This was Kamili’s month. It has been nearly three years since her rescue — years marked by health struggles and close shaves — but finally we can celebrate our hard-won success story. And no one is celebrating more than Kamlil!
The month began with a flurry of bad behaviour from Pardamat on a cool and cloudy day! In the early morning in the forest, he headbutted Taroha (who is his age mate but has a gentler character) without provocation. As Taroha clambered to his feet and was checked by wonderful matriarch Sileita, pesky Pardamat sought refuge with the older bulls and continued browsing, looking his most innocent.
Taroha may be gentle but he is far from a push-over. An hour later it was time for the morning milk feed. Taroha ran through the trees in the first group and dutifully drank his milk. Pardamat ran in with the second group. As the rascal lifted his trunk for the bottle, Taroha struck, running at him from the side and headbutting him twice! A Keeper intervened and Pardamat was able to drink his milk. But, as soon as the Keeper turned his back, Taroha struck again. This time, only Sileita could restore calm. The matriarch pushed between the two angry boys, rumbled loudly with displeasure, flared her ears, and sent them away in opposite directions.
Thereafter, Pardamat was on his best behaviour for almost three hours. The orphans visit the mud bath at around 11am every day for a milk feed. We send them down in two groups – the younger orphans are in the first group and the older ones in the second group. Over a month ago, we moved Pardamat to the second group because he was causing such a ruckus with the little ones. Today, somehow, he managed to sneak away from the Keepers in the forest and put in an appearance at the mud bath as the younger elephants were enjoying a peaceful time around the wallow. In he cantered, immediately knocking over an unsuspecting Talek and pushing Mzinga through the rope cordon onto the visitors! Enough was enough. Two Keepers frogmarched him away for another telling off.
Otherwise, it was an uneventful day. Most members of the herd spent time with various friends in the forest – but not Nyambeni. The budding mini matriarch spent the whole day next to Mokogodo, fussing over her little friend and refusing to move more than two metres away.
There were more toddler squabbles today, this time involving Talek and Olomunyak. Out in the forest on another grey morning, Kerrio and Olomunyak were browsing together. Second in command to Sileita, Kerrio has grown into such a caring, kind and responsible mini matriarch. One Keeper describes her as the orphan with the big heart. Rather than just browsing next to sweet Olomunyak, this morning Kerrio was allowing the little boy to feed from her mouth. This was too much for a jealous Talek who was watching from a distance. The little girl charged over, pushed Olomunyak away and tried to take his place. Wise Kerrio trunk hugged Talek to calm her down before walking over to Olomunyak and again offering him greens from her mouth. A few minutes later, Talek joined the two elephants and the three ambled on together.
Two orphans in the herd are particularly polite when it comes to milk feeds – Kerrio and Shujaa. In contrast to many others, we can depend upon these two elephants not to charge or push or fight or generally behave badly around bottles of milk. Today, Shujaa was on his very best behaviour. When he padded down the path to the mud bath for his milk, he did not find a Keeper waiting with a bottle held high. (This was due to a miscommunication – we know how many orphans are arriving in each group and almost always have the right number of Keepers waiting.) Most elephants would have had some kind of temper tantrum – but not this young man. He walked over to the branches of lucerne and began browsing while waiting patiently for someone to bring him a bottle!
In contrast, Mageno and Weka trumpeted loudly as they sprinted down the path. They both love announcing their arrival and, at the same time, checking whether the other one is already there. When one trumpets on their way in, the other will answer with an equally loud blast if they are already there.
The orphans were in excited playful moods this morning. After browsing for a short time in the forest, many went wild, running all over the place and in and out of the bushes! Sholumai, Muwingu, Muridjo, Nyambeni and Mzinga started the game and led the charge, shoving each other as they tried to stay ahead of their friends. The orphans were rumbling and trumpeting and falling down while running through the forest. As the elephants played, the baboons and impalas scampered away to safety. From the top of a tall tree, a large male baboon alerted the troop of possible danger. Meanwhile, several confused impalas darted around in different directions.
Amid all the excitement, Sileita and Weka stood close to Mokogodo and Olomunyak, sandwiching the two babies just in case one of the older girls came careering into them, and big boys Kitich, Choka and Mukutan played their usual sizing-up-and-testing-strength game, pushing heads hard and twisting away.
Later in the morning, tired out by all the games, the herd headed back to the mud bath for a milk feed. The first group arrived soon after little Raha the rhino had paid her daily visit to the wallow. She toddled along the rope cordon, enjoyed a dust bath helped by shovels of soil from a Keeper, and walked back to the forest. The younger elephants took her place and then the second older group. Nyambeni, who is in the first group, noticed where Raha was going when she left the mud bath. An hour later, when Nyambeni was back in the forest, she snuck away from the herd to see Raha! The elephant greeted the small rhino, stood next to her for a short time, and returned to the herd. Raha, who is happy to spend time with Mzinga, is also making friends with Nyambeni.
This morning at the mud bath, Pardamat was at his naughtiest. He pushed the others, he pushed the Keepers, he did not do as he was told! After he headbutted Taroha and shoved Mokogodo, we decided that the naughty boy needed a time out. One Keeper whistled at Pardamat to move away to the bush but he paid no attention and just dodged away – it was a game of cat and mouse. It took three of us to march the little boy away from the herd. As he walked away in a sulk, he began trumpeting in indignation and two of the older girls responded to his call for help! Muridjo and Mushuru ran after Pardamat and the three Keepers to check on the little boy and try (unsuccessfully) to shepherd him back to the herd.
Later in the morning, as two Keepers were giving little Mokogodo some medicine, she also began trumpeting. This time, it was Kerrio and Nyambeni who ran to the rescue. The two girls charged over to find out what was happening but were reassured by the Keepers.
In contrast to most days, the sun was shining today and the orphans had fun in the mud wallow. After emptying their bottles, Taroha and Shujaa led the others into the muddy water. The two boys submerged their bodies in the middle, waving their trunks happily, as many others paddled on the edges, splashing the visitors with mud.
Something upset Kerrio last night, probably a bad dream. In the middle of the night, the lovely girl started screaming and pushing at her gate with her head as if wanting to escape. Her Keeper got up and calmed her down although Kerrio did not sleep for the rest of the night. Mageno, Weka and Sileita all responded to Kerrio’s trumpets. They trumpeted back to her and rumbled repeatedly to each other in an unusually low tone. When Kerrio emerged from her stable soon after dawn, she found Sileita and Muwingu waiting outside — they had come immediately to her door to check if all was well with their sister.
Shujaa and Kerrio have become playmates. Out in the field this morning, as on many days in recent weeks, the pair were playing pushing and sizing up games. They clashed heads and entwined trunks and broke away and did it all again. Today, it was Mzinga’s turn to look after Mokogodo. She spent most of the day fussing over the baby and standing close to her in the forest.
In the morning at the mud bath, there was another toddler squabble, this time involving Talek and Olomunyak. Talek shoved Olomunyak and he shoved back and then they began fighting. Usually, we expect one of the older females to resolve such situations but today it was none other than Shujaa! Their older brother strode between the two toddlers and stopped the fight. First, he calmed down Talek and then he turned his attention to Olomunyak, spending a long time with the little boy while rumbling and trunk touching him.
In the afternoon, Kitich, Loldaiga, Mukutan and Choka enjoyed a noisy wallow in the mud bath. They lay down together, splashing water in every direction as they clambered on and off each other’s backs.
Soon after dawn, we opened the doors of the orphans’ stables. Some walked out quickly but others were in no hurry to leave the warmth of their rooms on a cold and cloudy day. Nyambeni made a beeline for Pardamat’s stable. A nanny on a mission, she was determined to escort one of the babies out to the forest. Nyambeni is a budding mini matriarch and loves looking after the youngest orphans. But she had chosen the wrong orphan. Pardamat sees himself as a strong boy who does not need a nanny – he refused her kind offer and marched out to the forest on his own. The older females like Sileita and Kerrio understand Pardamat – they know that he likes to be treated like a big boy and never fuss over him while keeping an eye from a distance. Nyambeni was just a bit too keen.
A little downcast, Nyambeni took refuge with best friend Mzinga and the two girls ambled over to greet Maxwell in his enclosure. They stretched their trunks through the gaps in his gate as the blind black rhino stood quietly, enjoying the attention.
It was a reasonably peaceful morning in the forest. The herd browsed quietly in small groups, occasionally pausing to massage their backsides against tree trunks or to hose themselves with red soil. Taroha and Pardamat had another squabble over a clump of green browse. Today it was Latika’s turn to restore the peace – she walked between them and calmed both boys.
On a sunny morning in the forest, the elephants spread out to browse in small groups, trunk touching their friends as they twisted up clumps of greens. Old friends Choka, Sileita and Mukutan were hanging out, browsing quietly together for a long time. Muridjo (who does not often assume the nanny role) was looking after Olomunyak – he stood close to her, lifting his trunk as she draped hers affectionately along his back.
Muwingu has a quirky new habit. We wonder if she is testing our loyalty! On her way down to the mud bath in the morning, she makes sure that she has a muddy trunk. She ambles up to a Keeper waiting with a bottle held up for her to enjoy and wipes her trunk on his dustcoat! As one of the older girls in the herd, she visits the wallow in the second group of 12 orphans. Today, she padded confidently down the path, wiped her trunk on the Keeper’s coat, drank her milk and sauntered on to the mud bath. Plunging in, she lay down for a roll around and a water massage before clambering out ten minutes later. Then, to everyone’s amusement, Muwingu sucked up a trunkful of mud and squirted it straight at the visitors! Watching the cheeky girl’s behaviour, Mageno decided to join the party. He deliberately sucked up some muddy water and hosed a group of visitors. Encouraged by the laughter, the two friends continued with the game until the Keepers shepherded them back to the bush.
It has been well over two years since we rescued Kamili. For a long time, she was on the brink both emotionally and physically. Very very slowly, she recovered from her ordeal. Although she is no longer thin and weak, she has remained withdrawn – on most days, this gentle girl chooses to browse on her own and she shows no signs of wanting to look after the babies. Therefore, the days when Kamili plays are extra special – and today was one of those days!
In contrast to Kamili, Nyambeni and Weka are two of the most playful orphans in the herd. Nyambeni is one of the fastest runners and loves to be in the lead whether on the way to the mud bath in the mornings or the stockades in the evenings. Weka is still known as the naughtiest girl in the herd and cannot resist chasing her friends and occasionally pushing her Keepers.
In the afternoon, as the herd meandered around in the forest, Nyambeni and Weka started playing. They ran around through the bushes chasing each other while shaking their heads and trumpeting. When they spotted two warthogs, they could not resist and so charged after the nimble pigs. Followed by Kamili! Without pausing for a moment, she ran after the two girls, keeping up with them easily. Nyambeni, Weka and Kamili ran all over the place after the warthogs (who were never in any danger of being caught).
Mageno had a wonderful time in the forest this morning. Finding a large patch of sticky mud, he lay on his side and rolled around, covering every part of his body with the soothing soil. After enjoying a muddy face massage, he squatted on his haunches while waving his trunk. Some of the youngest orphans watched his antics from the sidelines.
Raha is growing into a strong and healthy little rhino. She loves her daily forest excursions and she really loves returning to a warm bottle of milk, a comfy bed and a fresh bundle of greens in her room every night. This morning at the mud bath, she was charming the visitors. Of her own accord, she waddled slowly along the rope cordon, greeting the guests and sucking on some trouser leg. When it was time to return to the forest, she refused to go, standing still and digging in her heels. Eventually, the little princess was persuaded to leave the stage and to wander up the path behind her Keeper.
Following a downpour of rain, the orphans made the most of a muddy mud bath. Mzinga and Nyambeni looked after little Mokogodo while also playing on the mound of wet soil. Taroha and Talek played in the wallow, lying on their bellies and clambering over each other. After climbing out of the pool, Taroha played with the water bucket. He sucked up some water and squirted it around while balancing a foreleg in the bucket.
Sileita is not only a fabulous mini matriarch – she is also a playful big sister and a great role model for the younger elephants! Out in the forest this morning, she dropped down onto a mound of soil and encouraged the babies to clamber on top of her, waving her trunk as she rolled from side to side. Shujaa, Nyambeni and Mzinga took advantage of the prone jungle gym, resting their forelegs on her and sliding off and climbing up again.
Later in the morning, after little Raha had left the mud bath, the first group of younger orphans took her place. Deputy mini matriarchs Kerrio and Latika are in charge of Mokogodo, Olomunyak, Talek, Taroha, Mzinga, Nyambeni, Muridjo and Shujaa. This morning, Mokogodo was under the weather and was walking especially slowly. Kerrio and Latika chose to walk at her pace, tiptoeing down the path next to the blue-blanket-clad baby and arriving at the wallow after the rest of the group. Bottles emptied, Kerrio then kept Mokogodo away from the mud wallow – several stronger orphans were paddling in the water today and she was not running any risk of the little girl being knocked over. When Kerrio first arrived at the Nursery in a terrible state, she was welcomed and cared for by the likes of Naleku. Almost three years later, she has blossomed into a lovely mini matriarch.
Raha headed out happily to the forest, in part because the sun was shining. She led her Keeper on a long walk today, browsing in the bush and spending time looking for tasty titbits on a rocky area. Despite the sunshine, her Keeper did not remove her blue blanket until close to noon. Not far away, Mageno was playing with little Talek. The two lay on the rocks together, enjoying a mixture of a massage and a game. We were happy to see the older bull hanging out with the little girl.
Two of the youngest members of the herd, Talek and Pardamat, have become good friends. They often walk together and play with each other in the forest. Sometimes their games turn serious. This morning, they began playing a wrestling game, pushing heads together and entwining trunks before moving apart and trying to mount each other. A few minutes later, the game became rough and Pardamat knocked Talek over. When she trumpeted for help while lying on the ground, Choka, Kerrio, Sileita, Mzinga and Nyambeni stopped browsing and ran towards her. Seeing the rescue team bearing down on him, Pardamat ran away in the opposite direction – he did not want to be told off by Kerrio and Sileita!
When we opened the doors of the stockades this morning, rather than Kerrio or Sileita, it was Mushuru who made a beeline for Mokogodo’s stable! She is becoming such a caring elephant. Today, she stood outside the little girl’s room, pushing at the door in her impatience to see Mokogodo. Because she was blocking the door and would not move, a Keeper was not able to open it. It took three men to push Mushuru out of the way so that we could allow Mokogodo out. By the time she emerged, not only Mushuru was waiting but also Sileita, Latika and Kerrio. Surrounded by her nannies on the way to the forest, Mokogodo began trumpeting for space. The older females spread out and Mokogodo settled down to browse next to Nyambeni and Mzinga.
Kamili does not like swimming. We believe that this is because she feels vulnerable to being pushed or mounted in the water. This afternoon at the mud bath, after emptying their bottles, many orphans plunged into the muddy wallow for a cool down on a hot day. Mzinga, Nyambeni, Muridjo, Taroha, Mageno, Loldaiga, Kitich and Weka rolled around on the edge or lay in the middle of the mud, waving their trunks and flapping their ears. A few minutes later, Kamili plodded in to join them! She paddled and then she lay down next to Nyambeni, submerging some of her body in the pool. Meanwhile, Muridjo rubbed herself against Mzinga as Loldaiga played with Kitich and the babies stood around the edge, sucking up water from the wallow and spraying it along their backs.
The youngest members of the herd – Talek, Pardamat, Taroha, Olomunyak and Mokogodo – have settled in so well and are growing in confidence. This morning in the forest, Talek was having a lovely time rolling around with budding nanny Mzinga while Olomunyak enjoyed a lengthy face massage on a patch of dry ground. Very carefully, he rubbed his neck and trunk and even the sides of his face.
Raha was in a good mood again this morning. She drank her milk, walked once or twice around her stable, and headed up the path to the forest with her two Keepers soon after the elephants left in the early morning. As she waddled along behind the men, she kept doing funny little jumps, kicking up tiny clouds of dust with her back legs. She walked a few steps, did a jump and so she continued.
Later in the morning, Raha visited the mud bath. She is so used to her daily routine that her Keeper does not need to show her the way. She often enjoys doing a lap of honour along the rope cordon and then has a dust bath on her own special mound of soil. Today, her Keeper shovelled soil on her belly as she lay on her back with legs in the air. When it was time to leave and for the elephants to take her place, Raha did not want to move – she lay still on the mound enjoying a nap and had to be persuaded to stand up and head back to the forest.
After a quiet morning in the forest, the herd visited the mud bath for a milk feed as usual. After drinking their milk, the first group of younger orphans stood around the wallow, browsing on greens and hosing themselves with soil. They left and the second older group arrived. In contrast to the first, several orphans in the second group climbed into the wallow. Muwingu, Choka and Sileita lay sprawled along the edges, occasionally rubbing their faces in the mud and kicking the water with their feet. When Pardamat, who is much younger and smaller than the rest of the group, walked over to join them, we watched the situation carefully as we were concerned that the little boy could be accidentally hurt in the water. He lay down in the middle with only his tiny trunk sticking out of the water and the other three made sure they did not squash him.
All was fine until Weka joined the party. Unable to resist being mischievous, she climbed on top of Pardamat. He trumpeted for help as he could not bear her weight and Mukutan reacted immediately. The dominant bull pushed Weka away and helped Pardamat out of the wallow. The feisty boy regained his composure fast – minutes later he was playing with big boys Kitich and Choka.
This morning, the orphans ambled out to the forest in small clusters led by Sholumai with Sileita bringing up the rear. Usually, Mukutan and Choka (two of the oldest bulls in the Nursery) are among the first to head out but not today. The two boys hung a left and nipped in and out of their friends’ stables, searching for leftover lucerne and pellets. When we whistled, they ignored us and continued foraging for extra food. Eventually, several Keepers cornered the two bulls and shepherded them out to join the herd.
In the afternoon at the mud bath, Shujaa was at his most playful. On some days, he is quite a reserved boy but today he splashed around in the wallow with Sileita, Kitich and Loldaiga, holding his own with the older orphans. Sprawled on the edge on their bellies, they rubbed their faces and then rolled into the water for a cool down.
Back out in the forest, Kamili and Nyambeni found a patch of thick mud. One after the other, the two girls rested their haunches on the mud and then lay down to relax, waving their trunks around in the air. Not far away, Mushuru was looking after Olomunyak. The little boy leant against the older female while she massaged herself against a muddy slope.
Some bulls prefer playing only with their best friends but Choka will play with anyone, no matter their size or age. In the bush this morning, Choka challenged Loldaiga to a wrestling match. The well-matched friends trunk hugged as they pushed heads and twisted around. Standing on the sidelines, Mageno joined in by mounting Loldaiga. Taken unawares, he reacted aggressively: Loldaiga chased after Mageno and did his best to bite his tail. It was not long, however, before Loldaiga calmed down and began playing with Mageno while Choka hung out with laidback Kitich.
In the afternoon, Mzinga and Muridjo had fun running around after the warthogs. The pigs darted away through the trees as the two girls lumbered after them. After Muridjo got bored of the game and went back to browsing next to Kitich and Shujaa, Mzinga continued chasing the pigs and somehow ended up at the stockades on her own. She made the most of the situation by checking some rooms for cubes or sugar cane before being sent back to the herd by two Keepers.
Later in the afternoon, we were pleased to see Mokogodo walking over to browse with the herd. Usually, the little girl is happier either with a Keeper or one of the mini matriarchs or her old friend Taroha. But today, she made the decision to mingle with several older elephants.
As the orphans emerged from the stockades soon after first light and milled around greeting each other, Latika and Sileita headed down the path and round the corner to Mokogodo’s room. They waited outside until the little girl, who has been under par for the past few days with swollen back legs and belly, walked out, and then the two mini matriarchs escorted her out to the forest, happily adjusting their pace to Mokogodo’s very slow gait. On most days, she does not venture far into the forest, walking a short distance and then browsing in the company of orphans like Mzinga, Nyambeni, Talek and Olomunyak. Mokogodo is looking better than she did a few days ago.
Little Raha is doing really well and is putting on weight. Nowadays, she chooses to walk deep into the forest, exploring the territories of wild black rhinos living in the park. At the beginning of the year, Raha did not have the strength or confidence to venture far from the familiar stockades.
Mushuru loves taking care of naughty Pardamat. When the orphans returned to the field after the morning milk feed, she lay down on a patch of dry ground and invited the little boy to climb on top of her. He happily rested his forelegs on her belly, waving his trunk as he slid down to the ground. Tiring of her role as a jungle gym, she shook him off, ambled over to Mukutan who was enjoying a roll around on another dry clearing, and play mounted the oldest boy in the Nursery. Mushuru is an unusual elephant – in contrast to most girls, she enjoys mounting the boys and will take advantage of every prone elephant she comes across.
On a cold morning with many showers, Olomunyak, Taroha, Talek and Pardamat did not want to leave their warm dry stables — even if clad in blankets! We allowed them a short lie-in and then led them out to the forest behind the older orphans. Raha and Mokogodo remained in their rooms until the rain eased off. The rain continued to fall for two or three hours and the elephants took shelter under tree canopies between bouts of browsing. Weka, Mageno, Loldaiga, Muwingu, Mushuru, Choka, Kitich, Sholumai, Sileita, Muridjo and Shujaa had a busy time playing and rolling around on the muddy ground. They massaged and clambered all over each other. Shujaa was play climbing on top of Muwingu and also Mushuru.
At the mud bath later in the morning, Taroha was determined to swim despite the weather! Downing his milk feed, he ran into the wallow and charmed the visitors with his dramatic playing. He lay down in the water, climbed out, squatted on the edge and happily slid back into the pool like a very large rock, splashing water in every direction. Even Talek, Pardamat, Nyambeni and Mzinga, who usually love mud bathing, did not dare to get wet because of the cold weather.
Kamili made us smile again today with her playful behaviour. Soon after the elephants settled down to browse out in the field after emerging from their rooms, she challenged Shujaa and then Mageno to wrestle with her. First she played the pushing game with Shujaa and then she dared to go head to head with Mageno, one of the oldest bulls in the Nursery herd. Kamili had such a challenging start to her life – she was in a fragile state after her rescue, could not keep up with the other orphans for a long time, and often chose to be on her own. Today, she is a happy, strong and playful elephant, having reached a state of health which none of us believed she would.
Friendly little Talek has become a troublemaker during bottle feeds. After finishing her bottle, she (ignoring the Keepers) heads for the wheelbarrow, stretches her trunk in between the remaining bottles, and sucks up the small pools of milk lying on the bottom. To prevent this little trick, we are sending the clever elephant down to the mud bath in the last group of orphans so that she cannot mess up the bottles while we are busy feeding other orphans. Today, our plan worked and Talek instead walked over to browse on the greens scattered around the wallow.
Big boys Mukutan and Loldaiga began a wrestling match as soon as they walked out of their rooms in the early morning. The game continued all the way out to the forest and neither was ready to surrender. Mukutan, who is the dominant bull, had something to prove to his friend and Loldaiga, who is equally strong, was challenging his position. They trumpeted loudly as they tussled hard. Even Sholumai and Muwingu, who tried to calm them down by walking between the bulls, could not bring the match to an end. The only thing that worked was the promise of a milk feed. At feeding time, Mukutan and Loldaiga brought the game to an abrupt end with no encouragement and sprinted through the trees to the wheelbarrow of milk.
Later in the morning, both groups of orphans behaved calmly at the mud bath, standing quietly to enjoy the supplementary greens. Only Mageno spoilt the peace by chasing around after Weka in an effort to pinch some tasty green branches that she had selected. Of course, feisty Weka would not relinquish her prize and Mageno soon accepted defeat.
In the afternoon, Murijdo, Shujaa, Mzinga and Nyambeni came across some warthogs and impalas as they walked deep into the forest – the four agemates and friends could not resist giving chase and soon the forest was full of excited elephants chasing after the pigs and antelopes.
Out in the forest this morning, Mokogodo was surrounded by her adoring nannies. Latika, Sileita, Kerrio, Muwingu, Mzinga and Nyambeni were all hovering around the little girl. Mokogodo is eating well but is still small for her age and finds it difficult to keep up with the herd. This morning, she was being smothered with trunk hugs and touches from Latika, Sileita, Kerrio and Mushuru as assistant nannies Mzinga and Nyambeni stood close by. When the time came for the orphans to run in for a milk feed, Latika, Mzinga and Nyambeni were reluctant to leave Mokogodo.
Back out in the field afterwards, Pardamat and Talek had a noisy squabble over a patch of muddy ground. Both babies wanted to lie down and slide around on the same patch of earth, despite having a whole forest in which to play. Neither would back down or share and so they began pushing each other. Moments later, Mushuru intervened. The older female – who has a special bond with Pardamat – strode between them, broke up the fight, and pushed Talek away in the direction of Kerrio. Mushuru then lay down on the prized piece of ground and rolled around, encouraging the naughty boy to climb on top of her.
Later in the morning at the mud bath, Mukutan was being a troublemaker. Refusing to listen to a Keeper, he tried to walk under the rope cordon to see the visitors but was soon shepherded away from the mud bath by three Keepers.
The older boys were playing pushing games in the forest this morning. Choka and Loldaiga were sizing up, trumpeting loudly as they tested each other’s strength, first standing up and then lying on the ground. When Mukutan came over to join the game, Loldaiga walked away to challenge Kitich to play. Choka continued rolling around in the mud as Mukutan clambered on top of him.
Meanwhile, Mageno was leading the rest of the group deeper into the bush. As they ambled through the thick bush, browsing along the way, several giraffes ran across a clearing in front of them. The orphans got such a surprise that they turned tail and ran in the direction of the stockades in a panic. Some trumpeted or whistled as others sprinted through bushes with trunks aloft. We all moved towards them, whistling and calling their names to calm down the herd of babies.
In the afternoon, the orphans had a great time in a very wet forest. Weka squatted in a large puddle and then rubbed her face in the mud while Muridjo paddled and played in another. Meanwhile, Olomunyak massaged his rump against some wet rocks and then turned around for a face rub, with Mushuru and Muwingu keeping an eye on him while they browsed on lush soft grass.
Rescued in March, Olomunyak is beginning to flex his muscles! This sweet boy has settled in well and has made many friends. Rather than hanging out quietly in the background, he has decided to assert himself with his agemates. This morning, we sent him down to the mud bath for a milk feed in one of the groups of younger orphans. He was at the head of a group of three others – Pardamat, Taroha and Latika – and was running his fastest. Trumpeting loudly, he prevented them from overtaking him by moving from left to right and back. When Pardamat dashed past, Olomunyak reacted: He pushed Pardamat down, ran on to the Keepers, drank his milk in a flash and nipped to the far side of the mud bath, hoping to avoid being disciplined. Having had a taste of his own medicine, Pardamat picked himself up and walked down for his bottle.
Still feeling full of himself, Olomunyak then gave Taroha, who is his night-time neighbour, a shove. Taroha is stronger than Olomunyak and responded by pushing him over. Taroha went back to browsing as the not-so-newbie ran for refuge with Sileita. He stood quietly next to her for a time and then walked over to Muwingu for more attention.
When an orphan trumpets, more often than not it is Weka! This morning, rather than making a noise as she ran down the path to the wallow, she kicked up a fuss after her milk feed. She emptied her bottles and then trumpeted her demand for a third directly to the Keeper who was feeding her. He showed her that the bottle was empty and put it down on the ground. Accepting the inevitable, she whirled around, walked away and began rolling in the mud on the edge of the pool.
Sholumai, and several others, have learned to hold their own bottles by twisting their trunks deftly around them. Rather than asking for more, when Sholumai had finished her two bottles today, she refused to let go of the bottle and ran away with it. She pranced around the wallow holding the bottle. When she too realised that no more milk would magically appear, Sholumai threw it into the wallow.
In the afternoon, Choka and Sileita played several noisy rounds of the pushing game in the forest with the babies watching on from the sidelines. At the end of their good-humoured contest, they stood close together with trunks entwined. Most of the herd continued browsing around them – surrounded by the herd, Latika and Kerrio also stood close together, occasionally trunk hugging each other.
On a misty morning, the orphans emerged from their stockades and stood quietly in small groups. Kerrio was reluctant to leave the compound this morning as she wanted to stay with Mokogodo. She stood outside her room while the little girl rumbled to her from within. (We did not let either Raha or Mokogodo leave their rooms early today because of the weather. Talek, Pardamat, Taroha and Olomunyak did head out with the herd wearing their blue blankets.) Kerrio was soon joined by Muwingu, Mzinga and Latika who joined in the Mokogodo-greeting-rumbles. Muwingu and Latika headed up to join the herd as they ambled out to the forest but Kerrio and Mzinga had to be cajoled by three Keepers to leave their little friend. The mist persisted and the herd stood huddled together under the trees.
Later in the day, Mukutan, Muwingu, Choka and Muridjo wandered deep into the forest in search of delicious browse. Even Murijdo is becoming tall enough to stretch her trunk up into trees to pluck down green branches. In contrast, Loldaiga, Mzinga and Olomunyak did not venture far from the stockades, being content to browse on less abundant greens. Olomunyak spent time investigating a tree, stretching his short trunk up high to explore a hole in the trunk.
On another cold and misty morning, the orphans wandered slowly out to the forest. After browsing for a time, they woke up properly and began playing. Kerrio, Mzinga, Muridjo and Olomunyak found a long twisty root hanging down from a tree. They kept gravitating towards their new toy, tugging it and pushing each other during the game.
Raha was reluctant to leave her warm room again this morning and set out later than normal, clad in her little blanket. She also woke up as the day warmed up and was full of beans by the time she visited the mud bath later in the morning. She jogged along the rope cordon with head held high before lying down for her daily dust bath. On some days, she just lies on her side as her Keeper shovels soil on her but today she was rolling around enthusiastically.
As the first group of elephants were padding down the path, Raha was walking back to the forest. Nyambeni was in this group. Catching sight of the rhino (with whom she has recently made friends), she turned her head away from her bottle and gazed at Raha. The opportunity to follow her was cut short when Kamili nudged Nyambeni from behind, telling her to drink up and move on. She did as she was bid and wandered on to the wallow.
Despite the cold and misty morning, the orphans were full of energy, especially the big boys. Mukutan and Kitich sparred in one clearing as Loldaiga, Choka and Mageno challenged and climbed all over each other nearby. No one, not even Mukutan, emerged a clear winner. The contests were good-humoured and noisy. Not far away, Kamili, Shujaa, Mzinga and Muridjo were also playing chasing and mounting games. As Muridjo lay down on a patch of muddy ground, Kamili was resting her forelegs on her belly. The two girls played happily for a time but when Muridjo tried to stand up, an overexcited Kamili would not let her. Mzinga and Shujaa ambled over to help their friend, nudging Kamili off Muridjo and then the four orphans returned to browsing.
After visiting the mud bath for a milk feed, the herd returned to the forest in the afternoon. Led by Sholumai, they wandered far from the stockades in a long line. Good friends Talek, Choka and Kitich walked along together, with the little girl following in the wake of the two gentle bulls. Kamili and Kerrio stayed close as did Mukutan, Muwingu and Weka.
The herd had a milk feed in the forest this morning. As always, several Keepers gathered them in groups and then sent them down to a line of another four Keepers standing with bottles held high. After wandering around slowly in the early morning, the orphans suddenly begin sprinting through the trees when milk is involved. Mushuru set off in her group but then doubled back without anyone noticing. As she quietly zigzagged through the bush in search of little Mokogodo, the group of Keepers wondered where she was. Minutes later, she popped up beside Mokogodo and greeted her affectionately. Mushuru has a big heart and is growing into a lovely nanny.
In the afternoon, Maxwell rolled around in his muddy mud pool. He was showing off today – lying on his back with stout legs in the air. His warthog friends tried several times to join him in the water, but he was not in the mood for sharing and chased them away every time they came close. After a lengthy cool down, Maxwell plodded around his enclosure before relaxing on his side under a tree.
In the evening after the orphans had returned to their stables for the night, Talek and Pardamat (who sleep in neighbouring rooms and are both rivals and friends) had a noisy disagreement. They were stretching their trunks through the gaps in the partition wall to pinch greens – first one, then the other and so on. The two orphans had their own pile of lucerne but each thought the other’s greens looked tastier.
Sholumai was feeling playful this morning. Soon after the herd had wandered out to the forest, Loldaiga challenged her to a game and she accepted. Sholumai and Loldaiga began wrestling against each other, clashing heads and entwining trunks. Their fun was interrupted by Mushuru who is especially fond of wrestling and play climbing on big boys like Loldaiga, Mukutan, Choka, Kitich and Mageno. Seeing Sholumai having a good moment with Loldaiga, Mushuru joined in, prompting the shy girl to leave while the confident girl happily played with the young bull.
Later in the morning, the first group of orphans drank their milk as usual and spread out around the mud wallow. Olomunyak was not in the mood for sharing the branches of tasty lucerne around his patch of ground. When Talek came too close, he ran at her and pushed her over. We checked that Talek was fine and disciplined Olomunyak. He may be young, but he is a tough, confident boy.
In the afternoon, Sileita, Sholumai, Mageno, Choka, Loldaiga, Mushuru, Kitich, Muridjo and Nyambeni found a large patch of muddy ground in the forest. They had a wonderful time squelching around and squatting on their haunches in the mud.
The herd was subdued today. They padded quietly out of their rooms and stood waiting to head out. We whistled and they set off in a long line without any pushing or hugging or greeting. Perhaps because it was another cold morning, they settled down to browse in a spread-out cluster. Some time later, as several scratched their rumps against tree stumps, Pardamat and Taroha began playing. The two bulls wrestled, Pardamat mounted Taroha’s head, Taroha threw him off, Pardamat fell on the ground, both faced off and so the game continued – until Weka got involved. The older female strode off and wedged herself between the two playmates, bringing the fun to an end.
Out in the forest, Raha lay down for a nap at noon with a heavy security detail. Two warthogs grazed around her as she relaxed on her side still clad in a blue blanket. (Maxwell has been longtime friends with the Nursery’s resident warthogs. It seems that Raha is charming them too!) The pigs walked a short distance away, grazed a bit, and then walked back to graze next to the little rhino. To our great amusement, when Raha moved away in the afternoon to march down to the mud bath, the two warthogs trotted along behind her!
It was very cold in the morning and Mokogodo remained in the room, clad in not just one but two layers of blanket. Nyambeni, Mzinga and Latika paid the little girl an early morning visit, standing outside her room and rumbling one after the other. When Latika tried to push open the door, they were rewarded with an answering rumble from within. Accepting that Mokogodo was not coming out, the three girls abandoned their posts and padded up the path to the bush.
On their way out, Mukutan and Loldaiga stopped off at Maxwell’s gate in hope of greeting the rhino. Maxwell, however, was busy balancing his leg on the water trough and did not walk over to the two bulls. They walked on for another day of browsing and playing.
During the morning milk feed in the forest, Shujaa was doing his quirky-milk-time trick. Rather than heading straight for his bottle as fast as his legs would carry him like everyone else, he slowed down as he approached, ambled around, picked up a stick with his trunk, balanced it on his mouth, and only then resumed his milk run.
Mukutan, Sileita and Weka were being assertive at the mud bath later in the morning. Mukutan and Sileita made a couple of attempts to run back to the forest while Weka spread her ears wide as she walked along the cordon and refused to let any of the visitors touch her. Meanwhile, Muwingu and Pardamat stood together looking demure, picking up small pieces of lucerne and popping them into their mouths.