Mbegu may be living wild, but she is still fiercely protective of the dependent herd. An incident this month reminded us of that fact. Mbegu's herd of ex-orphans arrived one day in the company of a wild bull.
On a bright sunny morning at the Voi stockades, our dependent orphans enjoyed their usual breakfast of milk, range cubes and lucerne. Ex-orphans Mbegu, Ngilai, Godoma and Tagwa arrived as the orphans were browsing on lucerne and mingled with them. Baraka ran towards adopted mother Godoma, rumbling in greeting.
After enjoying her breakfast, Seri lay down for a nap in the lucerne feeding area. Rokka squatted on her backside nearby before also lying down for a nap while Lemeki trunk hugged and kissed little sister Losoito. Most of the others crowded around the water trough.
The resident herd soon headed out to browse on the northern side of Msinga Hill. Godoma trailed along behind Baraka for a time before catching up with ex-orphans Mbegu, Ngilai and Tagwa as they wandered away in the opposite direction.
The orphans spent several hours browsing on the slopes of the hill before visiting the baobab tree water trough and mud wallow in the afternoon. Kilulu, Itinyi, Thamana and Ushindi cooled off in the smaller mud pools around the wallow. The elephants stood in the mud, slapping their sides with water. After mud wallowing and dust bathing, the orphans browsed some more on their way back to the stockades for the night.
Ex-orphans Ndotto and Murit are usually on time for breakfast, sometimes spending the night outside the stockades. Today, they padded up the path in the early morning to browse on lucerne and pellets with our herd. Kilulu stood quietly picking up pieces of lucerne without the presence of Hildana or Thamana to disturb his peace.
Rokka and Losoito led the herd out from the stockades to browse over the rocky Msinga Hill. They ambled along in single file, pausing to pull up clumps of grass and shrubs. Later in the morning, after filling their bellies, Ashanti and Epiya played a pushing game and then lay down together to rest at the foot of the hill.
In the afternoon, the elephants came down the hill for another milk feed and to visit the baobab water hole. While Thamana lay on his side, Itinyi invited him to play and knelt down so the two friends could play pushing and climbing games. When naughty Kilulu clambered on top of Mushuru while she wallowed in the mud, she trumpeted and pushed him hard. In response, everyone climbed out of the water and walked back out to the bush.
As the land is very dry and green browse is hard to find, the orphans who have been living wild lives for only a few months are regular visitors at the stockades. They come to see their old families but also to fill their bellies. This morning, ex-orphans Mbegu, Godoma, Tagwa, Ngilai, Ndotto and Murit arrived together at dawn and settled to browse on lucerne. Soon after, the dependent orphans joined them.
When the herd headed out for the field, Mbegu’s herd stayed behind. Our orphans wandered along very slowly, exploring the ground with their trunks in search of browse and twisting up small shoots and grasses. They spread out over the lower slopes of the hill for the rest of the morning.
In the afternoon, the herd cooled off in the main mud wallow and the smaller water holes. Many had fun paddling and splashing in the mud. Thamana was rolling around in a small wallow, enjoying mud bathing, and Hildana joined him. When he stepped on Thamana’s stomach with his front foot, Thamana stood up and took revenge by challenging Hildana to a wrestling match.
A wild bull arrived at the wallow to drink water. Only Lemeki and Tamiyoi dared to approach the bull while the rest of the herd kept their distance.
Ex-orphans Mbegu, Godoma, Tagwa, Ngilai, Ndotto and Murit arrived at the stockades again in the early morning. Lemeki was at her most protective today. First, walking back and forth on guard duty, she blocked Kenderi from playing with Losoito who was massaging her backside against a boulder. Then she shepherded Losoito away from the herd of current and former orphans. Lemeki took her little sister over to the water trough and the two elephants stayed there until it was time to head out.
As the herd ambled out in the direction of Msinga Hill, Lemeki and Losoito jogged along in their wake. In the field, Lemeki continued looking after little sisters Rokka and Losoito. The two girls were able to browse in peace throughout the day because of their devoted nanny! Meanwhile, ‘Voi kids’ like Dabida, Kilulu and Itinyi climbed to the summit of the hill in search of tasty browse.
In the afternoon, the herd had a wonderful mud bath. Kilulu squatted on the edge, moving his backside from side to side. Ashanti was wallowing nearby, touching Kilulu with her trunk while splashing herself. Kilulu could not resist play mounting her. She continued to wallow, tolerating the bull because he was not resting his weight on her.
Today, a herd of wild elephants wandered in as our herd was leaving. Curious Lemeki turned back to greet them briefly before catching up with her friends.
As the dependent orphans were having breakfast, ex-orphans Ndotto, Ngilai, Tagwa, Godoma, Mbegu and Murit ambled up the path to join them at the range cubes feeding trough.
Sholumai, Mushuru, Sileita and Rokka were the first to leave the stockades. The four girls walked a few steps out to browse while Itinyi was having an early morning dust bath, Hildana was sparring with Kilulu, and Juni, Ashanti, Baraka, Busara and Tagwa were standing side by side at the trough.
Soon the whole herd wandered out to the bush, spending the morning browsing on acacia branches on Msinga Hill. Hildana, Itinyi, Epiya and Ashanti were browsing on shrubs while Kilulu and Busara relaxed in the shade of a tree, flapping their ears.
In the afternoon, the orphans padded down for a milk feed in groups and on to the water hole. Ashanti tried to squeeze her round body into a small dust hole, Thamana stood next to the wallow making splashes, Lemeki rolled around wallowing with Murit, and Sholumai rested her front legs on the wall before crawling out of the water.
A herd of buffaloes arrived at the wallow to drink from the trough. Lemeki and Tamiyoi tried to chase them away but they were outnumbered. The buffaloes refused to budge and drank almost all the water.
On a sunny morning, the orphans enjoyed their breakfast with ex-orphans Ndotto and Murit. First they ate and then they played. Close friends Ushindi, Ashanti and Losoito were playing, taking it in turns to lie on the ground and clamber over each other. The game did not last long, because Lemeki came running over to save Losoito – who did not need saving at all as she had been playing happily. Overprotective Lemeki trumpeted as she ushered Losoito away, trunk hugging and kissing her.
In the afternoon, the orphans walked down the hill to the baobab water trough to quench their thirst and cool off in the pool. Ashanti sat on the edge of the wallow while scratching her bottoms, Dabida and Tamiyoi showboated in the water, Baraka massaged herself against Dabida, Seri posed on the edge, and Hildana rolled around in the dust. Rokka, who is always wary of a crowded wallow, stood by watching the others.
As the orphans walked off to browse, a family of wild elephants took their places.
Serenget – who was rescued several weeks ago – and Samaa – who was rescued at the end of August – are still confined to their stockades most of the time. Both are recovering from their injuries and settling into their new families. This morning, the two next-door neighbours were browsing on grewia branches.
The other dependent orphaned elephants were enjoying lucerne and pellets in the feeding area in front of the stockades. Ashanti was kneeling to reach the pellets in the trough while standing with Seri, Juni, Lemeki, Epiya and Dabida. On their way out to browse after breakfast, current orphans met former orphans on their way in to the stockades.
Our orphans spent the morning browsing over the open savannah, walking towards the baobab water hole. Lemeki browsed side by side with little sister Rokka while Losoito was with Tamiyoi on the slopes of the hill.
In the afternoon, we sent the orphans down the hill for a milk feed in groups of four or five. Rokka, Losoito, Sholumai, Mushuru and Sileita were in the first group. Led by Rokka, they sprinted down, gulped their milk and walked on the smaller water holes which are their favourite for mud bathing.
Losoito and Ashanti splashed around together in the main mud wallow while Akina squatted on the edge, massaging her bottoms. Soon Losoito climbed out to pose on dry ground next to Thamana who was trying to trunk hug Rokka as she rolled in the dust.
When a herd of wild elephants arrived to drink from the water trough, Tamiyoi rushed over to welcome them while the others continued dust and mud bathing.
On a wonderful sunny morning, current and former orphans spread out in front of the stockades. Mushuru and Sileita scratched their rumps against the terrace wall and then walked up to pose on the upper terrace. Ex-orphan Godoma was hanging out with favourite baby Baraka next to the water trough.
The orphans headed out for their daily browsing adventures around the rocky Msinga Hill. Busara was browsing side by side with big sister Mbegu. Today, all six visitors – Mbegu, Godoma, Ndotto, Murit, Ngilai and Tagwa – spent the morning with our herd.
In the afternoon, the orphans came down the hill as soon as the van full of bottles of milk arrived. After the milk feed, Mushuru and Ashanti went straight into the mud for a wallow. Seri climbed in next to join them and took centre stage, rolling around and slapping the water in the middle of the pool. Mushuru submerged her whole body while Hildana rubbed his bottoms against her back. Ushindi and Akina were also enjoying a mud splash.
Tagwa and Godoma lay down on the mound of dry soil for a dust bath next to Dabida who was play mounting Kilulu. Several others also had a dust bath before the herd headed back out to browse.
In the early morning, many of the orphans – including Mbegu and her herd of ex-orphans - lined up at the feeding trough or gathered on the terraces to scoop up range cubes. Seri, Baraka, Mushuru, Ashanti, Kilulu and Hildana opted for the pile of lucerne at the far end of the stockade compound. Baraka and Epiya stood with trunks entwined and Kenderi posed next to the wall of the terrace.
Soon, the orphans headed out for their daily browsing adventures, spreading out over the lower slopes of Msinga Hill. Mbegu and the other ex-orphans went off in a different direction. To our surprise, Godoma tried to kidnap Baraka! She shepherded the younger girl away towards the water trough on the hill. Luckily, we noticed immediately and called back all the ex-orphans so Baraka did not have to walk away from her adopted mother.
Later in the afternoon, the orphans visited the baobab tree mud wallow, drinking from the trough before plunging into the cooling water. Good friends Thamana and Lemeki stood trunk kissing and hugging next to the trough and then Thamana moved away to play mount Hildana. When Hildana pushed him off, he joined the others in the wallow.
Soon after dawn, the orphans gathered at their gates, waiting for us to open them, while we mixed the early morning milk feed and filled up the trough with range cubes. An impatient Lemeki tried to open the gate with her trunk, stretching it through the gaps to fiddle with the latch. We opened the gates one by one and the elephants padded down the path in groups to a line of Keepers waiting with their bottles.
Everyone emerged except for Chapeyu, Serenget and Samaa who were browsing on lucerne and pellets inside their stockades. In the feeding area, Juni and Baraka stood with trunks entwined and then Akina joined them, draping her trunk along Baraka’s back. Sileita and Rokka browsed on lucerne together while Itinyi and Kilulu played the pushing game.
The morning was spent, as usual, wandering around Msinga Hill. Today, the elephants walked a long distance in search of browse in a dry land. As the grass is short and yellow, the orphans were stretching up high to pull down branches from trees.
Later in the afternoon, the herd returned to the stockades for the night. Epiya, Sholumai, Juni, Ashanti, Baraka and Ushindi sleep in the stockade next to Chapeyu. On their way past the older bull, Juni and Ashanti stopped to greet him, stretching their trunks through the gaps and draping them over Chapeyu's head. Greedy Sholumai paused only to scoop up a trunkful of leftover pellets from his stockade!
Ex-orphans Mbegu, Godoma, Tagwa, and Ngilai were at the stockades this morning but without Ndotto and Murit. Thamana could not decide between range cubes and lucerne. He walked from one area to the other and back again. At last, he grabbed a bundle of lucerne and returned to the feeding trough full of cubes with the lucerne balanced on his head. Rokka was rolling around on her back, making clouds of dust, while Mbegu and Busara watched on from the sidelines.
The two herds headed out together. Mbegu’s herd stopped off on the eastern side of the hill while our herd meandered on in the direction of the baobab mud wallow.
In the afternoon, the sun was shining and most of the herd cooled off in the wallow. Some kicked water along the edge while others lay down in the middle. While Dabida wallowed in the water with only her head sticking out, Ushindi rested his backside on her belly. She did not react and so he continued squatting on his friend.
Ex-orphans Mbegu, Godoma, Tagwa and Ngilai arrived soon after dawn this morning. Ndotto and Murit did not turn up for the second day running – maybe our two big bulls have gone exploring. Busara and Rokka clustered around Mbegu, touching her with their trunks, Baraka was with favourite sister Godoma, and Juni was with Tagwa.
After feeding, Busara greeted Ngilai. The confident younger elephant stood close, touching him with her trunk for a long time. The older bull stood quietly, seeming to enjoy the attention. When Busara saw that Hildana was being affectionate to Mbegu, she turned around and walked between them to separate Hildana from the matriarch. Showing off to the visitors, Kilulu and Juni went head to head in an exciting sparring match. After the games, the two groups walked out from the stockades in different directions.
In the afternoon, many orphans played again in the mud wallow. Sileita and Mushuru climbed on and off each other in the middle while Sholumai rubbed her face along the edge. When Ashanti climbed out and lay down in a shallow hole to dust herself, Hildana followed and climbed on top of her. She wriggled out from under and he took the hole for himself.
On a wonderful morning at the Voi stockades, the dependent orphans emerged from their shared enclosures and padded down the path for breakfast with Mbegu’s herd of ex-orphans. They lined up side by side at the feeding trough. When Hildana pushed Seri away from the trough, Sholumai, Mushuru and Sileita decided to move away to the pile of lucerne.
After filling their bellies, Hildana and Kilulu played several rounds of the pushing game while Losoito and Itinyi rolled around on the mound of dry soil together. Rather than drinking from the water trough, cheeky Lemeki was stretching her trunk through the fence to suck up water from a hose pipe!
Slowly, current and former orphans wandered out from the stockades towards Msinga Hill. Mbegu’s herd walked off to the Voi River while our orphans spread out over the hill. Juni and Busara spent the morning together, trunk touching each other between bouts of browsing.
It was an uneventful afternoon. The elephants cooled off in the small pools around the main wallow before exploring an area to the south, walking far in search of tasty shrubs.
Just after dawn, while the orphans were still in their stockades, we found a surprise visitor standing at the gate of her old stockade – Rorogoi! She has not visited her old family for several months. She moved down to the feeding area where she stood waiting for us to fill the trough with range cubes.
We opened the gates and our dependent herd joined Rorogoi in the feeding area. While Hildana browsed on grewia branches, Lemeki browsed on lucerne with little sister Rokka. Kenderi and Epiya were standing close with trunks entwined, Dabida was with Ashanti, and Sileita and Mushuru were playing pushing games on the terraces.
Today, Sileita and Rokka led the herd out to the browsing fields. Thamana and Hildana climbed to the summit of the hill while Juni, Busara and Baraka remained on the lower slopes. Sileita and Rokka stood in the shade of a tree for some time.
In the afternoon at the mud wallow, Epiya struck poses on the edge, Sholumai squatted on her bottoms, and Baraka massaged herself against Ashanti. Akina, Dabida and Kilulu played splashing games in the water and Lemeki lay with her body submerged. When they ambled back to the bush, Lemeki remained behind in the pool before clambering out and catching up with the herd.
On a wonderful sunny morning, Mbegu and her herd of ex-orphans came down the hill, where they had spent the night, to join the dependent orphans for breakfast. Murit was drinking from the trough with Losoito, Ndotto was dozing next to him, and Godoma was hanging around with Epiya. When Itinyi attempted to mount Losoito while she rolled on the mound of soil, Godoma shoved him away. The young bull stopped trying to climb on her and draped his trunk over her back instead. Not far away, Chapeyu, Serenget and Samaa were browsing on lucerne and grewia in their stockades.
The orphans soon headed out to browse over the hill. Ushindi and Kenderi pulled down branches from acacia trees while Akina and Ashanti rested in the shade, and Kilulu, Epiya and Sholumai ambled over the plains.
In the afternoon, most of the herd cooled off in the mini mud holes but Juni chose to have a dust splash. Afterwards, they wandered back to the stockades for the night.
A tiny baby was rescued later in the day, having been found abandoned in a water trough. The calf was brought to the stockades for the night. He accepted a bottle of milk and rested well in the night.
In the early morning, we took the rescued calf to the airstrip and he was flown to our Kaluku Neonate Unit.
Independent and dependent orphans spent the morning browsing on branches of acacia trees on Msinga Hill. Kilulu, Itinyi, Hildana and Kenderi climbed over several boulders to reach some trees near the top of the hill. The sun was scorchingly hot and so many orphans limited their movements and stood in the shade of trees,
When Mbegu’s herd walked away in a different direction, Tamiyoi went with them. She is their age and is showing signs of independence. When Kenderi tried to follow, however, we called her back as she is only six years old and still milk dependent.
In the afternoon, Losoito, Busara, Sileita and Mushuru were in the first group sent down to the feeding area. They emptied their bottles and padded on at a slower pace to the wallow. Busara did some impressive stretching and splashing in the muddy water while Thamana and Lemeki climbed all over each other. After playing with Lemeki, Thamana stood with Busara on the edge.
Tamiyoi did not come back to the stockades for the night, choosing to spend the night with Tagwa, Mbegu and Godoma.
Current and former orphans mingled in the area in front of the stockades compound in the early morning. Mbegu stood between Juni and Sholumai at the trough. Juni leant against Mbegu while Sholumai kept stretching her trunk towards the older female. After filling their tummies, Sholumai massaged her bottoms on the terrace wall while Mbegu stood with Kilulu, draping her trunk over his head.
Best friends Busara and Rokka were playing a sparring game and Murit and Tagwa were wrestling next to the water trough. Hildana was drinking from the trough with Ngilai, Godoma and Murit.
The orphans headed out to spend the morning browsing in the bush. Later in the morning, Dr Limo and his team arrived to dress and treat Samaa’s wound and to check on Serenget and Chapeyu. All three are making good progress.
In the afternoon, the herd returned to the stockades for a milk feed and a mud bath. Kenderi and Akina played a sparring match by the famous rock while Kilulu did showboating stretches on the upper terrace.
Following a welcome drizzle of rain in the night, it was a cool and cloudy morning. Current and former orphans spread out in the area in front of the stockades to have their breakfast while playing and bonding. Sholumai, Sileita, Mushuru and Rokka stood together around the pile of lucerne while ex-orphans Mbegu and Godoma stood close to Juni and Ushindi at the feeding trough. Minutes later, Sholumai walked over to greet and trunk touch Mbegu.
After another early morning dust bath, Lemeki and Losoito trunk hugged each other and stood with trunks entwined, Epiya massaged her backside on the famous rock, and Rokka and Baraka played the pushing game. Before the orphans left for the browsing fields, Losoito and Kilulu had a sparring match.
When the elephants headed out to the bush, Mbegu’s herd of ex-orphans, and also Tamiyoi, went off in a different direction.
In the afternoon, the orphans avoided the mud wallow and hung around the baobab playing. Ashanti and Losoito were pushing heads and clinking tusks while Itinyi and Kenderi had a serious wrestling match. When Kenderi became too rough, Itinyi ran off to Ashanti. Losoito moved away and Itinyi took her place in the game with Ashanti. Finally, the herd ambled out to carry on browsing.
It was a cool morning at the Voi stockades. Ex-orphans Mbegu, Godoma, Tagwa, Murit, Ndotto and Ngilai ambled up the path at dawn with Tamiyoi in tow (as she spent the night out again).
As Tamiyoi stood next to the mound of dry soil, spraying herself with dust, Busara and Hildana walked over to welcome her. The two younger orphans stood close to their big sister. Busara was trunk touching her and Hildana was massaging himself against her belly. Thamana was next to join them. When he lay down in the dust, Hildana moved away from Tamiyoi to play mount Thamana.
Rokka, Losoito, Sholumai, Sileita and Mushuru led the others out to browse. They clambered over boulders on the hill on their way to the open browsing fields. The five girls have become good friends.
In the afternoon, the dependent orphans had their usual milk feed and visit to the baobab mud wallow. After rolling around in the muddy water, Epiya climbed out to splash herself with dust. When Epiya lay down for a dust bath, Akina play mounted her, only to be pushed off by Thamana who then started sparring with Epiya. After cooling off, Lemeki lay down for a nap while Seri, Baraka, Busara and Itinyi drank from the water trough. Standing up minutes later, Lemeki began a wrestling match with Kilulu, while Akina posed next to them with her front feet crossed.
Soon after dawn, some of the orphans were pushing their heads against the gates, telling us that it was time to let them out. Elephants have a good sense of time and they knew that their milk feed was late today! When Hildana began pushing the others in his stockade, Thamana took control of the situation and pushed him away. We opened the gates and everyone calmed down.
Our herd spread out at the trough and around the pile of lucerne. The ex-orphans arrived late this morning and the dependent orphans were already heading out to the bush. The visitors settled around the leftovers of lucerne. Tamiyoi, who spent last night in the stockades, stayed back to be with old friends Tagwa, Godoma and Mbegu.
In the afternoon, the orphans visited the baobab tree mud wallow. As the rest of the herd splashed around in the mud, Busara and Dabida played a light wrestling game next to the tree.
On a sunny morning, independent and dependent orphans enjoyed their breakfast in the stockades compound. Losoito and Mushuru rolled around on the dry soil while Sileita and Sholumai browsed on the hill behind the stockades and ex-orphan Ndotto did his best to play mount Thamana.
Chapeyu browsed quietly on his breakfast in his stockade. He is content to remain inside while he continues to regain his strength – and never pushes his head against the gate. He feels safe in his comfy stable. His neighbours are often in touch with him after dark. At least one of the six girls – Epiya, Ushindi, Sholumai, Juni, Ashanti and Baraka – will stretch their trunk into his space to greet him and pinch some lucerne. He often returns the favour, sucking up a trunkful of pellets from their stockade.
An hour or two later, we received a call from a driver who had found a young baby stuck in a water trough at Dida Harea. Our team immediately set off to rescue the elephant. Sadly, we found the baby alone with no sign of his mother or herd. We pulled the little elephant out of the trough and drove him back to the stockades. In the afternoon, he was airlifted to the Kaluku Neonate Unit.
When our orphans returned to the stockades in the afternoon, Tamiyoi chose to spend the night out again on the hill with Mbegu’s herd of ex-orphans.
The dependent orphans lined up at the feeding trough for breakfast early in the morning. Lemeki stood at the trough with Juni, Busara, Epiya and Dabida. Rokka and Ushindi squatted next to each other rubbing bottoms in the lucerne area. Losoito ambled over to play with and clamber on top of Ushindi. Ashanti was hanging out with ex-orphan Ngilai – they stood close after filling their bellies with lucerne. When Losoito lay down for a nap, Rokka did the same and rubbed up against her.
Meanwhile, Thamana, Mbegu and Busara were browsing on delicious acacia branches, stretching their trunks over the electric fence. Juni was posing on the terraces while Seri was scratching on the famous tree.
When the herd headed off for their daily browsing adventures, Busara remained behind to spend more time with Mbegu, joining the herd later while they were browsing on Msinga Hill. The dependent orphans returned to the stockades for their afternoon milk feed. After paddling and playing in the mud wallow, they walked back out to browse some more.
On a wonderful sunny morning, our orphans mingled outside the stockades with visiting ex-orphan Ndotto. While half of the herd, including Sholumai, Sileita and Mushuru, settled around the pile of lucerne, the other half, and Ndotto, lined up at the feeding trough.
Kilulu and Hildana somehow managed to rest their backsides on the famous rock, play pushing games, and trunk touch each other at the same time, while Lemeki, as usual, rolled around on the mound of dry soil. Game over, Kilulu walked over to greet Ndotto.
The orphans walked out from the stockades in a long line with Ndotto bringing up the rear. They spread out over the hill to browse, ambling in the direction of the baobab tree mud wallow.
After the milk feed, Rokka led the first group into the wallow. She splashed her sides with mud and climbed out to squat on the ground. Akina rubbed her body against Ashanti in the wallow while Kilulu showboated on the edge. Almost the whole herd cooled off in the muddy water today. On their way back out to the bush, Kenderi and Kilulu wrestled against each other while walking along.
On another sunny morning, the elephants emerged from their stockades and lined up at the range cubes feeding trough. The ex-orphans did not join them for breakfast and so our orphans did not have to share their pellets and lucerne.
After filling their bellies, Losoito, Ashanti and Busara had an early morning dust bath. They rolled around and rubbed bodies and climbed on and off each other on the mound of dry soil. Sholumai, Sileita and Mushuru walked a short distance up the hill to start browsing.
The others soon headed out to join the three girls and the herd continued on to browse over the northern slopes of Msinga Hill. Mushuru twisted up shoots from shrubs as the rest spread out the open grass fields.
In the afternoon, the herd visited the baobab tree water hole. Busara and Baraka paddled along the edge while Juni rubbed her face on the wall, and Sileita and Rokka wallowed in the muddy water.
The dependent elephants waited patiently by their gates while we mixed the milk and filled the trough with range cubes. While Rokka stood quietly in the far corner of her stockade (as she does not like crowds and confrontations), Losoito stood by the door. She pushed her head against the gate while pushing the others away at the same time!
We opened the doors and the orphans padded down the path for breakfast. Ashanti knelt next to the feeding trough to scoop up cubes with her short trunk and then walked over for a dust bath. When Ashanti had finished covering herself in red soil, Itinyi took her place. Thamana joined him and climbed on top of Itinyi. Busara dug down into the soil with her tiny tusks and then suddenly stood tall to trumpet in alarm and flare her ears.
Mbegu’s herd of ex-orphans had just arrived in the company of a wild bull. We realised that the bull had kidnapped Sholumai, Mushuru and Sileita. Wonderful Mbegu responded immediately (in contrast to Ngilai who continued to rest his trunk on the rock along the fence line). Mbegu, with support from Tamiyoi and Juni, chased after the bull, rescued the three girls, and brought them back to the stockades.
After the morning milk feed, the dependent orphaned elephants gathered at the range cubes trough before playing in the compound. Today, the ex-orphans, and also Tamiyoi, did not visit. The absence of Tamiyoi, the oldest female in the herd, gave Lemeki an opportunity to shine as the mini matriarch in waiting of the Voi herd! She strode around, checking on the others and touching many with her trunk.
Rokka and Losoito played together on a patch of dry soil. When Lemeki came close, both asked for her attention and stood on either side of their big sister. Itinyi and Kenderi engaged in a contest of strength on the upper terrace while Sholumai, Sileita and Mushuru browsed on cubes on the lower terrace.
At last, the herd headed out to the bush. They had a peaceful morning, browsing in single file. In the afternoon, they enjoyed a wonderful mud bath after another milk feed.
In the evening, Chapeyu and Juni were rumbling to each other from their neighbouring stockades. The older bull’s leg is healing well and we hope that he will soon be strong enough to leave his stockade. In the meantime, however, he is content and eating well.
The dependent orphans had the feeding area all to themselves for a time this morning as Mbegu’s herd of ex-orphans were late. They arrived when our elephants had finished feeding and had spread out over the terraces and around the water trough. Sileita, Mushuru and Sholumai were rolling around on the mound of dry soil together, rubbing bodies against each other and faces against the ground. Itinyi joined them and began play mounting Mushuru.
The four orphans wandered away and Mbegu, Baraka, Epiya, and Juni took their place. The three younger orphans surrounded the former mini matriarch of the herd, touching her and leaning against her. They knew they were safe from feisty friends when with Mbegu. Not far away, ex-orphan Ngilai was trunk hugging Ushindi, draping his trunk around the young bull’s neck.
The two groups of elephants left the stockades, heading off in different directions to browse. In the afternoon, our herd had a brief wallow in the mud bath before returning to the bush – the area is really dry and the elephants take time to find enough browse.
Later in the afternoon, the orphans took a break from browsing to play. Rokka lay down and allowed Hildana to climb on and off her, Epiya played pushing and mounting games with Baraka, and Ashanti teamed up with Ushindi to tackle Seri who is strong enough to take both on.
On a sunny morning at the Voi stockades, the orphans spread out all over the place to enjoy their breakfast. Sholumai, Mushuru and Sileita sneaked away to browse on the hill while the rest of the herd gathered around the pile of lucerne. As usual, Losoito and Lemeki were having an early morning dust bath and they were soon joined by Busara. Akina was massaging her rump on the famous rock while Juni stretched her trunk up to try and pull down acacia branches, but she is not yet tall enough. Thamana, Kilulu, Itinyi and mischievous Dabida were drinking from the water trough.
The dependent elephants set out for their usual browsing adventures and settled over the grasslands, ambling towards the baobab tree wallow.
In the afternoon, the orphans visited the wallow. Akina sat on the edge scratching her bottoms and then clambered out to show off her moves. Kilulu submerged his body in the water while Lemeki splashed mud in every direction and Losoito dug into the mud with her tiny tusks. Ushindi and Baraka pushed each other around on the mound of dry soil, both trying for the best spot. Seri rolled around on the ground next to the baobab, covering every part of her body with soothing dust.
Our orphans headed out this morning to browse over Msinga Hill before Mbegu’s herd of ex-orphans arrived. When the older orphans wandered in, we refilled the feeding trough and brought out more lucerne as we knew they would be hungry at this dry time of year. The visitors remained at the stockades until the afternoon when Godoma led them to the other side of the hill.
Meanwhile, our herd had spread out to browse. Sileita led Mushuru and Sholumai up to the peak while the rest stayed at the foot. Lemeki was browsing side by side with adopted babies Losoito and Rokka while Juni was looking after Baraka.
In the afternoon the orphans returned to the stockades for their milk feed. After cooling off in the mud wallow, Itinyi posed on the famous rock, Thamana lay down for a nap, and feisty Hildana mounted Ashanti while she was dust bathing. Losoito waited until everyone had finished so she could have a solo dust bath and splash soil all over the place.
Chapeyu, Samaa and Serenget, who are still confined to their stockades, were browsing peacefully on extra lucerne and pellets when the others padded up the path and into their shared stockades for the night.
It was a quiet morning because, for once, the ex-orphans did not visit the stockades. Thamana lay on the mound of red soil, Losoito and Lemeki played pushing games, and Rokka lay down next to Baraka and Dabida who continued picking up pieces of lucerne. Many of the orphans gathered around the water trough to drink before leaving for their daily browsing adventures.
The orphans spread out over Msinga Hill to browse on delicious acacia branches. Sileita and Mushuru climbed up the hill and then called to Sholumai with deep rumbles. She had been left behind as she was bonding with Akina.
In the afternoon, as soon as the van arrived near the mud wallow, we sent the orphans down for another milk feed in groups. Busara sprinted down to the feeding area followed by Rokka and then Losoito who was complaining because she was last. After drinking his milk, Kilulu tried to sneak a bonus bottle but without success and we sent him down to the mud wallow to join his friends, Itinyi and Hildana, before he could try again.
After a short while in the mini mud wallow, the orphans moved on the main wallow. Busara scratched herself on the edge while several others submerged their bodies in the middle. When we whistled, the herd responded and ambled back out to the bush to browse.
Later in the day, an eight-month-old male elephant was rescued by our Galana de-snaring team and brought to the Voi stockades. We settled him in the stockade next to Samaa where he accepted a bottle and slept well.