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As the elephants headed out to the forest this morning, clouds of white butterflies fluttered in their wake. They browsed peacefully for a time before being shepherded down to the mud bath for a milk feed.

Pardamat was being a stubborn little hustler today! He ran down the path to the wallow in the first group of four orphans and emptied his bottle in seconds. Spotting Mokogodo arriving in the next group, he toddled over and tried to grab her bottle while a Keeper was holding it aloft. (Because of his appetite, he is already being given a slightly larger bottle than his agemates.) The Keepers told him off but he paid no attention, continuing to trumpet his demand for the little girl’s bottle. 

Seconds later, Taroha took the matter in hand. He strode over, headbutted Pardamat and stood next to Mokogodo. No one was messing with his best friend! But Pardamat obstinately refused to abandon his quest for extra milk. The Keepers pushed him away, Taroha pushed him away and, finally, Loldaiga, one of the older bulls in the herd, took control. He drove little Pardamat into the bushes around the mud bath and restored the peace.

In the afternoon, many of the orphans cooled off in the mud wallow as Kitich, Kamili and Mukutan covered themselves in soothing dry soil. After a final wander in the forest, the herd returned to the safety of the stockades for the night. On his way to his stable, cheeky Loldaiga nipped into neighbour Kerrio’s room and pinched her pile of lucerne. He scooped it up and darted into his own room before the Keepers could stop him. The grass really is always greener on the other side!

In the early morning in the forest, Choka plopped himself down on the ground with lots of dramatic wiggling and sashaying, inviting friends to join him. Bending his legs under his body, he rubbed his face playfully on the ground. Sileita and Mushuru answered the call, sandwiching the young bull as one and then the other did their best to mount him. To cement the invite, Choka cheekily pulled Mushuru’s tail. Mission well and truly accomplished! Choka knows how to galvanise the others even when they are feeling sleepy and lazy. 

Meanwhile, Sholumai (one of the less gregarious members of the herd) quietly wandered off, leading Loldaiga and Mageno deep into the forest. The three older elephants spent a couple of hours away on their walkabout but returned in good time for the mid-morning milk feed! Sholumai may be a shy girl but she still gets on well with every member of the herd.

Weka, Mageno, Kitich, and Loldaiga love to herald their arrival at the mud bath with shockingly loud trumpets, just in case the Keepers have forgotten how important they are. Today, they were a choir of four! Weka arrived first, downed her bottles and ambled over to the supplementary lucerne. When she heard big boys Mageno, Kitich and Loldaiga shouting as they ran down the slope, she joined in! The naughtiest girl in the herd trumpeted to them, they trumpeted back, she responded and so on, the volume increasing with each shout until, at last, the boys got their bottles and stopped the racket!

The Keepers think of Taroha as a laidback little boy, but today he was in a playful mood. After browsing for a time in the forest, he challenged Nyambeni to a wrestling match! They twisted and tussled and chased each other around for a long time. Nyambeni was also behaving out of character – she tends to be quite rough when provoked, but today she was gentle with the younger orphan, pushing him back without knocking him over. Taroha twirled his trunk in excitement — he was having a great time with his big sister, until the contest became a bit rough. At this point, mini matriarch Sileita stepped in to end the game and the two orphans ambled away to browse some more.

Later in the morning at the mud bath, many of the orphans paddled or plunged into the mud wallow. In the group of younger elephants, Taroha, Shujaa, and Mzinga were the first in and last out. They kicked the water and hosed themselves all over and rubbed their heads against the edge. Climbing out of the water, they lay down on the pile of earth to dry themselves on the loose soil. Spotting an opportunity, naughty Pardamat toddled over and began mounting the two friends in turn. Shujaa pushed him away forcefully. Mzinga allowed him to clamber on top of her twice. When he tried a third time, she gave him a strong shove, toppling him into the wallow for a surprise bath! Little Pardamat is picking up mischievous habits from Shujaa, especially that of mounting every lying-down elephant he comes across.

In the afternoon, Mushuru, Muwingu, Kitich and Talek had a lengthy mud bath in a pool they came across in the forest. Meanwhile, the rest of the herd either paddled along the edge or gathered under the canopies of large trees.

Shujaa is an early-morning boy! This morning, he pushed open the upper half of his stable door and rested his head on the lower half with his trunk hanging down to the ground. He draped his trunk and twirled it in the air, letting the Keepers know that he was wide awake and ready for the day. To his delight, they opened his door first and he marched out and over to greet Maxwell, the blind black rhino who lives in a large enclosure next to the stockades. Shujaa stood on one side of the gate and Max on the other. The elephant extended his trunk through the bars to touch the rhino who stood still, enjoying the attention.

After all the doors had been opened, the orphans headed out to the forest. They browsed for a time and then began playing. Shujaa showed off his scratching skills against a tree stump and then rubbed his head extravagantly against the ground. When he came across Sileita rolling around in the long grass, he could not resist clambering on top of her. The mini matriarch was not amused. She stood up abruptly, sending him flying, and drove him away. Shujaa ran off obediently and settled down to browse with Sholumai and Mushuru.

In the afternoon, Latika, Shujaa, Nyambeni, Weka, and Mageno wandered away from the herd to browse in some thick bush. Minutes later, the Keepers heard loud trumpeting from Mageno and saw five orphans sprinting towards them, tails and trunks aloft. Mageno was in the lead and Weka, trumpeting at the top of her voice, was bringing up the rear. The Keepers calmed them down with soothing whistles and investigated the reason for the commotion. Not far away, they found two lionesses lying under a tree. The big cats have been spotted several times in the last few days, attracted by the many warthogs living around the stockades.

After an early morning wander in the forest, the orphaned elephants visited the mud bath for their mid-morning milk feed. The Keepers send them down in groups of three or four for their bottles when Raha, the little rhino, leaves after her daily visit. The younger elephants go first and then the older ones. Shujaa was in the first group of four but was distracted on his way down the path. He stopped off to browse on some tasty bushes as Mokogodo, Talek and Taroha padded past him. The next group ran past and still he browsed. Luckily Kerrio was in the third group. The budding mini matriarch stopped behind Shujaa, nudged him with her head and shepherded him down to the wallow.

(Some orphans can wait for their bottles of milk and others cannot. Kerrio, Shujaa, and a few others are prepared to wait while the Keepers get their bottles out of the wheelbarrow. They only rebel if someone gets in the way. Most, however, are not. The Keepers know that if they delay giving orphans like Weka, Pardamat, Loldaiga, Nyambeni, Mukutan and Mushuru a milk feed, they run the risk of being pushed over!)

The younger orphans left and the older ones took their place. Many of them headed for the pool as it was a hot morning but got no further than the edges. Loldaiga wanted the pool all to himself and, whenever someone tried to climb in, he pushed them out! Eventually, his friends gave up and let him splash around on his own.

On her way back to the forest, Mzinga came across Raha lying in the shade of a large bush. The tiny rhino was having a nap after the exertion of her visit to the mud bath. Mzinga decided to spend some time with her, abandoning the herd for over half an hour! It has been a while since Mzinga and Raha met, because the elephants have been wandering further from the stockades and the rhino always stays close. They had a lovely, extended reunion.

As the cluster of elephants ambled along behind their Keepers on their way to the forest this morning, three greedy orphans were left behind. Mageno, Mushuru, and Choka had not been able to resist climbing over the fence to the forbidden square of the green garden. It took the ungainly orphans quite a time to hoist their large bodies back over the fence and catch up with the herd. One other orphan was also left behind. Rather than toddling along at the end of the line, Mokogodo had wandered into neighbour Muridjo’s stable and was standing quietly in the corner, nibbling on her friend’s lucerne as she waited for Taroha. The little girl did not know that her best friend was already in the forest. When a Keeper shepherded her out to join the others, Talek greeted Mokogodo with a trunk touch and Sileita then welcomed both girls.

Out in the forest, the orphans settled down to browse and to play. As Kerrio browsed nearby, Muwingu and Kitich sparred happily against each other. They played a couple of rounds and paused for a rest. Muwingu then laid her trunk along Kitich’s back and pushed his side, inviting him to play some more. He gave up trying to eat and played with his friend instead.

Later in the morning at the mud bath, almost all of the first group paddled into the pool. Kerrio was first but she was soon followed by Mzinga, Shujaa, Pardamat, Nyambeni, Talek, Taroha. and Latika. The orphans rolled around and splashed in the wallow as (only) Kamili and Mokogodo watched from the sidelines. When it was time to leave, the mini herd was reluctant to get out of the pool. Following a series of stern whistles, they slowly climbed out and walked back to the forest, with Kerrio dawdling along at the end of the line.

This morning, Muwingu walked out of her stockade and darted down to wait for little Mokogodo to toddle out of her stable. Her door was still closed so Muwingu rumbled. When there was no answer, she knocked on the door with her head whereupon Mokogodo trumpeted in alarm. Muwingu trumpeted back as Sileita, Kerrio, and Latika ran down to join her. Four elephants were now standing outside the indulged baby’s stable. When a Keeper opened the door, the nannies scrambled to be first to greet her. The four fussing females completely blocked the way in their enthusiasm and Mokogodo stood still inside her stable. Only after a Keeper had pushed them away could she toddle out. Surrounded by the big girls, the small girl walked slowly out to the forest with her progress hampered by a series of trunk hugs. Muwingu is becoming more maternal, but has a way to go to catch up with Sileita, Kerrio, and Latika!

Later in the morning, the first group of orphans padded down to the mud bath for another milk feed. They gulped down their milk and gathered around the large pile of dry soil. Some sucked up trunkfuls as others lay down and rolled around. Predictably, when Kerrio lay down on her side, Nyambeni immediately mounted her, leaning her forelegs on her friend’s back and waving her trunk happily.

Mageno could not resist the square of greenery outside his stockade again this morning. As soon as his door was open, he strode out past Loldaiga, Kerrio, and Kitich, and climbed over the wooden fence. He managed several mouthfuls of lush grass before a Keeper ordered him out.

The herd headed out to the forest as usual. There is still fresh vegetation everywhere but the orphans’ favourite is a tough grass that is difficult to pull out of the ground. Some have devised a clever workaround, stooping to their knees and taking a big bite, using their molars to cut the grass. This morning, Mzinga, Shujaa, and Muridjo were all kneeling on the ground. Not dignified but it does the trick!

Later in the morning at the mud bath, Pardamat caused an upset. As little Talek drank her milk, he tried to push her away. When a Keeper pointed his finger, the disobedient boy raised his trunk and flared his ears. Talek and Pardamat do have frequent squabbles, generally started by the greedy boy rather than the independent girl!

Returning to the forest after their milk feed, Loldaiga challenged Mushuru to a wrestling match. As they tussled, Muwingu tried to muscle her way between them because she also wanted to spar with Loldaiga. The boisterous bull is spending as much time playing with older females Mushuru and Muwingu as with fellow bulls Choka, Mageno, Mukutan, and Kitich.

Soon after dawn, the orphans walked out of their stockades and ambled out to the forest. This morning, not only Talek but also Mokogodo were browsing close to the Keepers. Talek is well known for spending time within touching distance of a Keeper. In recent days, Mokogodo has been following her lead, probably because best friend Taroha is making new friends, walking along behind the older orphans rather than sticking close to Mokogodo. After a time, Talek moved away from the Keeper to play with Nyambeni. The two girls rolled around on the grass together as the herd continued browsing around them.

It was a hot day and many of the elephants cooled off in the mud wallow later in the morning. The second group of orphans emptied their bottles and made a beeline for the large puddle. They clambered in and either splashed mud all over their bodies or lay down in the water. Sholumai kicked enormous sprays of thick mud in the direction of the visitors – the more the guests laughed, the more the elephant splashed. Meanwhile, Kitich and Loldaiga were wrestling, with one in the water and the other on the edge. First Kitich pushed his friend out of the wallow and then, when Loldaiga tried to get back in, he blocked his way. The two boys played a version of the pushing game that involved one walking around the wallow while the other paddled in the water.

Sileita started her day with the sweetest agenda. As soon as a Keeper opened her stockade, she made a beeline for the littlest orphans’ stables. After ensuring that everyone was present and correct, the mini matriarch led the herd out into the forest. The orphans were unusually peaceful this morning. Rather than showing off or wrestling, big boys like Choka, Loldaiga, Mukutan, Mageno and Kitich and big girls like Muwingu and Mushuru kept their heads down as they wandered around looking for tasty greens. Little Pardamat, who loves the company of bulls in particular, walked along behind Choka, Mageno, Kitich, Mukutan, Mushuru and Sholumai, doing his best to keep up with the big boys and girls. Meanwhile, the band of nursery nannies — Sileita, Latika, Muwingu, Kerrio, Mzinga and Nyambeni — were taking it in turns to fuss over Mokogodo, Taroha and Talek.

Later in the morning, the orphans visited the mud wallow for another milk feed. Driven by the hot sunshine and their full bellies, the elephants paddled or wallowed in the water. Emerging from the pool, cheeky Mageno ran along the rope cordon, spraying mud all over the delighted visitors. Returning to the bush, the young bull chose to browse with Sholumai. The two friends stretched their trunks up high into trees to pull down branches still covered with green foliage.

Raha, the baby rhino, is thriving! She has become more friendly to the Keepers and can often be found sucking on one of her favourite trouser legs. This morning, Raha walked quite far into the forest, smelling everything she came across in what she likes to think of as her territory.

Later in the morning at the mud bath, Raha trotted along the rope cordon, doing a series of jumps as if she was a small calf, and then rolled around on the pile of mud made especially for her by the Keepers. She lay with her legs in the air as her Keepers shovelled wet soil all over her.

In the afternoon, she was still full of energy. She toddled along behind her Keeper, keeping up so well that her head kept bumping into his leg. When she walked past Mokogodo browsing on soft grass, the little rhino stopped off next to the youngest elephant in the herd. The two orphans browsed side by side for some time before Raha carried on to the stockades. She walked demurely into her stable and began feeding on her supplementary bunch of lucerne, helpfully suspended on a piece of string by the Keepers. Rhinos can be moody — today was one of Raha’s active, busy days!

The babies are let out of their stockades first and rule the roost for a short moment in time. The youngsters relish this time. Today, neighbours Talek and Pardamat reigned supreme. Talek led the charge, sauntering around the corner to mini matriarch Kerrio’s stockade. Pardamat, meanwhile, enjoyed a sip-and-chat with Latika. A few minutes later, the Keepers opened the older orphans’ doors and the herd gathered in preparation for setting out to the forest.

The orphans were full of energy this morning. Choka attempted to play with Mukutan, following him around and nudging playfully with his head, as Kitich and Loldaiga played several rounds of a wrestling match nearby. Moments later, Latika pushed her way between the two boys and commandeered Loldaiga while Kitich ambled away to find another playmate. Shujaa, meanwhile, was having fun with Muridjo. The two friends darted through the trees and then pushed and play mounted each other. When she had had enough, Muridjo wandered back to continue browsing with Taroha. As all the games were going on, Talek was doing her usual thing – hanging out with the Keepers!

Later in the afternoon, several orphans swam in the mud wallow. Water baby Kerrio rolled around in the middle as Talek and Taroha paddled along the edges. Shujaa was in a sedate mood, standing nearby as the others covered him with mud splashes.

It was a quiet morning in the forest. The orphans wandered around, browsing and dusting themselves occasionally, puffing up little clouds of red soil. While spending time with Kerrio and Nyambeni, Mageno bent down to rub the underside of his trunk along the ground. After his satisfying face massage, he challenged Kerrio to a wrestling game but she turned her back and continued to browse. Once again, cheeky Shujaa was trailing around after Mzinga in the hope of mounting her when her attention was elsewhere. Too smart to be taken in by his nonchalant behaviour, Mzinga moved on whenever he was within range. Nearby, Latika was bending down to browse, kneeling on her front legs as she plucked tasty greens. Standing up, she crossed her back legs in a sign of contentment.

Little Mokogodo was trailing along behind the herd with a Keeper. She is not quite herself at the moment and lacking her usual vigour. The Keepers are keeping careful eyes on her and allowing her to toddle around doing her own thing. Sileita is also spending lots of time with her. This morning, the mini matriarch was sticking close to the baby, rumbling as she trunk touched her every few minutes. Rather than lagging back with best friend Mokogodo, Taroha was browsing with Muridjo.

This morning, the Keepers were trying to weigh the orphans on the enormous elephant-weighing scales outside the stockades! The exercise proved to be quite a challenge despite the temptation of sugar cane. One or two were compliant, but most were not. Mzinga and Nyambeni walked on to the scales and stood obediently, possibly because they often play around them. Loldaiga, Sholumai, Mushuru, Weka, Mageno, and Sileita were so disobedient that they will be weighed on another day. Each of them padded on, ate the sugar cane, promptly walked off, and would not be tempted to return. Instead, the orphans wandered out to the surrounding bush!

Settling out in the forest, Sileita and Kitich filled their bellies and began to play. The two orphans stood facing each other with a tree between them. First, they pushed the tree and then each other and then the tree and so the game continued. Nearby, young boys Taroha and Pardamat browsed reasonably peacefully together until the elder could not resist giving the younger a small shove for no reason at all except to make the point that he was stronger. Mokogodo was dawdling again today. She walked slowly, dusting as she went. Noticing that she had been left behind, Mzinga came back to round her up, rumbling at Mokogodo to get a move on and walking behind her.

Muwingu and Mageno were full of energy this morning. As the herd headed out to the forest, they began playing the pushing game on the path. They were so busy with the game that they completely blocked the way. It took several whistles and shoves from the Keepers to persuade the two friends to stop playing and get moving. At last, the orphans reached the forest and settled down to browse.

Two hours later, two Keepers gathered the orphans in groups and sent them down to more Keepers waiting with bottles held aloft. In contrast to their early-morning plodding, the elephants sprinted down to the wheelbarrow and gulped their milk. A few days ago, Pardamat was being greedy… but today, it was Talek’s turn. She hovered around after finishing her bottle and pestered the other orphans for more, despite being one of the smallest members of the herd.

Milk feed over, the elephants wandered deep into the forest. They went in different directions today, with the older ones pulling down branches and the little ones twisting up chunks of grass and plants. Only Kerrio, Mzinga, Mokogodo and Nyambeni chose to remain close to the stockades.

On a hot afternoon, the orphans paddled in the mud bath and hosed themselves with cooling water. Taroha was one of the first in today – he rolled around near the edge, rubbing his trunk against the wall.

On another morning of sunshine, the Keepers opened the doors of the babies’ stables first and then the older ones’ stockades. The orphans gathered outside their rooms and walked out to the forest. Mushuru led the herd this morning and Sileita brought up the rear. Out in the forest, Mokogodo thought she might treat herself to a Keeper’s tea. When he redirected her towards elephant-friendly fare, she fell into a bit of a sulk, waving her trunk in indignation.

Later in the morning, the orphans visited the mud bath for a milk feed. As usual, the Keepers sent the 10 younger elephants down first and then the 11 older ones. Three-year-old Sholumai is in the second group. Although she was rescued many months ago, she is still a shy and skittish girl. On most days, she is one of the last to pad down the slope. This morning, something spooked her on the path and she veered off and took a very long route. Winding through the trees and around the platform, she eventually arrived at the wallow and lifted her head for her bottle of milk. To the visitors’ delight, Sholumai then held the bottle with her trunk and walked a few steps away to drink. 

Meanwhile, Weka was being naughty. Despite being tailed by a Keeper who was anticipating mischievous behaviour, she kept trying to duck below the rope cordon separating the visitors from the herd. Every time she was prevented from doing so, she trumpeted loudly, waited a minute or two and tried again. Today, there was no sign of the new, mature Weka we have come to know — she was the old Weka at her naughtiest.

At first light this morning, Mzinga and Talek were playing hide and seek with the Keepers. As the herd ambled quietly out to the forest behind two Keepers, the little girls about turned and darted back to the stockades. They ran along the lanes between the stables, ignoring the Keepers, and ended up in Mokogodo’s stable. They had found the perfect hiding place — the little girl rarely finishes her night-time lucerne and so her room is the best place to find leftovers. Mzinga and Talek popped into the stable. Seconds later, rather than enjoying the spoils, they were squabbling over who got more. When Sileita and Muwingu heard Talek trumpeting, they also ran back to the stockades, rumbling as they approached Mokogodo’s stable. The two females separated Mzinga and Talek, shaking their heads as they did so, and shepherded them back to the herd. There was no need for the Keepers to intervene.

On a sunny afternoon, many of the orphans paddled or swam in the mud wallow. Kerrio, Nyambeni and Mzinga lay down in the water, massaging their bodies against the edge of the pool. Meanwhile, Shujaa was standing in the middle. First he kicked water all over the place and then he chucked trunkfuls along his back and finally he played pushing and chasing games with Muridjo in the wallow. At this point, the smallest orphans climbed out of the water rather than risk being kicked by the feisty friends.

Raha was charming the visitors again at the mud bath this morning. After walking around the wallow very slowly behind her keeper, she paused for a minute on her small mound of red soil and then carefully lay down. Raha lay still for another minute and then began rolling around as her Keeper shovelled soil on her tummy. When the time came for her to leave and the first group of younger elephants to take her place, the obstinate little girl refused to get up! After being persuaded to stand up, she refused to leave. Her Keeper whistled but she stood stubbornly still.

As this tussle of wills was going on, Nyambeni, Shujaa and Pardamat were jogging down the path, eager as always for another milk feed. Catching sight of them, the naughty little rhino charged. When Nyambeni reacted by lifting her trunk in greeting, this was too much for Raha. She turned tail and marched back to the forest with no further ado.

Later in the afternoon, the orphans visited the mud bath again. Several paddled in the water as Mushuru stood on the edge making enormous splashes. When the older orphans began playing rowdy games, they were banished to the bush so the little ones could have the space to themselves. Taroha splashed happily in the wallow as Pardamat sucked up trunkfuls from the water bucket, Nyambeni and Mokogodo stood together quietly in the shade, and Talek rubbed her backside against the wall of the platform.

This morning, it was Kerrio’s turn to head down to the babies’ stables as soon as her door was opened by the Keepers. Finding Talek, Taroha, Mokogodo and Pardamat gathered outside their rooms, she greeted each one in turn with a trunk touch and a rumble and ushered the bevy of babies out to the forest. Pardamat walked off to find the older boys and Talek made a beeline for a Keeper, but Taroha and Mokogodo remained with the budding matriarch. 

As the herd spread out to browse, Choka and Loldaiga began playing. They nudged each other a few times before facing off in a contest of strength. Choka may be taller, but Loldaiga is sturdy and strong. When Mukutan ambled over to join the game, Loldaiga gave up his place and went back to browsing out of respect for the older bull. 

Not far away, Shujaa was having fun. Today, the object of his attention was a group of impalas. He was plodding up and down as fast as he could after the nimble antelopes (who effortlessly escaped from the elephant). Mzinga joined the game and the two friends happily ran around in circles until the impalas decided that they had had enough and disappeared into the forest.

In the afternoon, many orphans paddled in the mud bath. They stood around the edges, making splashes with their big pads and occasionally sucking up trunkfuls of water and squirting them along their backs. Mzinga was initially reluctant to swim but, once a Keeper had splashed mud on her, she walked into the wallow and lay down.

In the early morning, there was a downpour of rain just as the orphans were emerging from their stockades. The Keepers kept two blanketed babies — Mokogodo and Raha — indoors because of the weather and led the others out to the forest. The herd padded out obediently and settled down to browse. A few minutes later, Sileita, Mzinga and Taroha made a run for home, having realised that Mokogodo was nowhere to be found. The girls were missing their favourite baby and the little boy his best friend. The Keepers intercepted them three times over the next two hours before the rain finally stopped and Mokogodo toddled slowly out to join the herd. Predictably, her several nannies were delighted to see her. Kerro, Sileita and Muwingu ran towards her, rumbling along the way.

The sun came out later in the morning and many of the older orphans went swimming in the afternoon. After drinking her milk, Mushuru headed straight for the water, paddling around and kicking up enormous splashes. She was soon joined by Mageno and then by Muridjo and then by Choka. The four friends paddled playfully in the water as Sholumai squirted dry soil all over herself and Kitich stood tall on the mound of earth. Mushuru and Muridjo lay down in the wallow as Choka squatted near the edge, slapping the water with his trunk. Moments later, Kitich also plunged into the wallow.

As the elephants hovered outside the stockades this morning, little Taroha stretched her trunk into Maxwell’s enclosure in the hope of finding a tasty morsel. Mzinga ambled over and the two orphans entwined trunks in greeting. Sensing their presence, the large rhino walked over to greet them. He stood still on his side of the gate as Mzinga touched his head with her trunk. Little Taroha tentatively extended his trunk in the direction of the rhino but then drew it back and twirled around with a brief trumpet.

Gathering the troops, two Keepers led the way to the forest with several more walking around and behind the orphans. Rather than going up the path, Pardamat decided to take the scenic route, clambering (in an ungainly way) onto the platform, walking ten steps across it, and somehow clambering back down. No mean feat, as the platform is almost half his height! 

The herd settled down to browse in a forest of dappled sunlight. Sileita rumbled to Taroha and touched him briefly as she walked past. Mzinga knelt down several times to yank a bunch of grass out of the ground, resting her head as she expertly twisted her trunk round the biggest clump. Rather than expend any effort himself, cheeky Pardamat enlisted a Keeper’s help to pick handfuls of grass. The little boy gently twisted his trunk around the man’s arm, persuading him to deposit mouthfuls of grass in his open mouth!

The Keeper who opened Mokogodo’s door this morning had an obliging helper. Kerrio, who was waiting outside, stepped forwards to hoick her trunk over the stable door and pull it towards her. Looking somewhat bemused, Mokogodo toddled out to a flurry of trunk touches from her lovely nanny.

As the sun rose into a clear sky, the orphans wandered far afield in the forest, with Mokogodo walking along slowly at a distance behind the herd. Muwingu and Kerrio knew that she was with a Keeper and were content to allow her to walk at her own pace – until they heard a small rumble. Immediately, the two big sisters turned around and began walking back to her. A Keeper reassured them along the way and they resumed browsing, while keeping eyes and ears open for any further signs of distress. Mokogodo, who is still subdued, browsed on a bush next to a Keeper. Not far away, the three lookalike girls — Muridjo, Mzinga and Talek — were hanging out, pulling up chunks of browse and scratching their bodies against tree stumps.

On a cloudy afternoon, Kamili was the only orphan who went swimming in the mud bath. She carefully climbed in, paddled about and hosed herself with water as the herd stood around the wallow, either dusting their bodies or browsing on supplementary greens. As always, Kamili marches to the beat of her own drum!

As the little ones continued to browse, several big boys played pushing games in the forest this morning. Kitich and Mageno were the first to begin sparring, pushing heads against each other, twisting around and clashing again. Loldaiga stood next to them waving his trunk and nudging Mageno’s rump, saying he was also keen to play. Minutes later, he took Mageno’s place. When Kitich began walking away, playmaker Loldaiga slung his trunk along his friend’s back, persuading him to turn around and play some more. 

The big boys invited easy going Muwingu to join them, but she declined the offer, pushing them away with head lowered and choosing to stay with Taroha and Mokogodo. The boys then tried their luck with Sileita, who also rebuffed their advances, choosing to stay with quiet Kamili. Not bothering to ask Sholumai, the bulls continued their games. To the Keepers’ (and possibly Talek’s) surprise, Sholumai, who could not be described as nurturing, would not leave Talek alone this morning. She kept draping her trunk on the younger girl and hugging her enthusiastically.

On an afternoon of sunshine, many orphans plunged into the mud wallow. Kerrio and Mushuru were the first in and were followed seconds later by Nyambeni, Mzinga, Shujaa, Latika, Muridjo and Choka. After cooling off in the water, the elephants hosed their bodies with dry soil before ambling back out to the forest.

Mushuru and Sholumai were doing their own thing in the forest this morning. The independent girls remained at a distance from the rest of the herd, browsing contentedly with each other. Mushuru is starting to look after the babies but Sholumai usually prefers to browse either on her own or with friends, rather than take on the responsibilities of being a nanny. But there are exceptions to this behaviour – such as her lovely trunk hugging of Talek yesterday!

In a small clearing, Sileita draped her body on the ground, attempting to entice Taroha to play on her. He would not be tempted as he was hanging out with Pardamat – the two little boys ambled around, ignoring their nannies and pretending to be big boys. As Sileita waved her trunk around in invitation, Muridjo took up her offer. She accepted the attention with her customary good humour, allowing the cheeky girl to clamber all over her, even if Muridjo was not the playmate she had in mind.

Good friends Weka and Mageno browsed together in a nearby thicket, heads touching as they plucked branches from the same tree. Shujaa was following along behind Mzinga but not attempting to mount her this morning. They browsed for a time and then stood together, entwining their trunks affectionately until Kamili walked between them. They greeted her and the three orphans lowered their heads to twist up more greens with their trunks.

The orphans emerged from their stables soon after dawn. Sileita, Kerrio and Latika fussed over the babies as Choka and Mageno began wandering up the path to the forest. Mzinga was feeling especially peckish this morning and had her sights set on the forbidden square of green garden next to Maxwell’s enclosure. Rather than climbing over the fence, she knelt down and somehow squashed her body underneath, showing off a surprisingly limber browsing technique. Meanwhile, Kitich adopted the conventional approach, hoisting his belly over the barrier, to reach the tasty greens. Pushing and whistling to the orphans as they walked around, the Keepers eventually succeeded in shepherding every member of the herd out to the forest. Sileita walked along in the wake of the others, just in case one of the babies had been left behind.

Mukutan may be the biggest bull in the Nursery but that does not stop him from recruiting a forest's worth of trees to assist in his daily sparring matches with Choka! Today, he attempted to hide his big body behind a tree trunk when he sensed that a face-off was not going in his favour. Choka would not be defeated by this ploy – the crafty chap nipped around the obstacle and shoved his friend from behind.

Later in the afternoon, Raha, as usual, was the first orphan to return to the stockades. She marched down the path behind her Keeper and into her stable. He dressed her in her night-time cherry red blanket and she settled down to browse on the bunch of lush greens hanging from the roof on a string. Raha munched on the soft grass with her eyes closed, enjoying a last snack before bed.

This morning, Mukutan walked out of his stockade and straight down to Pardamat’s stable, searching for leftover lucerne in the little boy’s room. When a Keeper pushed him from behind, encouraging him to join the herd who were walking out to the forest, he refused to budge. He dug his heels into the cobbled stone and reversed back down the slope. As the oldest bull, Mukutan is behaving like the dominant bull in the herd.

Out in the forest, the orphans filled their bellies with green browse (which is still plentiful) while scratching themselves against tree stumps or each other and playing pushing and wrestling games. Taroha and Talek played a toddler version of the pushing game next to big boys Kitich and Mageno. When the babies began shouting and the game turned serious, Sileita separated the two young elephants and shepherded them away in different directions. Kitich and Mageno played on regardless.

Pardamat is picking up tricks from Shujaa, specifically the older boy’s habit of mounting any elephant he finds lying down. This morning at the mud bath, when little Pardamat came across big Muwingu lying in the water on the edge of the pool, he could not resist. In he paddled and onto her back he climbed. Not wanting to be treated like a large toy, Muwingu stood up and Pardamat was catapulted into the middle of the wallow for an unplanned swim!

A morning boy, Shujaa is often found with his trunk draped over his stable door at dawn. This morning, he beetled out and over to Maxwell’s gate through which he had spotted some branches of lucerne within trunk reach. Unfortunately, Loldaiga had also spotted the leftovers. The two boys collided at the gate – both may be feisty but one is much heavier than the other. Shujaa went flying and a rather rotund Loldaiga scooped up the spoils.

When it was time to visit the mud bath, little Raha almost bounced down the slope behind her Keeper. She was full of beans today and easily kept up with his strides. Round the mud bath she trotted, down she lay for a roll around and off she went to the forest where she continued to browse, walking far afield with her Keeper today.

Clouds gathered in the afternoon, heralding a heavy shower of rain. After lying around for much of the morning in the hot sun, Maxwell was energised by the rain. He trundled around his enclosure, walking before accelerating into a jog. After several laps, the large rhino lay down on the wet ground and rolled around in the rain. He was loving the cooler weather.

The elephants were not as keen. During the downpour, the orphans clustered under canopies of trees and then headed back to their dry stockades with minimal encouragement from the Keepers.

As the sky lightened this morning, two nannies could be seen standing outside Mokogodo’s door – Mzinga and Muwingu! They stood quietly together until a Keeper opened her door and the small girl walked out. As Mokogodo crossed her threshold, they rumbled in unison and attempted to whisk her away while she stood still, looking overwhelmed. Muwingu was the victor and pranced out to the forest with Mokogodo while Mzinga contented herself with eating the special greens left in her stable.

Out in the forest, the elephants browsed on an abundance of soft wet grass following yesterday’s rain. After filling their bellies, several found a large puddle of standing water. Muridjo climbed in and massaged herself against the edge. She was soon followed by Kerrio, Kitich and Latika.

Later in the afternoon at the mud bath, as Weka stood drinking her milk, Mageno dared to play mount her. To her great annoyance, he climbed up and hung on despite her efforts to throw him off while continuing to drink from her bottle. For a few moments, it seemed that the naughty girl had met her match! But, as soon as she had finished the milk, Weka strode away and left Mageno lying in a heap. He clambered to his feet and walked away to join Kitich and Loldaiga on the other side of the wallow.

The sun was shining on the last morning of the month. The orphans ambled out to a dappled-light forest and spread out to browse. Pardamat was trailing along behind Latika and Kitich rather than any of his age-mates. When he cheekily pinched some of the older female’s greens, Latika gently pushed him away to discipline him. He trumpeted and Kerrio came running to his rescue. Pardamat, however, did not need rescuing – the tough little boy toddled off behind Latika rather than allowing Kerrio to fuss over him.

In the afternoon, Kamili was the first into the mud bath. She paddled along the edge and then lay down on her side, trunk and ears waving. Mzinga and Nyambeni soon joined her and immediately splashed themselves with mud and rubbed their trunks along the edge. Pardamat was next in, followed by Taroha – one little boy paddled as the other lay next to Kamili for a roll around. As Nyambeni knelt her forelegs against the edge while keeping her backside submerged in the mud, Kamili climbed out for a dusting. splashing herself and also being showered with soil by a Keeper. Kerrio lay on the mound of soil while Kitich and Latika hosed their bodies and Shujaa picked up branches of tasty lucerne.

Throughout all this activity, little Mokogodo stood quietly in the shade of the tree. We are happy to report that she is starting to perk up and become her usual self again.