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While they used to spend their nights traveling far and wide in the forest, our night clubbers — Zongoloni, Jasiri, Faraja, Ngasha, Alamaya and Ziwa — have set up camp in the environs of Umani. This is a good thing, as their continued presence encourages wild friends to also take up residence in the area. As a result, Umani is quickly becoming a hub for wild elephants, which opens the door for many wonderful interactions with our dependent orphans.

Today, Zongoloni walked over to Faraja and rumbled in communication with him. The pair then walked towards to the Umani Springs, where four larger, wild bulls emerged out of the bushes. They clearly knew Zongoloni and Faraja, as greetings were exchanged. Lima Lima, who had already caught scent of these wild bulls, rushed over to welcome them. Always eager to meet new friends, she encouraged them to join her and the other orphans, but the bulls seemed hesitant to move beyond the night clubbers. Ever protective of her Keepers, however, Lima Lima rushed back to them, as thought to alert them to the presence of the wild bulls. Not knowing their temperament, she seemed to want the Keepers to keep their distance from the visitors. The Keepers moved further back into the bush, where the wild bulls would not be able to see them and the younger babies.

Kiasa immediately sensed the situation, so she walked over to where Enkesha and Kiombo were standing with Sonje. Quanza also joined them with Maktao in tow. Lima Lima made haste and the whole herd moved towards the hills, effectively avoiding any altercation with these new bulls.

As the orphans were browsing at the top of Umani Hills this morning, a small herd of wild elephants with tiny babies joined them. Mwashoti was not pleased with the newcomers and seemed unsure as to which way to go, so he decided to join Enkesha and Kiombo, who were engrossed in a pushing game. However, he mistook this for a fight and ran towards little Kiombo. The poor young bull toppled over, which caused Enkesha to trumpet at Mwashoti in disapproval. Mwashoti felt unwelcome and left the Umani herd to browse by himself.  

The rains have still not made an appearance and most of Umani is quite dry. The spring, however, is teeming with fresh water and plenty of browse for all wild animals. Every day, the Keepers see herds of antelope and buffalo flock to there to drink and eat. Murera and Lima Lima continue to spend nights out with the other night clubbers. Kiasa, who used to rely on Murera for protection, has started bonding with Quanza in her absence. In the morning, Kiasa finds Quanza to give her a detailed report of her night.

As soon as Sonje exited the stockades this morning, the night clubber boys, Ngasha and Jasiri, started to chase her. After a while, Sonje tired of their games and disappeared into the bushes, far away from the bothersome boys.

Alamaya arrived a little later and joined his friend, Quanza. They watched as the young babies, Kiasa and Kiombo, played with Enkesha. There were friendly tail-pulling games and then some pushing games. Enkesha is very gentle and patient with the babies.

As the orphans were getting ready to leave the stockades, Joy, a little antelope who has been hand-raised by the Keepers, decided to join the orphans. Once again, Mwashoti was not too happy with this newcomer and chased poor Joy back into the bush with some very loud trumpets.

Sonje returned a little while later and joined her friends. As soon as Ngasha spotted her, he maneuvered himself in her direction but Lima Lima stood in his way and made it very clear that the chasing needed to stop. Dejected, Ngasha returned to where his friend Ziwa was waiting for him and then Lima Lima also joined them.

The day began very well, with orphans eager to set out on their morning activities. Everyone stopped at the water trough to have their fill before heading out to the hills. 

The herd kept a brisk pace, which forced the Keepers to pick up their speed, too. The older orphans were up front, Keepers in the middle, with little Maktao and Enkesha bringing up the tail end. Suddenly, Lima Lima let out a very loud trumpet, startling the Keepers and forcing them to do a quick check of their surroundings. A closer look revealed that an older wild bull had decided to join the Umani orphans. The Keepers did not know this bull, so they quickly ushered Kiombo towards Sonje and the rest of the babies to the front of the herd to put some distance between the wild bull and the babies.  

Lima Lima decided to take the orphans towards a hill where there is plenty of browse. On arriving there, the orphans realized that other wild elephant herds had already been there, as had a herd of buffaloes, as evidence by the large piles of dung they had left behind. The orphans did not like this smell and moved on very quickly towards another spot that Lima Lima had discovered. Maktao and Enkesha walked slowly with Murera, who decided to bring up the rear today.

As the orphans were enjoying their supplement pellets in the morning a fight broke out between our two younger girls, Enkesha and Kiasa. Enkesha felt that Kiasa was being greedy and thought there might not be any left for her. So, she tried to block Kiasa from eating any more. Being a very feisty little girl, Kiasa fought back. This escalated, and after awhile, it seemed as though the orphans had split into two teams supporting each of the girls. In the end, the Keepers decided that they only way to stop the ruckus would be to put out more pellets. As soon as they scattered them about, all the orphans forgot about their disagreement and rushed over to finish their feast. 

Even though Lima Lima spends most of her nights out with her wild elephant friends, she has not forgotten her Umani family. She has taken a keen interest in Kiasa, almost taking her under her wing and showing her how to become a responsible matriarch. Just like Lima Lima, Kiasa is very quick on her feet and can outrun most of the other female elephants in her herd. Kiasa is always at the front of the herd, leading them to the mud-bath or leading her family home at 5pm. Enkesha, who is bit envious of all Kiasa’s natural skills, tried to race her one day and lost miserably. Now, she knows she is no match for the fast little girl and instead occupies herself with her adopted baby, Maktao. 

Late at night, the Keepers heard the night clubbers and Lima Lima trumpeting very loud. It was very dark, so the Keepers did not venture out to see why they were causing such a noise.

 When the Keepers opened the gates to the stockades early the next morning, Lima Lima rushed in, quick to find her friends and narrate the events of the night. With Kiasa and Enkesha in tow, she took the two girls towards the bushes. They all returned after a few minutes, running and trumpeting at the same time. This caught the attention of the rest of the herd, so everyone ventured into the forest to see what Lima Lima was so eager to share.

 Under a tree was a dead bushbuck, killed by the leopard who frequents this area. The Keepers moved the orphans away from the creature, so the cat could enjoy his meal peacefully. They knew that the leopard must be nearby, as he had surely been protecting his kill from greedy hyenas but ran away when the orphans approached.  

Mwashoti is not the only one struggling with the new dynamics of the Umani herd. Enkesha is struggling to hold her place with the new babies. She wants to be the leader of the younger orphans, but Kiasa, who is quite strong-willed, believes she is the right elephant for the role. Kiombo and Maktao also seem to feel that Kiasa should be the one to lead them.

It was inevitable that the two youngest females of the herd would lock horns sooner or later — or, in this case, tusks. A fight broke out between Kiasa and Enkesha. The older girls watched on, thinking it would fizzle out, but eventually Murera and Sonje had to step in and separate the two girls. After a few rumbles and individual consultations, Enkesha and Kiasa settled their differences and decided to browse together. The Keepers expect a repeat of this incident, as Kiasa is a very headstrong girl.

As the orphans were peacefully browsing one morning, a wild bull approached the Umani herd and tried to chase the Keepers away from the orphans. The older orphans followed the Keepers, but in all the commotion, our babies, Kiombo, Kiasa, Maktao and Enkesha got separated from the rest of the herd. The wild bull chased the Keepers all the way towards the Chyulu Hills, before suddenly turning around and disappearing.

 Lima Lima realized that the babies had been left behind, which threw her into a panic. While the Keepers continued to escort the older girls, she ran through the forest to collect the quarter. She found all four of them browsing with the older bull who had just chased the Keepers. They were safe, but as soon as the wild bull spotted the Keepers, he resumed his chase. Umani’s Head Keeper, Philip, signaled to his team to retreat to the stockades. Lima Lima took this opportunity to sneak our little babies past the wild bull and take a different route back home. Everyone was rewarded with buckets of lucerne pellets upon their return. Perhaps the wild bull thought the babies were not safe with humans and hence the chase, but all was well now.  

Enkesha continues to show signs that she will become a good matriarch one day. Her care for Maktao is exemplary. Both have similar temperaments, preferring to browse by themselves, away from any boisterous games or wild elephant visits. Maktao likes to play with Enkesha, as she is very gentle with him. The only time he steps back is when Mwashoti comes to spend time with Enkesha, knowing that the older bull is a little more boisterous in his games.

 Maktao has picked up new skills since coming to Umani, but he has yet to perfect the art of wallowing. He prefers to stand at the edge of the mud bath, using his little trunk to splash mud on his chest. The Keepers are hopeful that this shy bull will eventually learn how to cover his body in mud, as this is an essential survival tool. Lima Lima and Sonje are our resident wallowing champions, while Kiombo has been known to follow his surrogate mother into the mud bath.

Yesterday, Jasiri, Ngasha and Ziwa were absent. Today, Jasiri and Ngasha arrived. There was still no sign of Ziwa, but this is his true nature. He has always been more independent than the other orphans, even from the time he was at the Nairobi Nursery. The Keepers feel he is now fully immersed in his wild life and they hope to see him soon.