When Choka — one of the oldest bulls in the herd — challenged him to a pushing game, Shujaa lifted his head and accepted the invitation. It was a contest that the younger bull would inevitably lose, but nevertheless, Shujaa kept going. At one point, Pardamat padded in and climbed unhelpfully onto Choka’s back. Choka unceremoniously tossed the young bull off as if he was a chameleon. Predictably, Choka won, but it was a good-humoured contest!

Mukutan may be the Nursery’s eldest bull, but he is also a famous coward. When Loldaiga and Kitich challenge him to sparring matches, he happily accepts their invitation — but when the going gets tough, he gets going! As if to taunt his cowardly friend, Loldaiga will flap his ears outwards and charge towards him as he scampers away.

Talek reminds us of her ‘big sister’ Muridjo and the original feisty girl, Suguroi, who is now at Ithumba. After the Keepers thwarted her efforts to steal milk one day, she was in a towering mood and wanted to take it out on someone. Olomunyak was an easy target. She knocked into him, causing the little boy to trumpet in alarm as he toppled over. Knowing that she would be in disgrace, Talek ran off to a wooden post and began scratching her rump, looking a picture of innocence.

Muridjo can be nurturing, but she is also a little operator. One morning, she emerged from her stable and realised that her neighbour Mokogodo was still inside. Muridjo pondered the situation for a minute before returning to her own room. She looked through the gaps in their shared wall, extended her trunk, rumbled to Mokogodo and stood outside, where she started rapping the door until it was opened by a Keeper. Muridjo gave the baby a cursory trunk hug, escorted her a few steps up the path, deposited her with Latika, and nipped back to her stable to continue feasting on Mokogodo’s leftover greens. Mission accomplished!

Olomunyak was rescued three months ago, and it’s lovely to see how comfortable and content he is in his new home. He has become stronger and is full of confidence. However, he still has his funny habit of sneaking home early each evening. Little Mokogodo has cottoned onto this tradition and often joins his covert operations. 

It seems to be a rule that our Nursery herd always has to have a resident pest. At the moment, Pardamat capably fills that role! He is a good-hearted bull, but full of mischief. Nyambeni knows how to keep him in line. One sunny morning, she made a beeline for Pardamat’s stable. The Keepers thought she was hurrying to escort him out to the forest but, upon further reflection, she decided he would benefit from a bit more time in bed. As he stretched his trunk expectantly over his stable door, Nyambeni gently pushed the top half shut with her trunk. Perhaps she was remembering the day when Pardamat dared to push her into the mud wallow!

Fittingly, it is naughty Weka who has adopted Pardamat as ‘her’ baby. They are perfectly matched; both rascals and not to be completely trusted!

With that said, Weka’s character is evolving. When the older females — namely Sileita, Latika, and Kerrio — are not around, Weka will tap in and take over. Some days, the big girls accompany the big boys deep into the forest. Mokogodo, Olomunyak, and Talek are left at a loose end, confused as to whether they should stay with their Keepers or follow the larger orphans. There is where Weka proves her mettle, shepherding the babies into the forest and fussing over them with great fanfare.

But at the end of the day, nannying is a team effort. During one morning when Weka was in charge, she and her little charges were followed by a troupe of baboons. They were leaping through the treetops, making lots of noise, which worried Weka. After trying in vain to chase them away, she realised that she needed reinforcements and let out a loud shout. Muwingu, Kerrio, Sileita and Latika came charging over, and everyone worked as a team to chase away the noisy baboons. 

It’s lovely to see how some girls embrace their nurturing side. Mushuru and Muwingu are turning into devoted nannies, taking their lead from Sileita, Kerrio, and Latika. Mushuru’s favourite baby is Olomunyak, while Muwingu loves Talek. Sometimes, they even try to sneak into the first feeding group, just so they don’t have to have a minute apart with their beloved babies!

Other girls aren’t so nurturing — and that’s okay, too! Such is the case with our no-nonsense girl, Kamili. One afternoon, she was striking impressive poses at the mud bath. Shujaa — who can’t resist clambering atop every prone elephant he comes across — climbed aboard. He had chosen the wrong mountain. Kamili shook him off, leapt to her feet, and chased the young bull around the mud bath!

Fortunately, Shujaa has plenty of playmates. Kerrio has become a best friend — they meet up most mornings to play their famous pushing game. Shujaa may be smaller, but he never backs down. The Keepers think that Kerrio has become Shujaa’s trainer! The young bull has much the same attitude when playing with his big sister Muridjo. He plays with lots of enthusiasm and never gives up. 

Sholumai has been in our care for over a year, during which time she has transformed into a strong and healthy girl. However, one character trait from her early day remains: fearfulness. She is one of the Nursery’s oldest girls, but she frightens easily. One morning, two buffalos crossed paths with the orphans. Sholumai didn’t waste even a minute — she turned on her heel and made for the stockades, screaming all the while. It caused a domino effect, as the other babies ran after her, although nobody was quite sure why they were running! 

Latika is good friends with Kitich and Mageno. Despite her short trunk she is a big, strong girl and can easily compete in their pushing games. However, all friendships are forgotten when Mokogodo is in the picture. If the boys dare approach when Latika is nannying Mokogodo, she will roughly push them away.

Kitich’s character is changing. He used to push the other orphans and mock charge all the time, but nowadays, he is very social and friendly. Clearly, he feels safe and settled at the Nursery, and his true personality is starting to shine.

Nighttime often comes with a side of comedy, as the orphans get into little spats with their neighbours. Talek and Pardamat, who are actually good friends, are also famous for their evening feuds. Their disagreements usually start for no good reason, but on one particularly heated evening, the argument began when Pardamat caught Talek stealing his branches. Seeking revenge, Pardamat grabbed Talek’s trunk and jammed it into his mouth. Talek screamed, which sent a Keeper running over to intervene. The battle ended, but the war continued: Throughout the night, the two troublemakers continued to egg each other on. At one point, their Keeper caught them standing on their shared stable wall, headbutting one another!

June ended with a very funny scene at the public visit. Mzinga had come and gone in the first group, but then, as the second group was enjoying their bottles and milk bath, she came charging back! She was chasing a wagtail bird. The bird had been teasing the elephant, landing a few paces ahead of Mzinga and then flying out of reach when she charged. This process repeated itself until the bird led Mzinga all the way down to the mud bath. In the end, the wagtail flew above the elephants, while the entire second group (plus Mzinga) trumpeted below, outraged at the audacity of the pesky bird. What a lovely note to end the month on!

The Rhinos:

It was a good month for our resident rhinos. Raha is thriving: She is eating well, putting on weight, and even has a tiny horn protruding from her nose. She is as obstinate as ever, marching to the beat of her own drum and not a minute faster. On particularly cold or rainy mornings, she enjoys a long lie-in until the day warms up. The Keepers have devised this arrangement, given how young and fragile she is, but they couldn’t change it if they tried: When she catches wind of a cool breeze or raindrops, Raha stands obstinately in the far corner of her stable, feet planted and refusing to move! 

During the cold months, Maxwell also enjoys leisurely mornings. He is an early riser by nature, but in winter, he waits for the sun to come up. Like Raha, he does not enjoy chilly mornings — but unlike Raha, he is far too big to wear blankets anymore!

Towards the end of the month, we were treated to a lovely moment between our rhinos: Raha did not start the day in a good mood. It was a cold morning, which meant two blankets for our young girl. Understandably, she was grumpy and reluctant to leave her cosy stable. Things started to look up when she passed Maxwell’s stockade. He was still fast asleep, but his amazing senses alerted him to another rhino in his gate. (Remember, Maxwell is blind, so he fully relies on his sense of smell and hearing.) He awoke and padded out of his stockade to find Raha standing there, waiting for him. Big and small touched noses, before Raha trundled into the forest.