The month began with neighbour drama. Kapei and Amali, who sleep in adjoining stockades, could not live in harmony because Kapei kept stealing branches and pellets from her room. Amali reported Kapei to the Keepers, who came out to help, but by then Kapei had already moved back to his corner, feigning innocence. He may have looked blameless, but everyone knew he had wronged Amali.
Lima Lima may be a mother, but she is still a glutton. One day, Murera and her team were the only elephants that reported for the midday bottle feeding. Lima Lima and her team came much later, but still they demanded their share of milk. Lima Lima stood firm by the truck, putting her trunk inside the vehicle as if trying to pick bottles for herself. Knowing that she would not back down, the Keepers eventually acquiesced and handed out bottles to the latecomers.
Lima Lima’s son, Lenny, is turning into a social and bold young elephant, just like his mum. Whenever the Keepers take a break under the trees, he approaches them in a friendly manner. Also like Lima Lima, he is delightfully greedy. One afternoon, a Keeper called his name and Lenny padded over — however, he expected to be given pellets. Disappointed, Lenny turned around and pushed the Keeper backwards with his bottom before marching off. Like mother, like son!
Lenny also likes to play around and enjoys attention. This can lead to some jealousy amongst the other babies. One morning, Sulwe and Zigi became envious when they realised that Lenny was getting more attention than them. In retaliation, first Zigi and then Sulwe started fighting him — but both found Lenny was very prepared. He defended himself as best as he could and then ran off and hid among the nannies so that no one could push him again.
The dry season changes the habits of all wild animals, even our nightclubbers. Lima Lima and her team have adjusted their visiting arrangements, as they now must go very far in search of food and fresh branches to eat. Because of the distances they’re travelling, they don’t always report first thing in the morning, as they normally would. Poor Amali and Enkesha are always extremely disappointed when they wake up and realise Zigi, Sulwe, and Lenny aren’t outside waiting for them. The girls hopefully investigate every sound — every elephant rumble or broken branch — until the nightclubbers and their beloved babies finally make an appearance. Whenever they do arrive, everyone — even Murera, who is usually quite stoic — trumpets in celebration.
Jasiri was a one-time visitor this month. He arrived in the company of some wild elephants, who joined the babies under the shade. Later, Ziwa arrived with his group. He was warmly received by Quanza and Kiasa. After Ziwa had settled for some minutes with his orphan friends, his adopted mother and her friend approached him and rumbled to tell him it was time to leave. Ziwa’s herd allows him to visit his old human-orphan family, but they are also quite possessive and don’t like him to spend too much time with them.
As the single elder bull who links up with the dependent herd on a near-daily basis, Mwashoti has become an important role model to the younger boys. One day, Maktao and Kapei approached Mwashoti and tried to get him to join their pushing game. Unfortunately for them, peace-loving Mwashoti did not like their plan of pushing each other. When Kapei ignored his cues and bit his tail, the elder bull got annoyed and turned against both Kapei and Maktao. The younger boys prudently ran over to the girls for safety.
One morning, Faraja arrived with a wild bull in tow. The visitor kept a short distance behind, and when he spotted the Keepers, he bolted in a hurry. He didn’t trust the Keepers, unlike Faraja who is perfectly comfortable with them. The wild bull, still blowing his trumpet and charging through the bushes, seemed confused and disappointed that Faraja had brought him to humans. Meanwhile, Faraja was thrilled to be reunited with the orphans.
We witnessed some drama between Zongoloni and Kiasa this month. When the nightclubbers joined the dependent herd one morning, we realised Kiasa was not a happy nanny. She came along with Zongoloni but stayed some distance away, leaving an unusual gap between her and Zigi. It soon became clear that Zongoloni was upset with Kiasa — the night before, Kiasa must have overstepped her role. Zongoloni wanted to prove that she and only she was Zigi’s mother, and that a nanny must respect the mother's authority. As a result Kiasa was left trailing the herd for most of the morning — close enough to follow, but not too close to Zongoloni and Zigi.
Towards the end of the month, Kiombo and his newfound wild family visited the stockades. He was happy to see his human-orphan family and was looking very well. Kiombo was busy catching up with everyone, but when his new matriarch signalled it was time to go, two members of the herd came and fetched him. It made us sad to see Kiombo go, but very pleased to see how much he is thriving in his wild life.
Quanza is such an excellent nanny. Although her peers have become mothers, she doesn't yet seem ready for this phase and is very happy looking after her nieces and nephews. She is not strict or harsh, but she is attentive and quick-witted. Whenever the babies show the slightest sign of trouble, she is the first to jump in and solve the problem. Whenever she decides to become a mother, we know she will be an excellent one.
Little Sulwe seems to have matriarch aspirations — she is following the excellent example of her mother, Sonje. When it was time for the dependent herd to return home for the night, Amali and Enkesha took the lead, placing the babies Lenny and Mwana between them to keep a close eye on them. Sensing an opening, stout little Sulwe tried to zip to the front and take over the lead. Sonje put a stop to this, calling her back and allowing Mwana, Enkesha, and Quanza to lead the orphans to the stockades.
Murera is a careful, considerate matriarch who is wise to every potential risk. Towards the end of the month, a wild bull tried to sneak into the Umani herd's midst while the Keepers were distributing morning bottles to the milk-dependent orphans. Before the gate was even opened, the bull was standing outside, just waiting for the elephants to emerge.
Unfortunately for him, he was an uninvited guest and was not welcomed by the team leader, Murera, or her assistant head girls. Murera chose to stay inside and kept the nightclubbers waiting behind the fence until the bull took his leave. The bull bided his time and pretended to drink water, but his real intention was to linger until Murera and her friends came out. However, they were smarter than he expected. They waited him out until he finally gave up and left on his own. Only then did Murera lead the orphans out, taking them in the opposite direction of the bull. Our careful leader takes no chances!