proved to be a real mud bath lover, despite his injured leg from a bullet wound. It was amazing to watch him roll around in the mud with no difficulties at all, and then walk out without being assisted to roll in the soil for a happy dust bath.

28 September 2016

As the orphans were busy walking out of their stockades in the morning, Maxwell the rhino was charging after a female warthog and her three tiny piglets that were inside his stockade feeding on his tasty lucerne. The funny squeaking noise the piglets made Maxwell want to run around after them, though they were wise enough to all run in different directions and gather with their mother, leaving Maxwell always wondering which direction they had run in! As all this was going on, Dupotto, Naseku, Galla, Maramoja and Sana Sana had all gathered alongside Maxwell’s gate and were watching as Maxwell chased the mother and baby warthogs around his stockade. When the mother and piglets eventually ran out of the stockade they passed right next to Dupotto and Naseku which gave them a fright and they ran out to the forest trumpeting and rumbling away. The commotion drew the attention of the entire herd and they came running out headed by Oltaiyoni. When Oltaiyoni and the rest of the herd joined them they all milled around together in silence with their ears raised trying to know what was happening. After a few minutes and with no further disturbance they were all back to normal and busy browsing in the bushes there.

29 September 2016

Malkia is settling in very well and has learnt all the daily routines of the nursery orphans. She has been showing a happy and contented mood amidst her human and elephant family too. She is mostly seen with Tagwa, Pare, Sana Sana, Luggard and Tamiyoi – a group that all seem pretty polite, calm and always welcoming. This has helped poor Malkia settle in quickly and recover from the trauma of losing her maternal family. She has become another great milk lover and she is picking up some bad habits from the others especially Esampu! When she finishes her milk she yells out and starts pushing the keeper towards the wheelbarrow to demand more. When she is warned away by the keepers she yells out in protect. Sometimes she tries to sneak up on the wheelbarrow and run off with a bottle though she is not very good at holding a heavy bottle yet. Esampu is now last to the bottle feeding area as if she comes down any earlier than that she is a great trouble maker and creates a chaotic scene! She does not allow any of the others to enjoy their milk and demands theirs too. She is the greediest little girl in the orphan herd!

30 September 2016

As the orphans were settling down to browse in the bush today, Kauro and Tusuja were having a very serious wrestling game where they were trying to decide who was the strongest between them. Kauro tackled Tusuja down to the ground but Tusuja fought back up and took on Kauro, pushing him hard into the bushes. With this Oltaiyoni and Roi tried to separate them but without success and finally Kauro won the game when Tusuja accidentally tripped over some short bushes and Kauro ran over and head butted him hard on the ground, prompting Tusuja to yell out and the keepers to force Kauro away. Just before noon today a tiny white baby rhino arrived at the nursery from Nakuru National Park which had been severely attacked by lions. The little 2 month old had multiple injuries but he was still drinking milk; very sadly the next day he succumbed to his injuries despite our best efforts to save him.