Naleku and Vuria
The orphans settled for lucerne soon after leaving the stockades. Shortly later, the ex-orphans showed up and joined the orphans in feeding on lucerne. A wild family with a newborn baby arrived at the stockades, drawing everyone's attention to the new baby. Naleku, who loves babies, was eager to join in and celebrate the arrival with the ex-orphans. The Keepers tried to call her, but she was completely absorbed in the excitement and didn’t respond at all.
The orphans later moved on to browse at the Kone area. Dololo emerged from the eastern side and briefly greeted Kindani before heading off to catch up with his group. Not long after, the orphans were joined by Loijuk, Lisha, Lili, Naseku, Olare, Sagateisa, Chaimu, Namalok, Bomani, Sunyei, Siku, Kalama, and Saba. Suguroi, Olorien, Kinyei, and Larro had a delightful time with Ola and Lisha.
At mud bath time, Olorien led the first group to the mud bath, followed by Kindani, who led the second group. Although the sun was scorching hot, the orphans didn’t get into the mud as the ex-orphans had already occupied it. Instead, they settled for a soil dusting exercise and took some water before heading back to the stockades.
In the evening, the orphans passed by the roadside mud bath for a cooling-off exercise. After cooling off, they were led by Kinyei back to the stockades, ready to settle in for another night. Naleku stopped only briefly to get her milk before joining ex-orphans Naisula, Nyx, Esampu, Vuria, Chyulu, Cheka, Charli, Wendi, Wema, and Wimbi.
Only Enkikwe, Kithaka, Sidai, Sita, Silas, Kauro, Mapia, Ambo, and two wild bulls showed up for the lucerne feeding this morning. The group that left with Naleku was nowhere to be seen. Naleku had left with Naisula, Nyx, Esampu, Chyulu, Cheka, Charli, Maramoja, Ndiwa, Roi, and Ukame. We were not worried, as we knew the ex-orphans would look after her.
After the orphans had enough of lucerne, Sattao led the way to the browsing field. Along the way, they came across a large tree that had been pushed down by a wild elephant. The orphans spent quite some time feasting on this fallen tree before moving on to search for their own food. They settled to browse at the Kone area and later walked slowly towards the mud bath.
At mud bath time, Vaarti led the way for the midday milk feeds. The temperatures were moderate, and the orphans participated fully in the wallowing exercise. Only Olorien, Mayan, Mukkoka, and Vaarti dodged and ran to the water trough to drink water. A wild bull joined them there briefly. Shortly afterward, the orphans had a soil dusting exercise before returning to the browsing field.
In the afternoon, the sun became quite hot, prompting the orphans to take a break from feeding. They relaxed under the trees until the temperatures dropped to a more favourable level. In the evening, the orphans visited a roadside mud bath for a cooling-off exercise, and afterward, Bondeni led them back to the stockades.
Naleku was brought back by the ex-orphans at five o'clock in the evening, after spending close to 34 hours with them. She enjoyed her milk before heading into the stockade to join her friends.
Several ex-orphans spent the night outside the stockade. When morning came and the orphans had their early milk, Vaarti took the lead to guide them out. The orphans joined the ex-orphans outside, and they all shared the lucerne. The keepers distributed the lucerne to ensure there was enough for everyone.
There was a bit of drama when Nusu decided to carry an entire bale of lucerne and took it over to his mother and brother, who were some distance away. Nasalot then broke the string and nudged Nusu to go and bring another bale. Nusu refused, grabbed his share, and walked away, leaving Noah and Nasalot to share the remaining lucerne.
At the browsing field, the orphans were joined by Zurura, Namalok, Esampu, Vuria, Sapalan, Makireti, and Galla. The ex-orphans browsed alongside the orphans for nearly an hour before departing to an undisclosed location. The day was hot, so the orphans browsed calmly and slowly as they made their way toward the mud bath.
At eleven o'clock, Olorien led the first group to the mud bath, while Naleku led the second. Due to the high temperatures, the orphans jumped into the water right after having their milk. Once they had their fill of wallowing, they went to drink water and then engaged in a soil dusting exercise before returning to the browsing field.
In the afternoon, the orphans settled to browse west of Ithumba Hill. Roho paired up with Vaarti, while Kinyei teamed up with Mayan. The rest of the day remained quiet as the orphans browsed calmly without any significant events.