Roan and Kamboyo
Daily updates
April 1st
All the Nursery females, except Sidai, assembled at little Kamboyo’s stable door. Makena and Loijuk greeted the newcomer, who felt quite comfortable. The Keepers opened up his door, and without hesitation, he followed the females, ignoring the Nursery bulls.
April 2nd
After each milk feed, Kamboyo clung to the Keepers, wanting to suck their hands. Meanwhile Zurura and Kora had a play pushing match, a sign that little Zurura is growing up and wanting to practice these skills.
Kamboyo sucking a keepers fingers
April 3rd
Today, Kamboyo did not want to be with the other orphans, but remained close to the Keepers all day while the others fed apart.
Loijuk
April 4th
Heavy rain fell during the night, so every orphan left the stable covered with their raincoat – all, except Orok, who still refuses to have anything over his back, not even the blanket. Lualeni and Makena, who love water the most, kept touching all the puddles with their trunks, and wanted to roll in them, but the Keepers did not want them to get cold, fearing pneumonia.
Makena and Lualeni enjoying the rain
April 5th
Kora’s jaw is still exuding small quantities of pus. During the afternoon he lay down, and his friend, Challa came to lie on top of him, causing him to scream with pain, when more pus appeared. The Keepers are cleaning the wound every day with silver and Calendula, and he is having homeopathic remedies as well, but the wound is very persistent.
Kora and Challa share a special moment
April 6th
During the 2 p.m. milk feed, one of the Keepers crept up to Orok and tried to place the blanket over his back, but he immediately ran away, scraping the blanket off by going through the bushes. He is still very fearful of a blanket, following the rough capture at the hands of KWS Rangers in Amboseli.
Orok running towards his milk bottle
April 7th
Zurura and Makena entertained the mudbath visitors when Zurura tried to mount onto Makena who was in the mud. She got up and shoved Zurura, whose hind legs slipped in the mud so that he fell down. All the visitors laughed a lot.
Zurura lays down on the ground
April 8th
It rained again heavily during the night, so during the morning all the orphans had fun rolling in the puddles and mud. After several hours, it started drizzling again, and because the small babies were shivering with cold, they were returned to the stables.
The nursery orphans in the rain
April 9th
It was a cold and drizzling day, and again the little ones, Zurura, Makena, Loijuk and Kamboyo began shivering, so they were returned to their warm stables.
Makena in her raincoat having some milk
April 10th
All the elephants were very playful today. Lualeni played with Loijuk while Sidai kept pushing Zurura, until Kora intervened, and slapped Sidai with his trunk. Kora loves Zurura, and does not like any of the others pushing him around.
Sidai having some milk
April 11th
Zurura has a small swelling on his head. The Keepers squeezed it to see whether pus would come out, but there was no sign of sepsis, although it seemed quite painful. Zurura picked up some mud and dabbed it on his sore
Zurura in the bush with the other orphans
April 12th
Just before the 9 a.m. milk feed, Zurura headed off back towards the house. Thinking that he was just taking a stroll, the Keepers left him to it, when suddenly there was an excited trumpet. He had met up with the Mixer bringing the bottles. He had heard the wheelbarrow and went to meet the milk!
Zurura and his blanket
April 13th
While the Keepers were taking their morning tea, all the elephants crowded around, except Challa, who was some way off. When Challa realised he was alone, he screamed and came running towards the Keepers, who comforted him.
The nursery 10
April 14th
Today, the hole in Kora’s jaw, which weeps pus, seemed to have closed, but the jaw looked more swollen. Since it was the day when the orphans are anointed with Coconut oil, he played a great deal and the jaw did not seem to be worrying him.
Kora and Loijuk with a keeper
April 15th
It was a hot day, and the orphans were very playful in the mudbath, entertaining all the visitors. As usual Zurura targeted Makena, placing his head on her body and pressing down, which prompted her to retaliate, starting a shoving battle.
Zurura playing with the tube at mudbath
April 16th
Sidai is still very pushy, especially when there is milk around. At the 9 a.m. feed, when the milk arrived in the wheelbarrow, she even pushed the Keeper, but Lualeni came between them, protecting the Keeper from Sidai.
Sidai, Orok and Lualeni
April 17th
Zurura’s swelling has ripened and opened. The Keepers have been trying to clean it with Calendular, which he does not like, and resists.
The Nairobi park transformed by the rain
April 18th
During the mudbath, all the orphans played joyfully, although Orok still shows signs of being nervous around humans. Sian wanted to play with him, but he pushed her away with his toothpick tusks. Kora was wallowing peacefully when Challa pressed against his fractured jaw, which caused him to scream with pain.
Sian coming down to the mudbath
April 19th
Kora and Zurura enjoy playing a trick on all the others, pretending to play all the time enticing them towards the Stockade. Then when the Mixer arrives with the milk out in the bush, they rush to meet him, leaving all the others behind, who follow trumpeting and screaming because Kora and Zurura are there first.
Kora and Zurura good friends
April 20th
Today, the orphaned rhino Shida refused to follow the Keepers back to the Stockade in the evening, instead running off into the bush. The Keepers left him to it, and he returned later, showing signs of fatigue having run for a long way.
Shida sniffing at a puddle of water
April 21th
There was another drama with Shida today, who came peacefully to the Stockade, but refused to go inside, wanting to fraternise with the evening foster-parent visitors. The Keeper had to push him in, which he did not like, turning and banging the door.
Shida and a keeper
April 22th
Kora loves his milk. He secretly made his way through the bushes to meet the milk wheelbarrow. In the evening the wound on his jaw seemed worse today, several other openings appearing, and more pus than before.
Kora and Challa
April 23th
Each early morning, Kora likes to go to Shida’s stockade to finish off the remains of the Copra. Zurura loves chasing the warthogs and also playing football.
Zurura leads the way
April 24th
Lualeni allows Makena to suck her ears, and as they are next door to one another in adjoining stables during the night, Lualeni frequently passes her trunk through the separating bars to touch Makena. She and Makena are very close.
Lualeni and Makena at the mudbath with the others
April 25th
Now that Makena is 9 months old, she will take her milk without having to have the blanket hung up for her trunk to rest against, although in her stable she likes to have the hung blanket to fondle during the night. There has been a plague of black caterpillars since the rain, which keep the Keepers busy, pulling them off their dust-coats. The caterpillars also drop onto the orphans, so they are kept busy as well, flapping their ears to dislodge them. The caterpillars are everywhere, on the ground, and in the trees so it is impossible to walk anywhere without stepping on them.
Angela Sheldrick's son Roan in his keepers jacket
April 26th
Makena and Zurura are very competitive, especially at feeding times. Zurura is a comedian, showing off to the visitors during the mudbath every day. He picks up the greens provided for the elephants, and places some on top of his head moving to the line of visitors to greet them. He then reverses against one of the Keepers, forcing him backwards, and making all the visitors laugh!
Loijuk and Zurura
April 27th
The caterpillars are a continuing problem. They are eating all the leaves off the Croton trees and bushes, and causing the Keepers and elephants a problem as well.
Lualeni, Sian, Makena and Loijuk
April 28th
This morning the orphans were in a very jovial mood, running here and there, swinging their trunks from side to side, and trumpeting as they knocked down small shrubs along their route.
Sian walking in the bush
April 29th
Kamboyo is a very loving little elephant, always wanting to suck the Keepers’ hands. Zurura was walking along the line of visitors at the mudbath, as usual, also trying to get their hand, so Kamboyo came and jealously pushed him away. Zurura took the hint, and then targeted Makena, as usual.
Kamboyo having some milk