The month began in the most wonderful way possible, when on the 1st of September 14 year old Loijuk brought her newborn baby girl to the stockades before dawn, with doting nannies Naserian and Ithumbah vigilantly on hand. We named her firstborn Lili, a fitting name given that Loijuk was named after a swamp close to where she was rescued in a drought year in northern Kenya, though parched dry at the time. When it rains the swamp is transformed into a lush paradise, filled with water birds and carpeted with wild water lilies.
It was a blessed morning when Loijuk brought her first wild born baby Lili to the stockade in the morning. Loijuk was in the company of Naserian and Ithumbah. When the orphans left the stockade, Mundusi and Galla got the opportunity to interact with tiny baby Lili. The inexperienced Loijuk didn't mind about who played with her baby. She let the baby wander all about with the nannies who she trusts completely. Shortly later the orphans left for browsing leaving Loijuk and her group at the stockade still feeding on lucerne. Mundusi, who loves pushing games, engaged Pare in a strength testing exercise that ended in a draw. Esampu played with Naseku while Kamok played with her friend Oltaiyoni.
At mud bath time, the orphans were joined by eight wild bulls. The orphans had their milk bottles and some water before walking back out to the bush, deciding to skip wallowing even though the wild elephants were really enjoying it. In the afternoon, the orphans settled to browse in between west of Ithumba Hill and Imenti area and in the evening passed by the mud bath for an evening cooling-off. After the orphans did some soil dusting before heading back to the stockade.
Several wild bulls in the company of Taita, Bomani, Orwa, Kilaguni and Chemi Chemi were drinking water at the stockade water troughs when the orphans were let out of their night stockades this morning. One of the wild bulls walked to where the orphans were and enjoyed feeding on lucerne with them. Enkikwe was welcomed outside by Roi after receiving treatment on his leg.
Later, Ambo settled for soil dusting while Tusuja engaged Kibo in pushing game in an effort to try and learn new pushing techniques. Ambo was joined later in soil bathing by Pare, Mundusi, Enkikwe Kuishi, Mapia, Esampu and Bomani. Mundusi, who loves pushing games, got the opportunity to challenge Pare and Esampu. Sapalan engaged Namalok in a pushing game and later attempted to ride on him. At mud bath time the weather was chilly and only three wild bulls showed up. Kilaguni jumped into the mud bathing water but after feeling that the water was cold he swiftly got out again. In the afternoon the orphans settled to browse on the slopes of Ithumba Hill for the rest of the day. Olsekki took some time off from feeding to have a soil dusting exercise.
The sky was clear in the morning and this was an indication of a hot day ahead. The orphans settled for their lucerne in the morning before leaving for browsing. Malkia shared lucerne with Pare while Kithaka shared it with Sapalan. Turkwel settled with Malima as Mapia kept himself busy by soil dusting. Shortly later, the ex-orphans showed up disrupting the existing calm amongst the orphans. The orphans decided to give them space instead of being pushed around like a ball. Loijuk and baby Lili were present with the pregnant Wendi, plus Mulika, Lenana and Naserian. Naserian, who is the main nanny for Lili, always makes sure that she is always close to her. The rebels Turkwel, Kithaka, Barsilinga, Garzi and Lemoyian parted ways with their friends and briefly joined the ex-orphans. The orphans had a quiet morning despite being a hot day.
At mud bath time the ex-orphans and wild bulls flooded the area making it difficult for the orphans to have a good time mud bathing. The orphans only had their milk bottles and some water then headed back out to browse. Tusuja briefly engaged baby Yoyo in a pushing game then later played with baby Kama. In the afternoon, Mundusi and Pare took some time off from feeding to have a game of pushing one another, a game that ended when Mundusi surrendered.
It was a quiet morning as the orphans left the stockade and settled for their morning lucerne. No wild elephants or ex-orphans showed up in the morning and the orphans enjoyed every moment as they fed without any disturbance. Once the lucerne was over, Maramoja led the way to the browsing field. Ambo settled to browse with his friend Jotto while Mapia settled to browse with Kuishi. Later, the orphans were joined by Olare, Melia, Tumaren, Kandecha, Kalama, Kitirua and a wild female. Shortly before mud bath time, the temperature became unbearable making the orphans and the ex-orphans take a break from feeding to relax under a tree. At mud bath time, the orphans participated fully in the wallowing exercise and all plunged into the mud bath to cool down after having their milk bottles. After the orphans left for browsing twenty eight wild bulls showed up for water at the mud bath water troughs. Olare and her group spent the entire afternoon with the orphans and later escorted them back to the stockade.
Several wild bulls were present early in the morning. Their host Taita then informed them that they should not leave but wait for lucerne that would be served at day break. When the orphans were let out, the teenage wild bulls interacted freely with the orphans as they looked forward to what they had been promised by Taita. As per Taita's word, the lucerne was served and the wild bulls were happy to share it with the orphans. Shortly later, Yatta and her group showed up and took over the entire area making the orphans want to leave to go out and browse. Before leaving, Sana Sana had a conflict with baby Yoyo when Yoyo intentionally pushed her. Sana Sana retaliated but gave up when she saw Yoyo’s mother Yatta approaching. Baby Lili fell when she tried to go around her mother. Loijuk acted quickly and lifted her baby back to its feet.
Out in the bush Mundusi, who loves pushing games, decided to have a strength testing exercise with Galla as Sapalan and Pare found suitable rocks that they used to scratch their itchy bodies on. Ambo led the first group to the mud bath where several wild bulls were enjoying drinking water. The orphans, after having their milk, joined the bulls in drinking water then jumped into the mud bath before heading back to the browsing field. The afternoon was quiet as the orphans browsed calmly throughout the rest of the day.
The stockade compound was flooded with wild elephants coming for water today. Noticeable were two breeding herds that had young ones. Once the orphans were let out and settled for lucerne, the breeding herd joined the orphans. Mundusi had a disagreement with one of the wild young babies and decided to drive it away, and then returned to join his friends when the wild baby surrendered and ran to its family. Mundusi was so playful in the morning and decided to have his own game of rolling on the ground after winning his fight with the wild baby. After the rolling game, Mundusi tackled Karisa but was unlucky since he lost the game to Karisa and this seemed to draw an end to his playful mood. Esampu settled for scratching and later the orphans left for browsing.
Later the orphans were joined by Kibo, Melia, Kalama, Tumaren, Kitirua, Olare and Chemi Chemi. The morning was quiet as the orphans concentrated mostly on browsing. At mud bath time, the orphans were joined by Yatta’s group and several wild elephants. The orphans didn't spend much time at mud bath since they considered it to be crowded due to the presence of many ex-orphans and wild elephants. Only Wanjala spent some time mud bathing at the edge of the mud bath. Loijuk and baby Lili were present and appeared to be doing well despite it being so dry.
In the afternoon the sun became unbearable and so Karisa, Maramoja and Kuishi took a break from feeding to relax under a tree with good shade. In the evening the sun was still hot and this prompted the orphans to pass by the mud bath to have an evening cooling-off exercise
Loijuk, who appears to have taken a break from Yatta’s group, showed up early at the stockade in the company of Olare’s herd. When the orphans were let out, the ex-orphans joined them to feed on lucerne. Mteto settled close to Kitirua and had a girl to girl talk. Tusuja walked down to the water trough and joined a wild bull that was drinking water while Rapa joined Kenze. Ndiwa and Garzi settled for scratching as Loijuk led her group away.
While they were browsing, the orphans were joined by Mutara’s herd and they browsed together up to mud bath time. On their way to the mud bath, the orphans met with Loijuk and her group. Kuishi led the first group to the eleven o'clock milk feed. Kalama, Kilaguni and Chemi Chemi, who were following the orphans close behind, decided to carry branches with them as they walked past the orphans having their milk bottles. This was one way to prevent them from wanting some of the dependent orphans’ milk too. The orphans had a mud bath and shortly later left for browsing. Turkwel, Siangiki and Olsekki joined Loijuk and her group and they walked off out to the bush. By evening, they had not reported back meaning they wanted to stay out with the other ex-orphans.
It was a quiet morning without any wild elephants or ex-orphans showing up. The orphans had the whole compound for themselves at first, but soon thirty buffaloes showed up to drink. Namalok spotted them and walked towards them in a charging mood. One buffalo stood its ground and refused to go away without drinking water but the other buffalos ran away. Namalok was so happy to have chased the buffalos away he came running back to his friends, but passed close to where Lemoyian was thoroughly enjoying his Lucerne, and Lemoyian threatened him with dire consequences should he come any closer. Namalok heeded the warning and went round to avoid trouble with the tough Lemoyian. Once the orphans had enough of the lucerne, Naseku led the way to the water trough. Roi stretched her trunk high up to get an acacia branch but she couldn't reach it; she is still too small, and it seemed she decided if she wasn’t able to get the branches then they weren’t good enough anyway. Sana Sana had a scratching exercise on a rock before following her friends out for the day.
Olsekki, Siangiki, Turkwel, Orwa, Bomani and Chemi Chemi showed up at mud bath. Olsekki, Siangiki and Turkwel joined the ex-orphans the previous day and failed to turn up last night. They spent the night out and only time will tell if they enjoyed their taste of spending the night outside of the stockades or if they would still like to be stockade dependent for a while longer. Though the sun was shining, the orphans boycotted the wallowing exercise. After having their milk and some water, the orphans left again for browsing. Yatta’s herd showed up at mud bath minutes after the dependent orphans had left.
While browsing, Mundusi settled to browse with Mteto while Enkikwe settled to browse with Karisa. In the evening Olsekki and Siangiki returned back to the stockade while Turkwel decided to team up with Orwa, Bomani and Chemi Chemi and stay out.
Tomboi and his wild friend joined the orphans for lucerne in the morning. Other ex-orphans present were Orwa, Bomani and Chemi Chemi, and Turkwel returned with them this morning as well. After feeding on lucerne, Tomboi's wild friend walked back to the water trough where he was joined by Siangiki and Olsekki in drinking water. Esampu had her own game of rolling on the ground as Ambo settled for scratching.
Later Mundusi chose to browse with Tusuja but Tusuja couldn't cope with Mundusi 's behaviour of trying to get whatever he was intending to eat. Tusuja decided to push Mundusi away so he could eat in peace. Ndiwa and Rapa had a brief strength testing exercise before resuming browsing.
At mud bath time, though the sun was so hot, the orphans boycotted the wallowing exercise. Thirty bulls were present and enjoyed drinking water and wallowing. In the evening sixty wild bulls showed up at the stockade and were later joined by Yatta’s herd as well group. Loijuk and baby Lili were present. Wendi, who appears to have abandoned Wiva with her nannies, was also present. Perhaps Wiva is spending more time with the nannies because Wendi is expecting another baby soon too. So far we have not seen Wiva and we hope she is with the other ex-orphans and her nannies like Nasalot, her baby Nusu, Sidai, Chyulu, Lualeni, her baby Lulu, Galana, baby Gawa, Zurura, Makena, Murka, Makireti, Ishanga, Kilabasi, Bongo and Teleki who have not been seen for three months.
It was a chilly morning with light drizzle today. Yatta and her group reported early before the orphans were let out. As soon as the orphans were let out, the ex-orphans joined them and walked together to get lucerne. Naseku and baby Siku had a disagreement which prompted Naseku to lose her temper and push Siku away. After sharing the lucerne, the ex-orphans left and the orphans headed south of the stockades. Sapalan had a lengthy chat with Pare but he appeared to disagree with Sapalan’s stories and we watched as Sapalan pushed Pare away. Pare turned and left. Sapalan walked to a nearby anthill where he settled to scratch. He was later joined by Barsilinga.
At mud bath time, the orphans were joined by Zurura and they had water together before he left with Kithaka, Turkwel, Barsilinga, Garzi, Lemoyian, Siangiki and Olsekki. The seven orphans reported back to the stockade at midnight. It's only a matter of time to see how long this group will remain stockade-dependent. At the moment they are just trying to test what life is like out at night, as they slowly gain the confidence to become fully independent.
It was a chilly morning and the orphans left the stockade and settled for their morning lucerne as usual. No wild elephants or ex-orphans showed up and the orphans enjoyed freely moving around without disturbance from any outsiders. After feeding on lucerne, Sana Sana led the way to the browsing field.
The playful Mundusi engaged Galla in a pushing game that lasted for quite some time. It was all quiet as the orphans concentrated mostly on browsing. At mud bath time, Esampu led Kuishi and Ndiwa in the first group. It wasn’t very hot and the orphans went around the water hole without setting foot into the mud bathing water. Mundusi, who tries to challenge almost all the boys, went for Pare and had a lengthy strength testing exercise until Mundusi lost the game to Pare. All the rebels decided to stick with their friends today, probably due to the fact that no ex-orphans showed up to take them out to explore.
Olare’s herd arrived at the stockade compound early before dawn and slept as they waited for day break to join the dependent orphans. The orphans were let out immediately after taking their morning milk. Sana Sana and Maramoja started their day’s activities by scratching on the nearby rocks. The junior ex-orphans accompanied the orphans to the browsing field soon after finishing the lucerne. It was a quiet morning and towards mud bath time Kamala from Olare’s herd had her own game of rolling on the ground but no one joined in her game and so she got tired and resumed browsing. Tomboi in the company of some wild bulls joined the babies at the mud bath. The orphans didn't take a bath but walked back to the browsing field soon after getting their milk. In the evening, the sun was really hot and the orphans opted to pass by the mud bath and had an evening cooling-off exercise. Yatta showed up with her group later in evening at the stockade with Loijuk and baby Lili still looking really good.
Orwa and Bomani spent the night outside the stockade. At six o'clock in the morning, Orwa was still asleep as Bomani stood on guard. Orwa was woken by the noise made by orphans while taking their milk. After having their milk, the orphans walked out and joined Orwa and Bomani. Fifteen wild bulls were busy drinking water at the stockade water troughs. Shortly later, a female elephant aged about eleven years showed up at the stockade compound with a young baby aged two to three months following her. On arrival, the young baby tried to nurse from the bulls that were at the compound, but was obviously disappointed since he could not get any milk from the bulls. The baby looked like it had gone without milk for some days. The female who was with the baby appeared to be stressed since she couldn't produce any milk to help the hungry baby, as she was evidently not its mother and not lactating. As the female walked away towards Kalovoto with the baby behind her, the Keepers followed her and captured the baby since it was obviously an orphan and it was taken to the Trust HQ.
The orphans headed to Kone area where they settled to browse. Pare had a game of rolling on the ground and when he was done, he found Mundusi waiting to challenge him. Pare tackled Mundusi in a wise manner and ended up winning the game that Mundusi loves. The temperature was moderate and the orphans went on with their browsing business without any major observation. Mutara’s group joined the orphans on the way to the mud bath and at mud bath they were all joined by twenty five wild bulls that were drinking water. In the afternoon the orphans headed south of mud bath while Mutara and her herd took the rebels Kithaka, Barsilinga, Garzi, Lemoyian, Turkwel and also included Olsekki and Siangiki. This group left and only to showed up later in the evening at the stockade.
It was a chilly morning with light showers. The orphans left the stockade soon after getting their morning milk and settled for lucerne. The chilly weather kept the wild elephants and ex-orphans away. The orphans had the stockade compound for themselves moving freely up and down without any disturbance. Later, Challa showed up and joined them but as the lucerne was over Challa decided to leave again.
On their way out to browse, Ambo settled to scratch his ear against a tree while Tusuja came across an anthill that he used to scratch his buttocks on. At mud bath time, the temperature was still low making the orphans boycott the wallowing exercise. Turkwel, Kithaka, Barsilinga, Garzi, Lemoyian, Siangiki and Olsekki parted ways with their friends shortly before mud bath time and only returned back to the stockade in the evening, an hour after their friends. In the afternoon the temperature rose slowly and the orphans decided to have a mud bath at the roadside water hole. After the afternoon mud bath, Ndiwa settled for soil dusting exercise.
Challa, Meibai and Zurura joined the orphans for lucerne in the morning. As soon as the lucerne was over, Meibai walked to the water trough where he was joined by Mteto and they shared water before parting ways. Zurura and Barsilinga also came and shared the water. Later, the orphans left for browsing.
The usual boys Mundusi and Pare opened up the day's activities by engaging in a pushing game. The rebels Turkwel, Kithaka, Barsilinga, Garzi and Lemoyian parted ways with their friends and walked off. At mud bath time the weather was again chilly and none of the orphans dared to step into the mud bathing water. The orphans just went around the mud bath and decided to go out and browse again. In the afternoon, the clouds cleared giving way to sunshine. Pare teamed up with Olsekki to browse while Sapalan decided to take a break from feeding to relax under a tree. Later, Jotto joined him to relax and they both resumed browsing when the temperature dropped to a more favourable level.
Twelve wild bulls were drinking water at the stockade water troughs when the orphans were let out. They were later joined by a family herd consisting of six members, one of them being a young baby aged about eighteen months. Namalok and Sapalan had a disagreement when they were sharing a pile of lucerne. Their disagreement resulted in a fight that ended in a draw. Mundusi, spying new potential, walked down and engaged the wild baby in a strength testing exercise. The wild baby surrendered and ran to its mother.
Out in the bush the orphans were joined by Melia, Kibo, Kandecha, kamala, Tumaren, Chemi Chemi, Challa, Zurura and Kitirua. Melia and Chemi Chemi enjoyed a game of rolling on the ground, but this game didn't succeed in attracting the attention of the dependent orphans as they had anticipated, so they quit their game and resumed browsing.
On the way to the mud bath, Kuishi competed with Mapia who between them would reach the milk first and Kuishi won. In the second group of Mteto, Rapa and Mundusi it was Mteto who won. In third group of Sana Sana, Jotto and Ndiwa, Sana Sana carried the day followed by Jotto. Only Zurura decided to wallow in the water hole, the others drank water and immediately went back to browsing. In the afternoon, the orphans had a road side mud bath that was followed by a soil dusting exercise.
Buchuma and Tomboi brought their two wild friends with them in the morning. Since it was so early, they decided to keep themselves busy with pushing games as they waited for the orphans to come out so as to share the Lucerne with them. Once the orphans were let out, Tomboi, Buchuma and their friends were happy to join the orphans and queued for the lucerne. Lucerne was served and they all shared together without any fuss.
The orphans had a quiet morning as they concentrated on browsing. Only Tusuja took a break from feeding to perform a soil dusting exercise as he waited for mud bath time to go for his milk. Mteto competed with Pare and Rapa today about who would between them would reach the milk first and Mteto beat the two boys in the race. Oltaiyoni, who behaves like a princess, as usual stopped a distance away and the milk was taken to her by the Keeper. Though the sun was shining, there was a cool breeze blowing which prevented the orphans from taking a bath. As the orphans went around the mud bath, Rapa tested the water by putting one of his legs in the water and found out that the water was cold. Rapa immediately informed every one and they all boycotted the wallowing exercise. In the afternoon, the orphans settled to browse west of Ithumba Hill and in the evening on the way back to the stockades, the orphans had a road side mud bath again followed by a soil dusting exercise.
Mutara’s group, who spent the night just outside the stockades, joined the orphans in the morning. Later, Yatta and her group showed up including tiny baby Lili, the youngest baby at the moment. The orphans settled to browse in the Kone area and didn't waste any time as it is so dry and they wanted to eat as much as possible. The drought means more wild elephants are passing through and drinking from the water troughs we provide water to, consuming more than forty thousand litres of water in a day. The orphans concentrated mostly on browsing to make sure that by the end of the day, they would not go back home hungry.
Zurura and Challa had reported early to the mud bath and were enjoying every moment playing in the water. In the afternoon it was very hot, making the orphans seek shelter under trees with good shade. In the evening, the orphans passed by the mud bath again where they had a lengthy wallowing exercise that was followed by red soil dusting.
Thirty wild bulls were drinking water at the stockade water troughs when the orphans were let out from the stockade. One of the junior wild bulls joined the orphans to feed on lucerne. Later the orphans headed north of the stockade close to the upper Kalovoto area where they settled to browse. Olsekki and his longtime friend Siangiki teamed up to browse away from the others and it wasn't clear what they were discussing. Ambo and Jotto showed brotherly love by sharing a branch that Jotto had broken while Mapia enjoyed his own just close by. Roi created a scene at mud bath when after taking her two bottles she turned quickly and picked up a third one. The Keepers surrounded her and managed to pull the bottle from her, but only after Roi had finished a quarter of the milk.
Twenty five wild bulls were present at mud bath. The orphans headed straight back out to browse soon after having their milk and some water. It was very hot which made some of the orphans relax under some trees for a while. In the evening, the orphans passed by the mud bath again and this time had a long swim in the water to cool-off, before heading back to the stockades. Olsekki and Siangiki lagged behind and reported back one and a half hours after their friends.
Loijuk, baby Lili, Olare, Tumaren, Melia and a wild nanny were at the stockade compound early in the morning. Soon when the orphans were let out, Loijuk and her group joined them for lucerne. Esampu settled for a scratch while Ambo walked down to the water trough to drink water. Sapalan shared his pile of lucerne with Malima. Later, the orphans parted ways with Loijuk’s group and left for browsing. Mapia and Sana Sana were busy practising how to peel bark from a tree using their tusks – an important part of surviving in the wild when it is dry. Kuishi joined Mapia and for some time and used Mapia as a scratching surface by rubbing her itchy ear on him.
At mud bath time, the orphans joined a friendly wild bull in drinking water. Later, Yatta’s herd showed up at mud bath and thereafter escorted the dependent orphans back out to browse. The orphans had a road side mud bath and relaxed for a while before getting back to browsing. Pare and Mapia had a lengthy chat while Oltaiyoni had a lone game of rolling on the ground.
Meibai spent the night just outside the stockades and joined the orphans in the morning soon when they were let out. Shortly later, a breeding herd consisting of twelve members showed up for water. Noticeable were two young babies close to eighteen months old. Soon after drinking water, the breeding herd joined the orphans uninvited and started feeding on lucerne. Mundusi got the opportunity to harass one of the young wild ones by trying to push them away. One of them didn’t give up until Lemoyian came to help by pushing Mundusi away. Mundusi left unhappy and decided to go and play with some of the others where Lemoyian could not see him. The wild elephants left after making sure that they had cleared everything there was to eat. The dependent orphans settled to browse along the upper Kalovoto seasonal River and had a quiet morning. Lemoyian, who had missed milk the previous day at mud bath time, decided to report early to wait for the car carrying the milk. Once the car arrived, Lemoyian received his share and tried to demand the other share for the previous day. He was informed by the Keepers that it was his fault for not showing up the previous day and now that water was under the bridge and he should try his luck the next day. Lemoyian left reluctantly to join the wild bulls that were busy drinking water. In the afternoon, the orphans settled along the slopes of Ithumba Hill and around three o'clock in the evening took a break from feeding to relax under a tree. The ‘rebel group’ also returned back early to the stockades today.
Orwa, Bomani and a wild friend were relaxing outside the stockades this morning when ex-orphans Kinna, Kama, Loijuk, Lili, Lenana, Naserian, Ithumbah, a wild nanny, Olare, Tumaren, Kalama and Melia joined them shortly before the orphans were let out. When the orphans were let out, the ex-orphans joined them in feeding of lucerne. Baby Lili interacted with the orphans but quit when Mapia whipped her with his trunk. This didn’t go down well with Malkia who warned Mapia not to do such a thing again to such a small baby. Lili ran to her nannies to seek comfort. Garzi had a lengthy chat with Bomani as he tried to find out what life is like outside the stockade since he would like to join them soon. After the lucerne was over, the ex-orphans left while the orphans headed north of the stockade. The orphans scattered along the Kalovoto seasonal river where they settled to browse for the entire morning. Kamok settled to browse with Sapalan while Enkikwe settled to browse with Kauro.
At mud bath time it was all quiet with only one wild bull showing up for water. The orphans had the opportunity to enjoy cooling off by wallowing in the water, before heading back out to browse. The orphans took a break from feeding to relax under a tree for nearly two hours until it got cooler later in the afternoon.
The guest of honor this morning at the lucerne feeding time was Tomboi who was accompanied by Orwa and Bomani. Ndiwa and Tusuja decided to go for water before attending the lucerne breakfast. Mapia settled to scratch against the only remaining acacia tree in the stockade compound while Lemoyian settled to scratch his buttocks on the nearby rocks. Once the lucerne was over, Tomboi and the orphans headed for a drink and shortly later parted ways.
Turkwel, Kithaka, Barsilinga, Garzi, Lemoyian, Siangiki and Olsekki parted ways with their friends and left. Lemoyian later quit the group as well and arrived early at the mud bath to wait for his share of milk. After getting his milk, Lemoyian walked up to the water trough to join three wild bulls who were there drinking water. The temperature was moderate and none of the orphans dared to step into the mud bathing water. Sapalan engaged Namalok in strength testing exercise and shortly later emerged as the winner. Sapalan then moved to challenge Pare but their game ended as a draw. Later early in the evening, Turkwel, Kithaka, Barsilinga, Garzi, Siangiki and Olsekki returned back to the stockades. Shortly before five o'clock in the evening, thirty wild bulls showed up for water at the stockade water troughs.
Loijuk in the company of Mutara’s group, a wild nanny and wild orphan Kijana were at the stockade compound early in the morning, waiting to be served lucerne breakfast. When the orphans were let out, Loijuk and her group joined them and settled for lucerne. Garzi walked down to the water trough and joined a wild bull who was drinking water. Later the orphans parted ways with the ex-orphans. Turkwel joined her former herd led by Mutara, and left, but returned later late in the evening. Orwa and Bomani joined the orphans and browsed together up to mud bath time. Tusuja warned Sana Sana not to join in on a shrub he was feeding from, but instead to look for her own. Jotto passed close by to Karisa and tried to pull a branch from Karisa's mouth, but Karisa held it tightly. When Jotto failed he continued with his journey to search for his own.
At mud bath time the orphans didn’t feel like wallowing so only drank their milk bottles and then some water before going back to browsing. The rebels Garzi, Kithaka, Lemoyian and Barsilinga came to the mud bath later and then left again. Bomani took Siangiki and Olsekki with him just before it was time to return to the stockades and the Keepers couldn’t find them anywhere. Later just after six o'clock in the evening, Bomani brought back Olsekki and Siangiki back to the stockades and they were shut in for the night.
Buffaloes, African wild dogs, wild elephants as well as some ex-orphans were competing over the water this morning. It is so dry that no animals have any fear over approaching for water. One of the buffaloes was so brave that he forced his way amongst the elephants to drink water, though he was later driven away by one of the wild elephants while Kibo handled the wild dogs. Soon when the orphans were let out, the wild herds and the ex-orphans lined up, ready to share the lucerne with the orphans.
After feeding on the lucerne, the groups parted ways. Esampu made the mistake of going the wrong way and later when she realized she was lost, she trumpeted and charged as she tried to find out which direction her group had taken. The dependent Ithumba herd responded by rumbling, making Esampu do a U-turn to go and find them.
The day turned out to be a hot one and the orphans browsed as they walked under trees with nice shade. At mud bath time, the orphans had their milk bottles and then jumped into the mud bathing water, and had a prolonged wallowing session before going back to browsing. As the saying goes, don't underestimate the power of a woman, which Ambo learnt the hard way today when he decided to challenge Naseku. Naseku didn't take the fight lightly given that Ambo is a young bull who only arrived a few months ago. Naseku tackled Ambo ruthlessly making Ambo cry out for help as he tried to run away. No one dared to help and the other bulls just watched on as Ambo was disciplined. Mundusi had a good time wallowing close to Taita before following his friends. In the afternoon, the sun was still hot and the orphans relaxed under a tree for nearly two and half hours before resuming browsing.
It was a quiet morning with only three wild bulls present at the water trough. It was cloudy this morning. Mutara and her group joined the orphans as soon as they were let out and settled for lucerne. Another wild bull also emerged from the west and joined the orphans to feed on lucerne. After feeding, Mutara’s herd escorted the juniors out to browse, and they had a quiet morning until a few minutes to mud bath time when Namalok decided to challenge Sapalan in a pushing game. The two boys, who came together from the Nairobi Nursery towards the end of 2017, have been trying to find out who is stronger than the other, but it appears most of the time they always end up in a draw. Perhaps they will keep challenging each other until one emerges as the winner!
At mud bath time several wild bulls were present. The orphans joined them to drink water and after returned back to browsing. The afternoon was still quiet with the orphans and Mutara’s herd browsing quietly up to five o'clock in the evening, when they returned back to the stockades for the night.
It was a quiet morning with only one teenage wild bull showing up for water in the morning. Sapalan walked down to the water trough and joined the bull to have some water. Shortly later, Zurura and a wild elephant that was treated on 12th September joined Sapalan and the teenager. Soon after the orphans were through with their lucerne, Malkia led the way out of the stockade compound. The temperature was moderate and the orphans had no time to waste but concentrated mostly on browsing. Enkikwe settled to browse with his best friend’s Siangiki and Olsekki the entire morning.
Twenty five wild bulls were present at mud bath. The Keepers requested them to give way to the babies to have some water and they obliged. In the afternoon, Mundusi challenged Tusuja while Namalok played with Roi. Mapia settled to browse with Kuishi and later in the evening on the way back to the stockade, the orphans passed by the roadside mud bath where they had an evening cooling-off session.
Tomboi, in the company of five wild bulls, was at stockade compound in the morning. When the dependent orphans were let out of their night stockades, Tomboi joined the orphans to feed on lucerne leaving the wild bulls drinking water. Sapalan and Namalok entwined their trunks in morning greetings soon after leaving the stockade. Later, the orphans left for browsing and had a quiet morning. The sun was really hot and the orphans browsed under some trees until mud bath time and after mud bath, they went straight back to browsing without messing around. The orphans took a break for nearly two hours as they converged under a tree waiting for the temperature to drop as it was so hot. At 5pm the orphans returned back to the Ithumba stockades for the night.
The orphans were joined by Mutara and Olare’s herds, plus Narok’s group in the morning. After sharing lucerne, the groups left for browsing together where they were joined by Kilaguni, Chaimu, Taita and Meibai. Kilaguni had a brief strength testing exercise with Orwa while Meibai tackled Taita. The rebels Turkwel, Kithaka, Barsilinga, Garzi and Lemoyian parted ways with their friends and headed for the mud bath before the official time. The sun was so hot such that the orphans and the ex-orphans went straight to the mud bathing water without being told to do so. Only Jotto avoided the water and went to wait for his friends in the bush.
In the afternoon, the orphans settled to browse in the upper Kalovoto area. Later in the evening, the ex-orphans escorted the juniors back to the stockades.
Four wild bulls were drinking water at the stockade water trough when the orphans were let out this morning. Orwa and Bomani, who have become as present and routine as the sun in the morning and never fail to miss lucerne feeding, where there as usual to share breakfast with the others. Even when the other ex-orphans choose to miss coming in the morning, we always wake up to find Orwa and Bomani waiting. Mapia and Ambo had a small disagreement this morning that resulted in a real fight. The Keepers shouted to the two boys and they stopped fighting. After feeding on lucerne, Orwa and Bomani escorted the dependent Ithumba herd out to browse.
At around nine o'clock in the morning, ex-orphans Yatta, baby Yoyo, Yetu, Kinna, baby Kama, Sunyei, baby Siku, Lenana, Challa, Loijuk, baby Lili, Ithumbah, Naserian and Wendi showed up at the stockade and stayed close the entire day. At mud bath time, the sun was hotter than the other days and this prompted all the orphans to fully participate in the wallowing exercise. Twenty eight wild bulls that were at mud bath waited until the orphans left then had their mud bath. After wallowing, Sapalan and Namalok had brief strength testing exercise that ended in a draw. Due to the high temperature in the afternoon, the orphans were unable to carry on with their usual browsing business but took a break under trees until the temperature dropped to a more favourable level.