At the beginning of the month, Larro stole the show. She has become very clever at stealing extra milk bottles and is eager to put her skills to the test. On the first of the month, the little scoundrel waited until the Keepers were busy talking and feeding another group, then ran up from behind and snatched an extra bottle!
Ex-orphans Kinna, Kama, Kaia, Wendi, Wema, Wiva, Nasalot, Nusu, Ithumbah, Iman, Kilabasi, Kofi, Makireti, Ishanga, Makena and Vuria joined the orphans for lucerne in the morning. Ndiwa assigned herself the role of sole nanny to Iman. Mapia had a disagreement with Nusu and they decided to settle their differences through pushing each other. Luckily, Makena was close by and punished both boys by pushing them away, as they clearly had no respect for their seniors.
Later in the morning, Pare decided to engage Jotto in a pushing game that lasted for quite some time. Enkikwe briefly played with Kamok while Sapalan settled to dig up roots of a certain shrub. Later in the day, Ambo came across a baobab tree that had suffered the severe consequences of the drought. The tree had been stripped of much of its bark; Ambo tried to pull some off that had been left hanging by the wild elephants who had been eating it.
When the orphans went to the mud bath the sun felt very hot. Larro caused a bit of drama when she quickly bent down and grabbed another bottle of milk soon after finishing her share! The Keepers shouted at her to drop the bottle, which she duly did, but she ended up spilling half the contents as a result.
All the orphans wanted to wallow today as it was so hot. Challa and his wild friend briefly joined the orphans to wallow too. After having enough, the orphans went to dry off using the soil on the roadside, and later returned to browsing. The afternoon was a quiet one and the orphans concentrated on browsing throughout the rest of the day.
Buchuma, who seems to show up every few days, joined the Ithumba dependent orphans this morning. Also present were Wendi, Nasalot, Kinna, Loijuk, Chyulu, Wendi, Kilabasi, Sunyei and their babies. Three wild elephants invited themselves and enjoyed feeding on lucerne with the ex-orphans and dependent babies. Ambo happened to pass by close to Wendi and without even offending her, Wendi pushed him very hard. Ambo hurt is left foreleg and felt very hurt by Wendi’s callous and unnecessary behaviour. Kamok, Siangiki and Roi came to comfort Ambo and escort him away, perhaps reminding him to always keep distance from Wendi since she is often in a ruthless mood these days.
Loijuk and Lili decided to accompany the orphans out to browse. The orphans enjoyed feeding on the bark and leaves of trees that had been knocked down by some wild bulls, as they had many untouched branches which they enjoyed feasting on. The wild bulls are knocking trees down and eating some of the foliage, before leaving the rest for other creatures to feed on.
It was quite a cool day and none of the elephants dared to step into the mud bathing water after having their milk bottles. Larro, who has become very clever at stealing another bottle of milk, did this today for the second day running. The little scoundrel waited until the Keepers were busy talking and feeding another group then came from behind and grabbed a bottle of milk and ran away!
In the afternoon, Ambo settled to browse with Dololo while Ndiwa teamed up with Mukkoka. Malkia, Musiara and Sattao settled to browse a short distance away from their friends. In the evening, Pare led the herd back to the stockades. There was a slightly drama in the stockade compound when Nasalot thought Noah was following behind her, and Noah forgot to follow his mother! Noah realised that his mother had left him behind and he cried out. His cries reached his mother Nasalot, who responded very quickly and came running back for him, before walking off into the bush.
Rapsu was among the ex-orphans who reported this morning. Thirty-five wild bulls were enjoying water at the stockade water troughs when the orphans were let out. Four wild bulls, who Rapsu had brought along with him, joined the orphans to feed on lucerne.
On the way to the browsing field, Karisa engaged Pare in a pushing game that ended in a draw. Jotto played with Ndiwa and later tackled Sapalan. Jotto, who previously has tried to avoid engaging his seniors in pushing games, now appears to have woken up and decided to confront this head on. Life can be hard, and you have to struggle to survive because the world is full of challenges and one needs to be tough to overcome these challenges.
Today the Keepers were very alert in making sure that Larro couldn’t outwit them again as far as stealing milk is concerned! Larro did indeed try but she didn’t know that the Keepers were watching her every move. She was caught the moment she started sneaking round and the Keepers shouted at her. Larro left without a word and sauntered off towards the water trough, probably planning on how to get the better of the Keepers the next time around!
One wild bull showed up and got into the waterhole, as the orphans merely looked on confused at how the big bull could manage bathing in what they thought to be such cold water. The orphans just walked past the waterhole and headed for a soil dusting exercise instead, before going for a drink of water. The wild bull known as ‘Dad’ was present at the mud bath too, although he didn't participate in wallowing; he just stood a short distance away relaxing.
In the afternoon, Musiara engaged Pare in a pushing game that ended when Kauro passed by and pushed the two boys out of his way. The afternoon had grown very hot and the orphans took a break from feeding to relax under a tree until the temperature dropped. In the evening the orphans passed by the small roadside mud bath briefly before returning to the stockades for the night.
The orphans settled for lucerne soon after leaving the stockades and as usual the ex-orphans were present too. These days, due to the current drought, the ex-orphans always make sure to arrive early before the orphans are let out, so as not to miss out on when the lucerne is being distributed. Sana Sana tried to make friends with little Noah, but their friendship was short-lived as Nusu, his older brother, arrived and pushed Sana Sana away. Ndiwa was busy entertaining a wild baby by lying down and allowing the baby to climb on her. Later, the orphans parted ways with the ex-orphans.
Out in the bush Ambo settled to browse with Kamok while Mundusi teamed up with Sana Sana.
At mud bath time the sun was beating down. Mukkoka, the gentle boy, took his share of milk then stood close to the line of bottles containing milk. With his trunk in his mouth Mukkoka requested the Keepers for more milk since he is a good boy and wouldn’t just steal a bottle like Larro does! The Keepers had no extra bottles however but promised him an extra bottle in the evening. Of course, we’re not sure if he understood or not but at that moment Mukkoka moved on past the bottles, perhaps hoping that the Keepers were genuine and would keep their promise later! As it was so hot all the orphans enjoyed a mud bath. Pare, Mapia, Enkikwe and Rapa emerged as the stars of the day by having a prolonged swimming session.
In the afternoon, Ndiwa settled to browse with Naboishu while Kauro climbed on Mteto. Later the orphans took a break from browsing to relax under a tree as they waited for it to get a bit cooler. In the evening, the orphans returned safely to the stockades.
The vocal Naboishu led the way out in the morning. It was a quiet morning as the ex-orphans were late reporting for lucerne for once! The dependent orphans enjoyed each moment as there were no senior elephants around to boss them around. Close to an hour later the ex-orphans finally arrived, but by that time the orphans had eaten enough lucerne and therefore gave way to the ex-orphans to finish up the rest. Sattao stood close to Lapa who was nursing from his mother, Lenana, but Lapa ignored him and just continued feeding. This seemed to upset Sattao who pushed Lapa a little bit so he would answer whatever question he was asking him. Lapa turned to face Sattao and most likely informed him that if he was looking for an opportunity to nurse from his mother as well, then he must be dreaming! Lapa then turned back to his mother and continued nursing. Sattao walked away looking a little glum.
The orphans browsed calmly throughout the morning and only Kauro and Mundusi would from time to time engage in a pushing game. The orphans had their milk at eleven o'clock and after headed straight to drink water from the trough, choosing to skip the wallowing exercise today. They were joined briefly by ex-orphan bull Taita as well. Only Naboishu and Larro attempted to get into the waterhole, but the weather didn't allow them to stay in for long. Ndiwa stood close by waiting for the two to finish, and walked with them to rejoin the others who had already gone back to browsing. The afternoon was quiet and the orphans settled to browse west of the Ithumba Hill. In the evening, Nabulu led the way back to the stockades.
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.
Jotto and Mapia, who appeared to have slept dreaming about how they might challenge each other this morning, met soon after coming out of their rooms. The two boys didn't stop for morning greetings but went straight into a head-on fight. Rapa, who was passing by, wondered why Mapia and Jotto hadn't said good morning to each other and why they were fighting so early. Rapa saw it wise to intervene by separating them, so that they could all go for lucerne before engaging in any other business. Ex-orphan Kenze in the company of some wild bulls were drinking water at the stockade water troughs. The moment the Keepers started distributing the lucerne to the dependent orphans, Kenze and two wild friends walked to join them. The ex-orphans and their babies showed up half an hour later. Nusu threatened Kuishi when she wanted to greet little Noah. Kuishi stood her ground and informed Nusu that she is not the type who gets scared easily and if Nusu was a bold enough he could very well try and tackle her in a wrestling match! Without hesitating Nusu went for Kuishi who steadfastly defended herself. Noah decided to run to his mother’s side and avoid getting caught up in the fray. Eventually Nusu surrendered and followed his brother.
Out in the bush the dependent orphans were briefly joined briefly by Sunyei, Siku, Saba, Chyulu and Cheka. Ndiwa decided to befriend Saba by staying close to her. Siku, her sister, stayed close by too, making sure that Ndiwa didn’t steal her sister and take her to join the orphans. Sapalan engaged Jotto in a pushing game while Mapia played with Ambo.
Some African Wild dogs passed by a short distance away but the orphans weren’t bothered by them. Esampu spotted some guinea fowls and chasing them just so happens to be one of her favourite games; she started trumpeting and charging as she ran towards the almost flightless birds. The guinea fowls didn’t hang around and half flew half jumped up into the trees above, leaving Esampu simply charging at the bushes.
At mud bath time, the weather was chilly and none of the orphans wanted to wallow after having their milk bottles. Later in the afternoon Musiara and Dololo had a brief strength testing exercise before being interrupted by Kauro who came in between them. In the evening, Nabulu led the way back to the stockades for the night.
Orwa and Bomani arrived early before dawn and waited for the dependent orphans to come out so that they could share lucerne together. The orphans were let out after their six o'clock milk feed. Enkikwe headed straight to the water trough where he joined six wild bulls drinking water. Jotto and Kauro had a morning warm up exercise in the form of a pushing game. Mapia and Ambo took an interest in their game and started their own. The senior ex-orphans arrived later, prompting the orphans to give them space and leave for the bush to begin their day of browsing.
Karisa and Rapa lagged behind to interact with the ex-orphans for a bit. Rapa ran into trouble with Wiva however when he brushed against her as he passed her by. Rapa stood his ground and turned to face Wiva. The two locked trunks for a minute then parted ways, indicating that their conflict had ended in a draw. Rapa decided to follow his friends who had long gone, but Karisa, ‘the street wise boy’, opted to remain with the ex-orphans again for the day.
Mapia played a pushing game with Sattao while Jotto, Malkia, Kauro and Mteto settled for a soil dusting exercise. At mud bath time although the sun was shining, there was a cold wind blowing that prevented the orphans from taking a bath. Only Rapa, Enkikwe, Pare and Ambo were bold enough to get into the waterhole.
In the evening ex-orphan Orwa caused some drama when he picked up an empty milk bottle from where group Four and Five were being fed. Orwa took the Keepers in circles of the compound as he resisted handing over the bottle even after the Keepers pleaded with him to drop it! It all seemed like too much fun for Orwa. At last, the Keepers managed to get the empty bottle back from Orwa but they couldn’t help but think he had a little smirk on his face!
The ex-orphans arrived early before dawn today and waited for lucerne. Mapia and Jotto, who belong in different classes, met outside and started a pushing game. Their game didn't last for long as Makena passed by and whipped them with her trunk to stop fighting. After sharing lucerne, the group parted ways. The orphans headed towards Kone area while the ex-orphans headed east.
It was a quiet morning for the orphans as they concentrated on browsing. The weather was cool and this enabled the orphans to browse happily since there wasn’t as much heat to bother them. At mud bath time the orphans had their milk bottles and since it was cool, they skipped the wallowing exercise and headed straight to drink water. Not a single wild elephant showed up at the mud bath while the orphans were there so they were carefree and relaxed, roaming freely around without the threat of any senior elephants to watch out for.
In the afternoon the orphans settled to browse on the slopes of Ithumba Hill. Kamok browsed with her favourite Ambo while Ndiwa settled to browse with Naboishu. Enkikwe and Karisa, who left with the ex-orphans in the morning, returned to the compound shortly before six o'clock and joined their friends inside. Sunyei’s baby Saba showed up with the ex-orphans with a snare around her left hind leg. We tried to loosen it using a long wire but it had a knot. We tried to capture her but her nannies became aggressive. The only option left was to separate Saba from the herd but it didn't work and the herd walked away and disappeared into the bushes. Since the herd show up every day, we will try again tomorrow.
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 settled for lucerne soon after leaving their stockades. Rapsu and a few wild bulls joined the orphans. Shortly later, the same buffalo who seems to enjoy the recent games of chase with the young elephant orphans, showed up for water. When the orphans spotted the buffalo they all walked down to meet him and led by Kuishi, they started trumpeting and charging. The buffalo turned and started running as the orphans happily followed him. After the buffalo disappeared, the orphans calmed down and started browsing.
Jotto and Mapia met yet again for a strength testing match. The two boys have been doing this for quite some time and still neither one has emerged as the winner. Their pushing games will only come to an end when one of them emerges as the winner, and therefore the most dominant in the order of hierarchy.
The orphans had a quiet morning and were briefly joined by Vuria who was just passing by.
After the orphans had their noon milk bottles near the main waterhole, Larro, Mapia, Naboishu, Dololo, Musiara, Sapalan and Kauro were the only ones who participated in wallowing. Mundusi, Mteto, Kamok, Ambo, Ndiwa and Malkia opted for a soil dusting exercise instead. The afternoon became slightly hotter as the day wore on however, and the orphans chose to take a break and relax under a tree for nearly two hours before resuming browsing.
Today the Keepers managed to separate Sunyei slightly from the main ex-orphan herd so that they could try and extract the snare from little Saba’s leg. At one point Siku, Saba’s older sister by four years, tried to prevent the Keepers from getting close to Saba but they managed to separate her from Sunyei and Saba. Only then were the Keepers able to cut the wire snare. Sunyei seemed to understand what the Keepers were trying to do the entire time, and didn’t resist at all.
In the evening, Naboishu, Kuishi and Malkia sneaked off, but they were located later before six o'clock and escorted back to the stockades for the night.
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.
Mteto and Maramoja settled to feed on lucerne with Musiara whom they had sandwiched between them. The ex-orphans were present as well as a few wild bulls who enjoyed drinking water at the water troughs. Two of the wild bulls joined in feeding briefly, before taking off into the bush. Olsekki and Enkikwe walked down to the water trough and joined two wild bulls having some water there. Esampu remained calm even when the buffalo who comes every morning failed to turn up, and she didn’t appear interested in going to look for it today. On the way out to the bush, Mundusi engaged Mapia in a pushing game. Shortly later, a teenage wild bull met with the orphans on its way to look for water. The wild bull stopped the orphans and stood in their midst as if lecturing and asking them questions. After a while it appeared that the wild bull and the orphans had come to some sort of understanding, and parted ways. The bull walked towards the stockade compound while the orphans continued on towards the area known as Kone.
Olsekki joined the orphans briefly and was admired by Mukkoka and Naboishu for having such big tusks at his age. It was a very hot day and the orphans relaxed under a tree shortly before going to the mud bath. After having their noon milk bottles they wallowed in the main waterhole then walked to the water trough for a drink. Though it was hot, not a single wild elephant showed up at the mud bath while the orphans were there. Mteto, Esampu, Larro and Dololo settled for a soil dusting exercise before joining their friends who had gone back to browsing. In the afternoon, Kauro engaged Mundusi in a strength testing exercise that ended in a draw. In the evening, all the orphans returned safely to the stockades for the night.
It was a quiet morning today. The ex-orphans were late reporting for lucerne. The dependent orphans enjoyed the company of a wild bull who joined them to feed on lucerne. After the orphans were through, Larro led the way out, followed by Esampu.
The boys, Mapia and Sapalan, decided to have a warmup exercise in the form of a pushing game. Shortly later, Mapia surrendered and decided to have his own game of rolling on the ground. Larro settled to browse with Kauro and later shifted to feed with Sattao. It wasn’t very hot yet and the orphans had a quiet morning as they browsed calmly up to when it was time to head to the feeding area next to the mud bath.
Today only Rapa, Sana Sana, Malkia, Dololo, Musiara and Mukkoka decided to wallow. The rest of the group headed to the water trough and enjoyed drinking water with some wild bulls. Mapia was the last one to finish drinking water as he was enjoying the company of one of the wild bulls.
In the afternoon, the orphans settled to browse in the Imenti area. It grew slightly warmer as the afternoon wore on, so at one stage the orphans took a break from feeding to relax under a tree. They all returned safely to their night stockades in the evening.
The orphans left their night stockades soon after having their morning milk feed. Ambo and Mapia started their days activities by engaging one another in a pushing game. Ex-orphans Nasalot, Nusu, Noah, Wendi, Wema, Wiva, Chyulu, Cheka, Lenana, Lapa, Ithumbah, Iman, Lualeni, Lulu, Lexi, Kinna, Kama, Kaia and Makena attended the morning lucerne feeding. Ten wild bulls continued to enjoy water at the stockade water troughs. Kuishi had a short spat with Wiva but we were not sure what it was about; the two girls had a stand off that lasted for quite sometime. At last, they walked off in opposite directions. Jotto greeted Karisa which then turned into a pushing match. Perhaps Jotto wanted to find out where Karisa goes every morning, and how he manages to be on time when returning to the compound in the evening!
Later on out in the bush, the orphans were joined briefly by Nasalot and Lualeni’s families. Malkia and Nusu disagreed over who should be able to take care of Noah. Nusu tried to block Malkia from coming close to his younger brother Noah. Their argument resulted in a fight that only came to an end when Makena emerged and separated them.
At mud bath time there was a cool wind blowing so none of the orphans felt like wallowing. In the afternoon, Ambo played with Mapia while Sattao played with his friend and age-mate, Dololo.
Once again, the time conscious Karisa, who likes to spend his day with ex-orphans but the night with the dependent orphans, arrived five minutes to five and waited for his young friends to return so they could go into the stockades together. The reintegration process for each orphan is always different, and Karisa still likes to spend his evenings inside the stockades at night!
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 ex-orphans reported early in the morning and relaxed outside the compound waiting for the orphans to be let out. The dependent orphans had their milk bottles then Dololo led the way out, where the ex-orphans joined the orphans for lucerne. Maramoja stood close to Noah who was nursing from his mother Nasalot. Maramoja stretched her trunk to Noah’s mouth, perhaps hoping to try the milk that he was suckling. Noah complained bitterly however, obviously reluctant to share his milk with anyone else, prompting his mother to turn and check what was going on. Maramoja slipped away quietly before Noah could get her in any trouble with Nasalot. Kama and Jotto had a disagreement that led to a stand-off, but Kasigau, who was passing by, pushed both Kama and Jotto away thus bringing an end to their disagreement. After finishing lucerne, Musiara led the herd out for the day.
Naboishu settled to browse with Malkia. For some reason Naboishu seems to be liked by more of the older girls compared to his friends Larro and Mukkoka who he came with from the Nairobi Nursery. The girls showing the most interest in Naboishu at the moment are Ndiwa, Malkia, Kuishi, Sana Sana, and sometimes Maramoja too.
At mud bath time, only Rapa and Enkikwe decided to wallow in the waterhole. The rest of the herd opted for a soil dusting exercise. In the afternoon, the orphans settled to browse west of Ithumba Hill until Sattao led the way back to the stockades in the evening. Closer to the compound he was overtaken by Nabulu, who wanted to be recognised as the leader.
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.
Jotto and Kauro, who are in different classes within the stockades, met outside in the morning. It seems they had dreamt last night of pushing one another as soon as they awoke in the morning, and that is exactly what they did. At last, Kauro emerged as the winner and showed off by climbing on Jotto. Finally the dependent orphans settled for lucerne with the ex-orphans. Kuishi walked down and joined some wild bulls who had came for water. Challa was among the wild bulls and Kuishi felt comfortable and confident with him there. After drinking water, Kuishi thanked Challa for being there for her since the other bulls didn't push her away. Maramoja was busy babysitting Mambo who was present with his mum this morning. Later, Mteto led the way out to browse. Mutara and her group joined the orphans and browsed together with them throughout the morning.
Kauro had a soil dusting exercise while Pare engaged Jotto in a strength testing exercise. At the eleven o'clock milk feed, Kalama, who had joined the orphans earlier, tried tricking the Keepers to see if she might get some milk. The thirteen-year-old did this by joining the orphans midway then racing with them to the milk feeding area. Kalama forgot that she was much bigger and was quite a different colour from the orphans due to them mud bathing and soil dusting, so she quite obviously stood out! Without feeling embarrassed, Kalama lined up with the orphans ready to have some milk, but the Keepers just smiled at her and informed her to try her luck next time. Kalama left and hoped that next time she might come up with another plan that would surprise the Keepers. Only Larro and Rapa wanted to wallow today.
In the afternoon the orphans settled south of the mud bath. It was hot so they decided to make their way to the small mud bath along the road to cool off. On the way back to the stockades, Pare led the way but was overtaken by Nabulu who loves to lead.
Barsilinga, a wild mother, and her baby reported to the stockade compound early at dawn. The dependent orphans came out soon after having their morning milk and half an hour later, the ex-orphans arrived and immediately joined them for lucerne. Mundusi called Kauro aside and the two walked a short distance away where they engaged each other in a pushing game that lasted for quite sometime. The game only ended when Kauro emerged as the winner and happily climbed on Mundusi to show his dominance. After Mundusi lost the pushing game to Kauro, he walked off and engaged Ambo instead, but Kamok, who was standing close by, came and took Ambo away because she didn't want him to get hurt. After all the fun and games, it was Sana Sana who led the orphans out to browse. They all had a quiet morning as they concentrated mostly on browsing.
Shortly before mud bath time, Mundusi and Kauro started positioning themselves to be in the first group for the milk feed. However, since the two boys knew that the Keepers wouldn't allow it, they came up with a plan to outsmart them. They went back several metres, since the Keepers were ahead of the group, and then they quietly took a left turn and followed a long route round to hide themselves from the Keepers. They succeeded at arriving first at the mud bath ahead of everybody else with Kauro carrying a ‘pacifying’ stick as usual, which he always drops as soon as he is getting his share of milk. After having his milk, Kauro picked up his stick again and left for a soil dusting exercise. Sattao, Nabulu and Pare were surprised to find Kauro and Mundusi already at the mud bath when they arrived, as they thought they were in the first group! Rapa, Larro, Ambo, Mapia, Dololo, Musiara, Mteto and Maramoja went to wallow in the waterhole while Nabulu and Sapalan opted for a soil dusting exercise.
Later in the afternoon it was hot, and the orphans took a break from feeding to relax under some trees until the temperature dropped. On the way back to stockade compound, they passed by the roadside mud bath to cool off before returning home for the night.
Melia, Kenze and Kilaguni joined the dependent orphans for the lucerne feeding time as soon as they came out of their night stockades, but the rest of the ex-orphans were late. The wild bull known as ‘Dad’ and his loyal friends visited the stockade for water this morning too. The dependent orphans enjoyed their lucerne and then left for browsing, led by Larro where they settled to browse in the Kone area.
It was the perfect temperature this morning and the orphans browsed calmly. Jotto took a break from feeding and decided to have a lone game of rolling on the ground. Mapia saw Jotto on the ground and came forward to play on him, but Jotto sensed what Mapia was up to and quickly got up to meet him. Mapia smiled and informed Jotto that he was lucky because he was coming over to roll on him! Jotto pushed Mapia back as if to say that he would get him next time.
Kuishi, Mteto and Malkia split from the main herd and walked off a short distance away, but the three girls returned later when the Keepers whistled for them, informing all the orphans that it was time to head to the mud bath. Sattao led the first group while Naboishu, the greedy boy, led the second. After taking their eleven o’clock milk feed, the orphans skipped the wallowing exercise and headed for a drink of water instead.
In the afternoon the orphans settled to browse in the Imenti area. Malkia teamed up with Rapa while Jotto settled to browse with Musiara. In the evening, the orphans passed by the small roadside mud bath again to cool off before heading home for the night.
Mutara and her herd spent the night just outside the compound and in the morning the dependent orphans joined them. Forty wild bulls were present and drinking from the stockade water troughs this morning, with four buffaloes waiting a distance away. Malkia, Mteto and Maramoja settled upon babysitting baby Mambo as they waited for lucerne. Malkia wanted to have Mambo all to herself but Mteto would hear none of that and so squeezed herself in between Malkia and Mambo. Esampu, who never likes seeing the buffaloes close by and likes chasing them, spotted the four waiting nearby. She didn’t even bother waiting for lucerne but charged and trumpeted at the buffaloes. The buffaloes didn’t hang around to encounter the crazy little elephant and ran off, with Esampu in hot pursuit behind them. On the way, Esampu met with the senior ex-orphans and their babies. Sunyei was leading the way followed by her two babies Siku and Saba. Esampu abandoned her mission of chasing the buffaloes away and turned her attention to little Saba as the ex-orphans walked up to the compound to feed on lucerne.
Out in the bush, Musiara had a game of rolling on the ground under the watchful eye of Maramoja. Later, Musiara got up and walked to engage Rapa in a strength testing exercise. The rest of the morning was quiet as the orphans concentrated on browsing without any major distractions.
It was very hot when the orphans were at the mud bath and all the youngsters decided to swim in the waterhole. It was still hot later in the afternoon and the orphans took a break from feeding to relax under a tree. They resumed browsing later in the afternoon once the temperature dropped to a favourable level. Once again, the orphans decided to cool off in the small mud bath as they made their way home for the night.
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.
Eleven wild bulls were present at the stockade water troughs when the orphans came out this morning. Musiara and Sattao began their day activities by engaging in a pushing game even before getting to the lucerne feeding area. Loijuk, Lili and Naisula joined the orphan’s moments later and settled for the lucerne. Kamok dislikes youngsters, all except for Ambo, and as soon as she met with Lili she pushed her for no apparent reason. Lili cried out, calling her mother. Loijuk responded swiftly and nearly caught Kamok. The moment Lili cried, Kamok knew that she would be in trouble and moved away quickly to avoid being punished by Loijuk. Loijuk took her baby and walked away. Sattao walked down to the water troughs and joined the wild bulls busy drinking water.
Out in the bush, some of the bulls were in playful mood. Rapa played with Mapia while Kauro played with Mundusi. Ambo played with Pare as Enkikwe settled to play with Sapalan. At mud bath time the sun was hot but there was a cool wind blowing. Only Jotto, Mteto, Rapa, Sapalan and Larro felt like wallowing while the others headed to drink water soon after having their milk. Fifteen wild bulls were drinking water and refused to give way to the babies until the Keepers intervened; the bulls moved and the babies were able to drink some water too. In the afternoon, the orphans settled to browse west of Ithumba Hill. The rest of the day was quiet as the orphans concentrated on browsing.
Kitirua, Kalama and a wild mother with her baby arrived at the compound early before six o'clock in the morning. This was to make sure that they were on time to join the orphans for lucerne. Kauro woke up in a playful mood and walked over to Mundusi to request a pushing game. Mundusi was hesitant at first but as Kauro persisted he finally accepted. Their game ended in a draw. Kauro moved over to Jotto but Jotto wasn’t interested in Kauro's pushing games. Jotto tried to move away from Kauro, but Kauro kept on following him! When Kauro realised that Jotto was trying to totally ignore him, Kauro decided to humiliate Jotto by climbing on him. Jotto tried as much as he could to disengage and finally managed to free himself from Kauro. Maramoja and Esampu took over looking after the wild baby from its mother for a little while, but this changed when the wild mother saw the two girls leading her baby further away towards west. The mother came running over and took her baby away because she didn't trust the direction taken by the young girls. Esampu and Maramoja returned to join their friends after the baby was escorted away by the mother. Shortly later, Kinna, Kama, Kaia, Wendi, Wiva, Wema, Loijuk and Lili arrived. Ndiwa and Maramoja walked over to baby Kaia and tried to baby sit her before older sister Kama rejected them and pushed the two girls away from her sister.
Later in the morning Ndiwa decided to have fun by rolling on the ground. Kuishi came over and tried to play on her. Malkia was feeding close by came and tried to push Kuishi away because she was hurting Ndiwa by sitting on her. At mud bath time, only Rapa, Enkikwe, Sapalan and Jotto decided to wallow. Later, Sapalan, Kamok and Jotto settled for a soil dusting exercise. In the afternoon, Ndiwa settled to browse with Naboishu while Maramoja settled to browse with Musiara.
The morning was quiet as the ex-orphans were late joining the orphans for lucerne again. The young orphans enjoyed every moment until the ex-orphans started arriving half an hour later. As the dependent orphans had already had their fill, they started leaving one by one as the ex-orphans and all their wild born babies slowly took over the compound. As usual Karisa chose to remain with the ex-orphans while his friends headed in the direction of Kone. Jotto and Mapia engaged briefly in a pushing game while Mteto had a meeting with Malkia, Maramoja, Ndiwa. Their meeting was disrupted by Kamok who passed by and evidently felt jealous at not being invited, and she charged at the small group to dissolve the meeting.
It was very hot when the orphans made their way to the mud bath and all of them wanted to swim after having their milk bottles. A wild bull briefly joined the orphans and then left. Dololo, Esampu, Musiara, Nabulu, Mukkoka, Naboishu and Kauro settled for soil dusting exercise soon after they had enough of wallowing. In the afternoon, the orphans settled to browse north of the mud bath. It was still very hot, and the orphans took a break from feeding to relax under under some trees until the temperature dropped to a more favourable level. In the evening, Larro led the way back 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.
It has been a while since Ambo played his old trick of making a right turn towards the lucerne store immediately after leaving his stockade, but this morning for some reason he decided to do just that. Ambo was extremely lucky and delighted to find the lucerne store open! He rejoiced as he got inside to help himself before he could be spotted by the Keepers. By the time the Keepers came and found him, Ambo had already enjoyed getting the best fresh lucerne first-hand. The moment he saw the Keepers approaching, Ambo turned and carried enough fresh lucerne to continue enjoying outside as well! The ex-orphans Nasalot, Wendi, Sunyei, Loijuk, Chyulu and their babies were present too, and shared lucerne with the younger orphans before parting ways. Malkia had a brief interaction with Lili before leading the way out to browse.
The orphans had a quiet morning. The boys Mundusi, Pare, Kauro, Sapalan, Enkikwe and Mapia split from the main herd and browsed a short distance away. They later re-joined the group when it was time to go for the eleven o'clock milk feed. Kauro, as usual, arrived carrying a stick which he dropped when it was time to take his milk. After finishing his milk, Kauro picked up the stick again and put it in his mouth before walking away.
The sun was beating down and the orphans all jumped into the waterhole to cool off. A wild bull emerged from the northern side of the mud bath and briefly joined the orphans before heading for a drink.
In the afternoon, the orphans encountered the same large pack of Wild Dogs. Esampu, Dololo and Mteto, who spotted them first, charged and trumpeted in an effort to scare them away. The Wild Dogs started running away and more orphans joined in, their trumpeting filling the air. The dogs didn’t want to get trampled and so increased their pace and disappeared from sight. The orphans were left charging and knocking down bushes in excitement. After they grew tired of celebrating, the orphans resumed browsing and later, Pare led the way back to the stockades for the night.