The orphaned elephants:

Korbessa’s return to the ‘main side’ was so sweet to witness: Far from begrudging the return of Kaluku’s most spoiled princess, Toto, Mwinzi, and Natibu were overjoyed to have their little friend back. They clustered around her, smothering her in trunk hugs and refusing to let her leave their sight, even for a minute. Toto was especially delighted to have his little sister, nighttime neighbour, and best friend back. 

Korbessa is a very happy, friendly elephant. She likes everyone and everything. She has a sister-brother relationship with Toto, but is good friends with the rest of the orphans, too. She also loves her Keepers. One thing Korbessa takes very seriously is her morning and evening exercises. She starts her days stretching and sprinting, and ends them in much the same way. 

Despite her young age, Korbessa is constantly impressing us with clever nature. She is a professional greens-eater and water-drinker, although she prefers when her Keepers hand-pick greens for her. She has also learned all the feeding times, day and night. The Keepers call her ‘queen of the jungle’ — a title she has really earned!

Natibu is a simple but very clever boy. He is very quick and likes to be first for everything. The Keepers remark how smart he is: Out in the bush, he smells the footprints of wild elephants and other animals, then goes on little missions to search for them. He is not scared of wild animals, so the Keepers have a real task keeping an eye on him to make sure he doesn’t go missing as he tracks footprints. 

Interestingly, from some angles, Toto and Natibu look so alike that they might be twins. Every time they are together, playing games and jumping on each other in the water and feeding side by side, it is difficult to tell who is who. 

However, Natibu and Toto have very different characters. We call Natibu our little wild boy: Even though he is just a young baby, he behaves like a wild elephant and is always trying to search for Tsavo herds. 

On the other hand, Toto is still a big baby. However, since joining the other orphans, he has become much more independent. He knows how to find food by himself and has learned how to use his trunk to feed himself water. Toto is very playful with the others, wrestling and pushing without shyness or fear. 

Toto seems to think that he is the boss. Like Natibu, he likes to be fast and first to anything, be it his milk bottles or some delicious green branches. Natibu used to push Toto around, but now Toto stands up to him, saying, ‘I’m not scared of you, I’m ready to play with you!’ At night, he is in constant communication with Korbessa, who sleeps in the stable next to his.

Toto and Natibu may think they are the leaders, but Mwinzi is the real boss. He is very intelligent and always leads by example, showing the others how to behave well. During the day, he often likes to go on private browsing adventures. When the time of feeding comes, he returns to the main herd. When bottles are done, Mwinzi communicates to the others using his trunk, leading them into the bush so everyone can browse together. 

Mwinzi has a funny little habit of upending the water trough at the midday mud bath. This is often quite a mission, as a fully filled trough is heavy, but he never gives up. Mwinzi first tests the weight with his front legs, then drops to his knees and uses his head to topple the trough over. Mission complete, he stands back up and triumphantly puts his front feet inside the empty trough. 

Chamboi the orphaned rhino:

Next month will mark Chamboi’s first rescueversary — and his first birthday, for he was rescued as a newborn! Over the past year, our little black rhino has gone from strength to strength. He is growing in size, confidence, and character.

Chamboi’s new favourite friend is a testament to that fact. When he was first rescued, Chamboi was very scared of Twiggy, because the giraffe towered over him and made him feel small and vulnerable. But now, Chamboi embraces Twiggy as a great friend. The leggy giraffe and the stout rhino tromp through the bush together, perfectly content in each other’s company.

Chamboi adores his Keepers and is constantly chatting to them with a series of squeaks. Because the dry season is peaking in Tsavo, we have to spend a lot of time gathering supplemental greens for the orphans. Chamboi joins his Keepers on these excursions, chomping on branches while they carefully select more for later. 

As we shared last month, Chamboi has started visiting the big mud bath. He loves this new daily tradition — as long as conditions are right! On hot days, it is difficult to convince him to leave the mud bath. But if it’s chilly, Chamboi flatly refuses to wallow because the water is not warm enough. His Keepers note that this is a telling sign of how clever he is. 

Twiggy the orphaned giraffe:

Twiggy remains very friendly, curious, and social. She likes to follow the orphaned elephants during the day, often circling over to the mud bath when she knows their 11 o’clock feed is approaching. She observes them from a short distance, like a quiet babysitter. 

Recently, Chamboi has become a favourite friend. Twiggy joins the young rhino and his Keepers on excursions into the bush, although she doesn’t like to wander too far from the stockade compound. Despite what her increasing height might suggest, Twiggy is not yet full-grown and thus vulnerable to predators. She knows that lions and other dangers lurk in the bush.

Ironically, Twiggy gets the biggest fright from the most harmless animals: A sudden noise from vervet monkeys, impalas, or other small creatures sends her sailing home at an elegant gallop. While Twiggy is known as a friend to everyone, she has no time for the baboons and their rowdy, rude behaviour. Whenever they arrive on the scene, she quickly makes herself scarce. 

Apollo the orphaned rhino:

It has now been nearly one year since Apollo moved to Rhino Base. He is thriving in his new(ish) home and has never looked more magnificent. We can tell that he is very happy in Tsavo, enjoying having his own space and the greater independence it affords. 

Apollo has become very attached to the wild zebras who have taken up residence in his boma. They trail each other a lot, and it offers Apollo company without the friction that another rhino would bring. As soon as the rains break, we intend to take Apollo outside his boma, so he can take longer sojourns along the lugga and begin to establish his own territory. This is a gradual process and we must tread carefully. 

Apollo may be growing up, but he remains very attached to his Keepers. He has mapped out all the entry points from his boma to the stockade compound, and he uses all of them. But in the evening, he hangs around the entry near the staff quarters, clearly enjoying hearing their voices and just being in their presence.

We recently built a structure inside Apollo’s boma to provide more shade for the Keepers as they sit outside and supervise his days. Beneath is a soft, sandy bottom, which offers a shady retreat for Apollo, too. Apollo cottoned onto this design and now enjoys long afternoon siestas beneath his Keepers. It reminds us of his baby days, when he used to sleep with his mattress propped over him like a tent!

* Apollo is now at Rhino Base, in Tsavo East National Park