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It was a quiet morning. The orphans, once again led by Naboishu, settled for lucerne soon after finishing their first six o'clock morning milk bottles. There were no ex-orphans in sight which made the dependent orphans happy as they had the venue to themselves once again, and they didn’t have to tip-toe around their elders. Only two wild bulls joined the orphans to feed on the lucerne supplement. They were very gentle bulls and didn't try to push the orphans at all. As soon as the orphans had enough, Sana Sana led the way out to browse.

On the way out the orphans met with the ex-orphans and they exchanged morning greetings with them as they passed each other. It looked as though Dololo and Ambo were informing the ex-orphans that they didn't finish everything and that there was some left for them!

The orphans settled to browse in the Kone area and had a quiet morning. Mukkoka and Larro led the first group to the mud bath area for the noon milk feed while Jotto and Mapia led the second group. It was hot and the orphans enjoyed wallowing with the exception of Kauro, Kamok, Malima, Jotto and Mundusi, who boycotted the wallowing exercise. The orphans decided to get out only when ten wild bulls showed up and decided to get into the mud bath too. The orphans went to dry off on the piles of loose soil before Kuishi led the way to continue browsing.

Karisa, who had left in the morning with the ex-orphans, returned to the stockade compound early before five o'clock in the evening so that he could go inside with his friends for the night. 

A buffalo who came for water this morning brought some excitement to the orphans. Led by Esampu, some of the young orphans tiptoed and crept up behind the buffalo, looking as if they wanted to bite its tail! The buffalo sensed danger however and turned to face the orphans. Esampu moved two steps towards the buffalo and it was at this point the buffalo decided to scarper, because it noticed the way the orphans were arranging themselves behind Esampu which it knew meant trouble! The moment the buffalo turned its back on the orphans, a song of trumpets filled the air as the orphans raised dust while chasing after the buffalo. The choir master, who happened to be Pare, kept the trumpeting going on until way after the buffalo had disappeared into the bushes. On the way back to their friends, the groups of orphans encountered some guinea fowls. The guinea fowls didn’t hand around as they had seen what kind of mood the young elephants were in, and they flew up into the trees squawking in protest, leaving the orphans still in a charging mood.

Later on out in the bush, Malkia, Sapalan and Malima enjoyed a game of rolling on the ground while Kauro played with Jotto. Mapia attempted to climb on Ambo which annoyed him and so he turned to push him away. Later Ambo moved to play with Musiara. At mud bath time it was very hot and all the orphans enjoyed wallowing in the mud bath. Only Kamok and Mteto decided not to get into the water with their friends.

In the afternoon, the orphans settled to browse west of Ithumba Hill. Mukkoka engaged Sattao in a pushing game while Malima settled to browse with Ndiwa. It was still vert hot so the orphans decided to take a break from feeding and relax under a tree. Dad visited the stockades with some friends in the evening and left immediately after drinking enough water. 

The orphans left the stockades soon after having their morning milk bottles. The ex-orphans had already arrived and were patiently waiting for the lucerne too. Esampu, who appears to be a little obsessed with the buffalo that comes to drink water every morning, decided to go down in the bushes in search for him since he hadn’t turned up this morning. Shortly later, we heard trumpets of excitement, meaning that Esampu had located the buffalo. Malima, Malkia, Ndiwa and Maramoja decided to run and check on Esampu, but met her in hot pursuit of the buffalo. The girls joined her in trumpeting and charging the buffalo far away. The boys didn't bother with what the girls were doing as they apparently considered it a waste of time and energy this morning.

Mteto decided to befriend baby Saba, but Saba kept moving further away as she was scared of the Keepers who had managed to catch her the previous day and remove a snare that was caught around her hind leg. Kauro engaged Mundusi in a pushing game as baby Kofi extended his trunk out to say hi to Sattao. Sattao didn't respond to Kofi's greetings as he was scared of Kilabasi who was standing close to her baby.

Later in the bush, Jotto played with Sapalan while Rapa played with Dololo. Sapalan then started a game of rolling on the ground. His game attracted the attention of Jotto, Kauro, Mapia, Mukkoka and Naboishu who all joined him.

The sun was beating down when the orphans made their way to the mud bath just before noon, so all the orphans enjoyed wallowing after having their milk bottles. Their wallowing came to an end when a teenage wild bull arrived and got straight into the mud bathing water. He was quite hostile towards the orphans and that is why they decided to give the bull space and get out of the water. Kauro, Sattao, Dololo, Naboishu, Larro and Enkikwe headed for a soil dusting exercise. Sana Sana led the way out to the bush.

In the afternoon, Mteto and Nabulu took a break from feeding to relax under a tree as they had their own private conversation. In the evening it was interesting to watch eleven year olds Orwa and Bomani line up along the stockade wall where some of the older orphans were also lining up for their evening milk bottles. It was clear the two boys were asking for milk as well, even though they have long been weaned off milk bottles. When no one paid them any attention they decided to push poor Kamok, Mundusi and Pare away in an effort to get their share! The Keepers brought the situation under control and warned Orwa and Bomani not to repeat such childish behaviour. 

Orwa and Bomani spent the night sleeping outside the stockade compound. The two boys joined the orphans for lucerne soon after they were let out. Mutara, Mambo, Sities, Turkwel, Kainuk and Suguta arrived and joined the orphans too. Maramoja managed to get close to Mambo and play nanny for a short while. Naboishu decided to scratch his buttocks on a nearby rock and while he did so, Ndiwa came to stand guard so that Naboishu wouldn’t be pushed away by any of the other boys, since the rock is a favourite scratching post!

On the way out to the bush, Kauro engaged Mundusi in a pushing game that saw Kauro emerge as the winner. Kauro celebrated his victory by climbing on Mundusi. Mundusi couldn't accept the loss and so managed to get Kauro off his back before turning to face him for a rematch, which ended in a draw. Sapalan had his own game of rolling on the ground but was disrupted by Karisa and Malima who came and started rolling on him. Sapalan got up and left and walked off to resume browsing. Malima and Mukkoka took a break from feeding to relax under a baobab tree.

The orphans skipped their wallowing exercise in the main waterhole and went to drink water with a few bulls instead. Later they decided to have a short mud bath in the small pool on the edge of the road. Kuishi teamed up with Naboishu to browse throughout the remaining part of the day. 

It was a quiet morning. Naboishu led the way out followed by Mukkoka and Larro. The ex-orphans didn't report this morning, so the dependent orphans enjoyed moving freely around the stockade compound without any disruption from their seniors! After feeding on lucerne, Sana Sana led the way out.

Enkikwe briefly engaged Kauro in a pushing game and later played with Mundusi. Naboishu settled to browse with Sapalan but quit when Sapalan attempted to bully him. Malkia teamed up with the other girls Ndiwa and Kuishi to browse. The temperature started skyrocketing and Maramoja took her favourite Musiara over to some shade where they relaxed before heading for their midday milk feed.

Despite the hot weather only Rapa got in the main mud bath today. The rest of the group went to drink water. Only six wild elephants showed up at the mud bath while the orphans were there too. After the orphans had enough water to drink, Mukkoka led the away from the mud bath and into the bush. The orphans passed by the smaller roadside mud bath and decided to cool off there quickly, before continuing on with their afternoon of browsing.

A pack of African Wild Dogs met with the orphans and there was a short stand-off before Esampu gathered some courage and charged at them. Dololo, Larro, Jotto, Pare and Malima joined Esampu in charging and trumpeting. The trumpeting scared the Wild Dogs and they ran away. In the evening, the familiar wild bull known as ‘Dad’ showed up at the Ithumba compound in the company of several of his friends and ‘bodyguards’, as he is a magnificent big bull. Nabulu led the way back to the stockades in the evening. 

The orphans settled for lucerne soon after leaving their stockades with the ex-orphans joining minutes later. Mteto, Maramoja and Malkia kept walking around the compound bonding with the wild born babies present this morning. The babies included Kaia, Kofi, Noah and Lexi. When the lucerne was finished, Kauro led the way out to browse. It was at this time that Karisa parted ways with the other orphans and joined the ex-orphans for the day.

Kamok settled to browse with her favourite little boy Ambo. The boys, Rapa, Mundusi, Pare, Sapalan and Enkikwe browsed a shirt distance away from their friends. Kauro decided to go solo and took a different direction from his friends. Larro and Mukkoka seemed to be enjoying a private conversation and as it approached mud bath time they were in the first group who led the way to the eleven o'clock milk feed, after overtaking Sattao and Nabulu. A short distance away from the mud bath fourteen Wild Dogs were enjoying drinking water and cooling off. As soon as they saw the orphans approaching however, they disappeared as fast as their legs could carry them. Only Larro, Kuishi, Rapa and Sana Sana wanted to wallow today. Mundusi, Nabulu, Malima, Jotto and Musiara opted for a soil dusting exercise. The afternoon was a quiet one as the orphans concentrated on browsing throughout the remaining part of the day. 

Mapia and Jotto were at it again this morning! The two boys went for each other soon after leaving their stockade as they try to establish who among them is the most dominant. Neither of the two has ever emerged as a clear winner and they will continue to test their strength against each other that happens. The orphans settled for lucerne as up to fifty wild elephants comfortably settled to enjoy drinking water. The drought continues to bring more and more elephants by the Ithumba compound in search of water. No one knows how long the drought will last. The orphans must count them the luckiest as they get everything they need.

Mukkoka and Naboishu spent the better part of the day learning from Malkia on how to strip bark off from trees. Larro settled to browse with Esampu and Mteto. At mud bath time, Dad and his friends arrived a few minutes before the orphans and briefly had a mud bath before going to drink water. The orphans arrived, had their milk, then skipped the wallowing exercise completely, all except for Rapa who thoroughly enjoys swimming.

In the afternoon, the orphans settled to browse west of Ithumba Hill. Ndiwa chose to browse with Naboishu while Maramoja settled to browse with Musiara. Sana Sana, Mundusi, Pare and Malima broke from the main herd and moved off for a bit. They later re-joined the group when it was time to return to the stockades.  

The ex-orphans joined the dependent orphans in the morning. Lucerne was distributed by the Keepers and all the elephants shared without any conflict. When the younger orphans felt that they had enough, Mteto led the way out to browse.

Out in the bush, Sapalan engaged Rapa in a pushing game while Pare played with Karisa who had decided to spend the day with his friends instead of the ex-orphans. Mukkoka settled to browse with Larro while Mundusi settled to browse with Ndiwa.

The day was getting hotter as time progressed. Maramoja and Musiara decided to take a break from feeding and relax under a tree. They were later joined by Naboishu, Jotto, Dololo and Nabulu. At mud bath time, Esampu, Kamok, Kauro, Enkiwe, Rapa, Malkia, Malima and Mapia had a prolonged wallowing session due to the heat. Ambo, Kuishi, Dololo, Nabulu and Rapa all went for a soil dusting exercise before returning to browsing. The afternoon was quiet as the orphans browsed calmly throughout the remaining part of the day. 

The sky was clear as the orphans walked out from their stockades ready to begin another day and we knew it would be a hot day a head. The orphans settled for lucerne and were joined by three wild bulls. The ex-orphans were late again this morning and we thought that they might be having to travel further at night to find nice vegetation. They prefer browsing at night which is much cooler and nicer for walking further distances. Karisa led the way out to browse but then later disappeared to join the ex-orphans.

The dependent orphans settled to browse in Kone area. At around ten o'clock in the morning it became quite hot prompting Sapalan, Malkia, Sana Sana, Musiara, Kuishi, Larro, Pare and Maramoja to look for shelter to hide from the scorching sun. As they were resting, Malkia, and Sana Sana stretched their trunks high up in an effort to reach the leaves at the top of the tree.

Once again at the mud bath the orphans participated fully in the wallowing exercise. Mapia and Rapa engaged in a strength testing game while still in the water. Later their game continued even after leaving the mud bath, but it eventually came to an end when Rapa climbed on Mapia’s back.

The orphans settled to browse in the Imenti area for the rest of the day. Malima settled to browse with Pare while Kuishi browsed with Larro. Malkia joined Musiara while Ambo stayed close to Kamok until it was time to return home.