The month began with Shujaa in fine form. He may be one of the Nursery’s youngest bulls, but what he lacks in size, he makes up for in determination.
As usual, a Keeper opened the doors of the stables one by one soon after dawn and the orphans padded out. Some greeted their friends as others stood quietly, waiting to head out to the forest. When Sholumai made a half-hearted attempt to clamber over the fence into the square of tempting green browse, a Keeper intercepted her sneaky move, pushing her in the direction of the forest.
The orphans remained in a cluster as they browsed. Today, Kamili was in the midst of the herd. Sometimes she likes to do her own thing, choosing to browse or to enjoy a dust bath on her own, but not this morning. She was standing close to Kerrio and Nyambeni. As the day warmed up, the orphans spread out. When Muridjo, Weka and Kitich found a pool of stagnant water, they paddled in together and rolled around in the thick mud. Muridjo rubbed her face along the edge as Weka twirled her trunk in circles.
Shujaa is a feisty young boy. What he lacks in size, he makes up for in determination. When Choka — one of the oldest bulls in the herd — challenged him to a pushing game in the afternoon, Shujaa lifted his head and accepted the invitation. The two friends clashed heads in a noisy contest of strength that the younger bull inevitably would lose. Nonetheless, Shujaa kept going, breaking away and pushing as hard as he could against the powerful Choka. Mageno and Mukutan hovered on the sidelines, ready to step in if the younger bull needed help. Pardamat padded in and climbed unhelpfully onto Choka’s back. Checking who it was, Choka tossed him away and continued his game with Shujaa. Of course, Choka won but it was a good-humoured contest and he was careful not to hurt the little giant!
Talek is learning tricks from Mzinga. After drinking (carefully) her bottle of milk at the mud bath this morning, rather than padding quietly over to browse on greens with her friends, she and Mzinga made a beeline for the wheelbarrow! The two cheeky girls raised their trunks to the Keepers and stretched them into the wheelbarrow, hoping to scoop up a bottle of milk before being caught. Their quest was not successful – two Keepers saw them off with pointed fingers and warning whistles.
Perhaps feeling disgruntled after her telling off, Talek then knocked over Olomunyak as they browsed together near the mud bath. The little boy fell over and trumpeted. Knowing that she would be in disgrace, Talek ran off to a wooden post and began scratching her rump, looking at the picture of innocence. One Keeper and Kerrio checked on Olomunyak while Latika disciplined Talek.
Later in the day after the herd had returned to the forest, Muridjo was feeling skittish. First, she played the pushing game with Shujaa and then she began trundling around in circles, doing her special Muridjo thing. In contrast to many of her peers, this little girl is quite happy to play by herself!
Mushuru and Muwingu are turning into devoted nannies, taking their lead from Sileita, Kerrio and Latika! Mushuru’s favourite baby is Olomunyak and Muwingu loves spending time with Talek. In the mornings, the younger orphans visit the mud bath in a group and then the older ones (plus naughty Pardamat!). Olomunyak and Talek are in the first group while their nannies are in the second group. Today, Mushuru, Muwingu and also Sileita challenged the Keepers when they tried to separate them from the babies. They snuck towards the first group, the Keepers sent them back, they snuck back as soon as they had the chance, testing their carers’ patience. Mushuru was the most determined – she trumpeted loudly as she ran in the direction of Olomunyak, not wanting to be separated from him for just half an hour!
Loldaiga and Mageno are best buddies at the moment (as often happens with orphans who sleep in neighbouring stockades). They are never far from each other, whether out in the forest or down at the mud bath. Between their frequent games, the two boys browse - but always within sight of each other.
Olomunyak is continuing to walk back to the stockades ahead of the herd, almost every day. When the Keepers gather the elephants together late in the afternoon, the little boy sneaks away, taking a short cut rather than the route used by everyone else. Little Mokogodo pads along in his wake, doing her best to keep up. Their Keeper escorts them into their stables and gives them both another milk feed.
Weka – who has been especially mischievous in recent days - has adopted Pardamat – who has also been behaving like a rascal. This morning, the older girl and younger boy browsed together in the forest. Both were on their best behaviour!
Later in the morning at the mud bath, as Weka and Sholumai were browsing on supplementary greens, a group of visitors was making a lot of noise. Feisty Weka and shy Sholumai reacted by trumpeting and charging towards the group with ears flared. The Keepers intercepted the two girls and calmed them down. The visitors stopped talking, having had a reminder that the orphans are still wild animals.
Moments later, as it was a hot day, Weka paddled into the mud bath with her little friend Pardamat toddling in behind her. Although Pardamat is one of the youngest in the herd, he visits the mud bath in the second group of older orphans. The Keepers decided to move him in the hope that his older sisters and brothers would keep him in line. He is enjoying lots of attention from the older females! The two elephants were soon joined by Mushuru, Loldaiga, Mageno and more. As many cavorted in the thick mud, pushing against each other and slapping their trunks on the water, the others stood around the edge. When it was time to go, the Keepers whistled and the herd padded quietly back to the forest.
This morning, it was Kitich’s turn to be mischievous! As usual, a Keeper opened the doors of the stockades soon after first light and the elephants wandered out of their rooms and up the path to the forest. Except for Kitich. Rather than padding along behind friends like Mukutan and Mageno, he hung a left. The young bull darted in and out of all the stables in search of leftover cubes and lucerne in between sucking up water from the trough. Enjoying the game of hide and seek, Kitich ignored two Keepers as they tried to shepherd him out to join the herd. A stern whistle eventually did the job and he padded out happily to the forest, looking very pleased with himself.
Mzinga loves chasing warthogs. On her way back to the forest after visiting the mud bath for a milk feed this morning, she came across a group of warthogs grazing in a clearing. Unable to resist the temptation, Mzinga ran at them, somehow managing to suck her trunk at the same time. Responding to her trumpet, Muridjo ran along in her wake. The two sisters almost reached the pigs – who had been taken by surprise but nipped out of their path at the last moment. Mzinga and Muridjo turned back to join their friends and the herd wandered far into the forest, despite the abundance of green browse near the stockades.
As the orphans were walking out of their rooms in the early morning, Mukutan decided to hold Choka hostage. Emerging first from his stable, Mukutan went over to see his friend. Finding Choka still inside, Mukutan pushed the gate closed with his trunk and stood blocking Choka’s way. When the younger bull put his head down and pushed from the inside, Mukutan pushed back from the outside, refusing to let him out! As the door swung this way and that, the other orphans padded out to the forest, completely ignoring the noisy contest. A Keeper had to intervene, warning off Mukutan and allowing an annoyed Choka out of his room. As the dominant bull, Mukutan is behaving in an assertive way towards the other boys.
The orphans settled out in the field, standing around in friendship groups. As the rest of the herd browsed around them, Talek, Mzinga, Muridjo, Pardamat and Shujaa had a busy morning playing. Finding a large patch of mud, they either pushed their faces into the mud or lay down to roll around together. Unable to resist a prone elephant, Pardamat began climbing on top of Mzinga and Muridjo while Talek did her best to push him off. Every time he lifted his front legs onto one of the older girls, she rushed over and shoved him off, sticking up for her sisters! In contrast to most days, Shujaa was content to lie in the mud rather than play the mounting game. Pardamat then walked away to browse. Minutes later, he and Taroha had a noisy squabble over a leafy branch. Taroha picked it up, Pardamat tried to grab it, but Taroha would not let go. As the small boys trumpeted and pulled, Sileita – the mini matriarch of the herd - strode between them and pushed them away in opposite directions.
As always, the herd visited the mud bath later in the morning. Today, they stood around peacefully after enjoying their milk – for once, no one tried to pinch an extra bottle from the wheelbarrow.
Maxwell enjoyed a lie-in this morning. He lay on his bed of dry hay, soaking up the sunshine, for two extra hours before climbing to his feet and emerging into his enclosure. After completing several laps, Max settled down to graze on his pile of pellets with his warthog friends.
The sun was also shining in the green forest and the orphans were in playful moods. Many orphans including Kamili, Shujaa, Muridjo, Muwingu, Mushuru, Pardamat, Taroha, Mzinga, Mukutan and Loldaiga had a happy time rolling on the ground and enjoying soil bathing in a muddy area of the forest. This morning both Pardamat and Taroha tried to play mount any elephant found lying on the ground. Pardamat clambered all over a remarkably tolerant Mukutan while Taroha rested his torso on laidback Muwingu. Not far away, Kitich was chasing around after Kerrio, doing his best to mount her whenever he got close. Wise Kerrio shook off her suitor by heading over to browse next to Sileita and Latika as they trailed along after little Mokogodo in her blue blanket. Although Latika, Sileita, Kerrio, Mzinga, Nyambeni and Muridjo are continuing to compete to be Mokogodo’s nanny, Mushuru is showing more interest in Olomunyak. Naughty Pardamat used to be her favourite but no longer. Today, she spent the whole morning happily looking after and browsing next to the sweet boy, occasionally draping her trunk along his back.
Nyambeni and Mzinga walked out of their stables this morning and headed straight down to Mokogodo’s room. As her door was still closed, they stood outside waiting for the little girl. When Mzinga began knocking on the door with her head, Mokogodo began rumbling to her from inside the stable. Nyambeni then ran into neighbour Muridjo’s stable to find out why the baby was rumbling and to see if she could get closer to Mokogodo by stretching her trunk through the gaps in their shared wall. Her clever plan was thwarted by a Keeper opening the door and the small orphan toddling out. Mzinga immediately scooped her up with a flurry of trunk hugs and shepherded her out to the forest with a sulky Nyambeni wandering along in their wake.
After a heavy downpour during the night, the forest was awash with puddles and pools. Nyambeni and Talek were so playful and happy, rolling around in a very large puddle with legs waving in the air, while Olomunyak paddled contentedly in a smaller puddle. When the herd visited the mud bath later in the morning, no one chose to paddle as they had all had lots of fun in the forest. Instead, they browsed quietly on supplementary greens.
Returning to the forest, Mageno, Kitich, Kerrio, Sholumai and Shujaa had a busy time charging and chasing after a group of warthogs who were following along behind the herd. The elephants chased them away but moments later the pigs were back. The Keepers decided that there were probably lions in the area and that the warthogs felt safer when they were with the orphans.
Almost the whole herd was playing in the forest this morning. After browsing for a time, Sholumai, Mukutan, Choka, Mushuru, Kitich, Loldaiga, Latika, Muwingu and Mageno rolled around in some thick mud, covering themselves with soothing mud and playing with their friends at the same time. They clambered on and off each other like enormous puppies, trumpeting occasionally in excitement. Mud bathing over, the wrestling matches began. Mukutan played pushing games with Choka, Kitich with Loldaiga, and Mageno with Mushuru and Muwingu. The older boys and girls wrestled and then broke apart for a wander and then wrestled again.
Meanwhile in a different clearing, the younger boys and girls were also playing. Taroha, Shujaa, Mzinga, Muridjo, Nyambeni, Pardamat and Olomunyak were rolling around in the mud. Young boys Taroha and Pardamat had a quick wrestling match and then could not resist climbing on top of Mzinga and Muridjo as they lay on the ground. As all this action was taking place, little Mokogodo browsed contentedly next to mini matriarchs Sileita and Latika who were following the little girl in her blue blanket wherever she went. The two nannies were making sure that none of the naughty boys came anywhere near their baby!
At the mud wallow later in the morning, Mukutan was challenging the authority of the Keepers. The growing bull – and dominant male in the herd – placed his foot deliberately on the rope cordon and then tried to walk over to the crowd of visitors on the other side. The Keepers told him not to and he pretended to obey them before returning a few minutes later. Mukutan feels very strong nowadays and that is why he sometimes chooses not to listen to the Keepers.
Muridjo and Mokogodo sleep in neighbouring stables. This morning, Muridjo emerged from her own room, padded three or four steps, and stood outside Mokogodo’s room. The door was closed and the little girl was still inside. Muridjo pondered the situation for a minute or two before returning to her own room. She looked through the gaps in their shared wall, extended her trunk, rumbled to Mokogodo and returned to her position outside her door. Muridjo knocked on the door with her trunk and a Keeper opened the door. In dashed the older girl. She gave the baby a cursory trunk hug or two and scooped up a few mouthfuls of leftover greens and cubes. Crafty Muridjo then escorted Mokogodo a few steps up the path, deposited her with Latika, and nipped back to her stable to continue feasting on the baby’s soft greens. Mission accomplished!
In comparison with yesterday, it was a quiet morning in the forest. Rather than wrestling or rolling around, the orphans browsed or scratched themselves against tree stumps. Only Pardamat and Taroha were playing – the two boys are new playmates and keep challenging each other to contests of strength. Today, while they were playing the pushing game, Pardamat play mounted Taroha and then somehow slid onto his head which he clasped with his forelegs, much to his friend’s annoyance!
Later in the morning, the first group of younger orphans spread out around the mud bath after drinking their milk. Kamili struck some impressive poses on the mound of soil and then lay down for a dust bath. Shujaa - who is fond of mounting every prone elephant he comes across – took advantage of the opportunity and climbed on top of Kamili. He had chosen the wrong elephant. Kamili immediately shook him over, stood up and chased the young bull around the mud wallow!
This morning in the forest, Nyambeni took a break from browsing to greet a Keeper. She approached him with her trunk aloft, rumbling with pleasure when he patted her head and blew in her trunk. Although she is growing tiny tusks and becoming a most capable nanny, she is still a baby at heart!
Elsewhere the toddlers were squabbling. Having settled in so well to his new life, Olomunyak is coming out of his shell. This morning, he made the mistake of giving little Talek a shove as they browsed next to each other – he did not want to share a patch of especially delicious grass. When she trumpeted in annoyance, Taroha ran to her rescue! (Taroha has recently expanded his circle of friends, becoming good buddies with Talek.) The boys are age-mates but Taroha is stronger than Olomunyak. Taroha shoved Olomunyak back and settled down to browse with Talek. The newbie walked away and took shelter with Sileita who trunk touched him affectionately. Pardamat was watching from the sidelines – this naughty boy respects Taroha’s strength. Later in the morning, he made his own mistake of trying to mount Shujaa. The older orphan is an easy-going boy, but this was a step too far. He pushed back, knocking Pardamat over, and strode away.
The afternoon was peaceful – the orphans browsed quietly at the mud bath after their milk feed before padding back out to the bush.
On most mornings, Kerrio and Shujaa end up finding each other and playing the pushing game. They have become the best of friends. Today was no different. After browsing for a time, Shujaa ambled over and challenged his friend to a contest. Accepting the challenge, Kerrio turned around, put her head down and pushed. The smaller but determined boy pushed back, refusing to back down, twirled around and pushed again. Some of the Keepers think that Kerrio has become Shujaa’s trainer! The young bull has much the same attitude when playing with his sister Muridjo. He plays with lots of enthusiasm and never gives up.
This morning, Muridjo was doing her charging-around-for-no-good-reason thing, darting through the trees in behaviour reminiscent of Suguroi (who graduated and moved to Ithumba last year). Eventually, she settled down to browse with two close friends, Mageno and Weka.
On another damp and cloudy afternoon, no one was tempted to wallow in the mud bath. Instead, Loldaiga and Kitich wrestled against each other while Kamili, Kerrio and Mzinga rubbed their faces and bodies on the mound of soil and Mukutan massaged himself against the viewing platform.
Despite the cold weather, the elephants padded happily out of their rooms again this morning and headed out to browse in the forest. This was more than could be said for Raha! The little rhino stood in the corner of her cosy stable, refusing to even walk in the direction of the door. Her Keeper struck a compromise and allowed her an extra two hours in bed, after which time she trundled up the path without complaint. Raha led her Keeper quite far into the forest this morning before visiting the mud bath.
Olomunyak was doing his tree-hugger trick this morning. Every member of the herd loves the occasional scratch against a tree but Olomunyak takes it to the next level. If there is a tree in sight with rough bark, he will root it out. This little boy is also adept at browsing while he scratches, twisting up clumps of grass and rubbing his side vigorously at the same time!
In the afternoon, Nyambeni and Olomunyak were playing a chasing and pushing game. The older girl ran after the younger boy and then the two orphans entwined trunks and pushed heads. Cheeky Olomunyak was treating Nyambeni like an age-mate rather than an older sister. For her part, she was enjoying all the attention from the newbie and happily played with him for hours. This little boy has become stronger and full of confidence – he is flourishing in the herd.
Rather than trailing around after the big boys, Pardamat was hanging out with his own age group again today. He kept trying to play with Taroha. Taroha was happy to play with him for a short time but then pushed him away and went back to browsing while Pardamat skulked around, twirling his trunk.
Some of the older orphans wandered far into the forest today. Sholumai, Weka, Kitich, Mushuru and Kamili headed off in a mini herd, searching for delicious browse as they explored. As usual, Sileita would not be tempted to stray far from her bevy of babies.
At last, the rain seems to be easing in Nairobi. It was a cold but sunny morning when the orphans emerged from their stables. Nyambeni 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 over his stable door, in the hope that someone would let him out, 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!
Meanwhile, Sileita and Latika were standing patiently outside Mokogodo’s room, ever devoted to their little charge. She toddled out slowly - they rumbled as they trunk hugged her and shepherded her out to the forest. The little girl is feeding well, having developed her appetite for greens, but her skin is rough and she is still quite weak. Out in the bush this morning, her two nannies took it in turns – one stood close to her and then the other. Sileita and Latika were not running any risk of a naughty boy pushing their little girl.
Later in the afternoon, several orphans paddled in the mud bath. Weka splashed around in the middle as Kerrio and Mzinga rubbed their faces on the edge. Sileita and Latika covered their bodies with thick mud as they rolled around on the mound of soil while Mokogodo stood nearby drinking from the water trough. After their mud bath, the two older females allowed Mokogodo to rub her tiny body against theirs in a special kind of massage.
The clouds were back today but not the rain. The herd headed out soon after first light and settled down to browse. Mushuru fussed over Olomunyak and Muwingu trunk hugged Talek while Nyambeni, Mzinga and Muridjo ambled around together nearby. Olomunyak was in a subdued mood today – he stood quietly next to his nanny rather than playing in the mud or around trees. He only lifted his head when some warthogs and impalas began grazing close to the herd. No matter how sleepy he was feeling, he could not resist giving chase. Kerrio and Mzinga led the chase with the little boy running along in their wake as fast as his stout legs could carry him. As they ran trumpeting through the woods, Mageno continued massaging his face against the ground, Kitich and Loldaiga kept on playing the pushing game, and Pardamat and Taroha carried on with their chasing and mounting game.
It was a peaceful afternoon. The herd visited the mud bath for another milk feed with Weka and Mushuru heralding their arrival with loud trumpets. After downing every drop of milk, the orphans spread out around the wallow. Only Kitich and Shujaa were tempted to paddle today in the thick mud while Sholumai and Muwingu relaxed on the mound of damp red soil.
This morning, as usual, Raha was the first to visit the mud bath. She completed her daily lap of honour, walking slowly along the rope cordon, and then plodded over to her special small mund of soil. She lay down while her Keeper patiently shovelled soil onto her tummy. Visit over, the little rhino ambled back to the forest as the group of younger orphans took her place at the mud bath. Today, Olomunyak, Talek and Mokogodo were the first to pad down the path for their milk. After drinking their milk slowly, Olomunyak and Talek wandered over to the wallow as Mokogodo hovered around the wheelbarrow. She wanted more milk! The Keepers went on feeding the rest of the group, knowing that Mokogodo did not have the strength to lift up and run away with an extra bottle!
In the afternoon, when the herd returned to the mud bath, naughty Pardamat strode over to Mokogodo in an assertive mood. As soon as she trumpeted, Mzinga, Nyambeni and Muridjo ran in her direction. The three big sisters surrounded the little elephant, touching her and seeing off the young bull at the same time. He marched over to stand next to Mukutan, hoping for the protection of the older bull if the girls pursued him.
Maxwell was standing by his gate this morning as the orphans emerged from their stables. Mzinga and Shujaa – who were both stretching their trunks over their stable doors, signalling to the Keepers that they were wide awake and ready for the day – raced out and over to his gate. The two friends extended their trunks through the gaps in his gate while Max stood still, enjoying the attention. When the elephants walked on to the forest, the blind rhino walked over to eat his pile of breakfast pellets.
Arriving at the mud bath later in the morning, Raha walked along the rope cordon with her Keeper. She is thriving, eating well, putting on weight, and has a tiny horn protruding from her nose. When Raha returned to the forest, the first group of orphans walked down the path for their bottles. Taroha – who is usually a gentle boy – was in a feisty mood today. As little Olomunyak was happily enjoying his milk, the older boy tried to push the Keeper away so he could grab the bottle. Two Keepers gave him a warning whistle and he moved on to browse on greens, turning back into an obedient young bull. Olomunyak sought sanctuary with Kerrio, standing close to the mini matriarch as Muridjo and Nyambeni paddled in the muddy wallow and Talek stood on the edge, watching her big sisters having fun in the water.
Olomunyak is becoming stronger every day. He demonstrated this by pushing Nyambeni while they were browsing out in the field — not in an unkind way, more just showing that he is becoming big and strong and independent. Nyambeni is understanding and quietly follows a few steps behind.
Mokogodo loves Olomunyak and always seeks him out for company. Olomunyak is her little warrior and looks after her like a big brother. Mokogodo’s original best friend, Taroha, still cares for her, too. However, he has been enjoying spending time with Pardamat, playing bull games and being rowdy. Pardamat is small, but he has a lot of spirit — and Taroha seems to be picking up some of his gusto!
Latika is becoming very possessive of Mokogodo and can be a bit rude to the other nannies who also want to look after her. Sharing is not her forte! We can always recognise Latika, because she has the shortest trunk among our Nursery herd.
Mokogodo has no shortage of adoring nannies, but she can be quite selective about the company she keeps. Sometimes, she laps up all their attention like a puppy. Other days, she is not in the mood to socialise and pushes her fans away. Today, she preferred the company of her Keepers and browsed close to their sides.
Mukutan is one of the oldest bulls at the Nursery, but he is 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.
Kitich’s character is changing. He used to push the other orphans and mock charge all the time, but nowadays, he is becoming very social and friendly. Clearly, he feels safe and settled at the Nursery, and his true personality is starting to shine.
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!
Weka is less of a troublemaker nowadays. She has decided to become a calm girl and control herself, although she is still naughty at heart. By observing the other nannies, she is actually changing from a naughty girl to a mother figure to Mokogodo, especially when Kerrio or Sileita are not around.
However, the Keepers know that Weka is not fully trustworthy. At the public visit today, she finished her bottle of milk and went straight to the rope cordon, pretending to be calm and friendly. Bemused, a Keeper followed her, knowing it was only a matter of time before she pushed the envelope. Her plan thwarted, Weka sheepishly returned to the mud bath.
Weka has passed on her naughty character to her protege, Pardamat. He is only a baby, but currently, it seems like he is in the teenage stage — he is petulant, disobedient, and even a bit insolent!
It has been over a year since Sholumai joined the Nursery. When she first arrived, she was very thin and weak. In fact, she was so far gone that we hardly dared hope that she would survive. To our astonishment and delight, she has transformed into a strong and healthy girl. However, there is one character trait that has not gone away since she arrived: fearfulness. Sholumai is very skittish and frightens easily.
In the morning, she led all the others back into the forest. While they were browsing, two buffaloes came crashing through the forest, running right in front of the babies. Sholumai didn’t waste even a minute! She quickly turned around and started running back to the stockades, screaming all the while. When the other babies saw Sholumai’s reaction, they all began running after her, although nobody was quite sure why they were running! Only a young Mokogodo remained behind with her Keeper, unflustered.
The young Mokogodo did not want to step into the mud today. She is turning into a tiny force of nature and doesn’t want anyone to tell her what to do! After having her bottle, she stood by the mud bath for several minutes, contemplating what to do. In the end, she decided to forgo a wallow. Our smallest elephant gets treated like a queen, and Kerrio and two Keepers were waiting to escort her wherever she wanted to go.
Elsewhere, the orphans seemed to be in a bad mood today, for no particular reason. The weather was lovely, but the moods were anything but! Even Kerrio, Mokogodo’s nanny, had a bit of an attitude and was late for her milk bottle.
It has been about three months since we rescued baby Olomunyak. Aside from Mokogodo, he is the youngest orphan at the Nursery. He has always been a calm and respectful boy, and even now that he is fully settled in, those personality traits remain constant.
Olomunyak continues his funny tradition of sneaking back to the stockades early. Around 4:30, a half hour or so before it is time to go home, he works out his exit path and nips back to his stable. The Keepers always have to keep an eye on him, knowing that it is only a matter of time before he pulls his famous disappearing act.
While Olomunyak is social and outgoing, he has yet to make a best friend, besides young Mokogodo. Today, we observed a great interaction between him and Latika. Latika remained very close to him for the entire day, protecting him. During the milk feed, Pardamat edged over to steal Olomunyak’s bottle but Latika stood strong, defending her young charge. Pardamat’s tricks were not successful!
Raha did not start the day in a good mood. It was a cold morning, which meant two blankets for our young rhino. 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, enjoying his dreams in his bedroom, 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. She briefly said hello to Maxwell and started her journey into the forest.
During the cold months, Maxwell doesn’t wake up early, but rather 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!
Weka has always had many different personalities. She is infamous for her naughty character — but on the other hand, when the other older females, namely Sileita, Latika, Kerrio, and so on, are not around the little ones, Weka will tap in and take over, keeping the babies company and protecting them.
We have seen this the past few days. In the morning, the big girls accompany the big boys deep into the forest. This leaves babies Mokogodo, Olomunyak, and Talek at a loose end, confused whether they should stay with their Keepers or follow the larger orphans. This is where Weka’s presence has been vital. She swoops in and shepherds the babies out to the forest, fussing over them and doing an excellent job.
This morning, Weka had to contend with baboons jumping in the trees around the babies. She must have felt unsafe, because she tried to scare them away in vain for a while. After this was unsuccessful, she shouted for reinforcements. Muwingu, Kerrio, Sileita and Latika came charging in as backup. They worked together as a team to chase away the baboons for the safety of the babies!
This morning, the weather was so dismal that the babies did not want to come out of their rooms. Mokogodo and little Raha remained in their respective rooms for longer than the rest of their friends, as we wanted to wait for the weather to improve. Uncharacteristically, Raha was in a rush to get out and complained until a Keeper opened her door. As the rain drizzled down on her, she quickly saw the error in her ways and returned inside until it subsided.
Meanwhile, Mokogodo enjoyed a long lie-in — it was too cold and wet for our delicate little girl! Latika and Kerrio showed their compassionate sides by checking up with Keepers to find out if little Mokogodo arrived. In shifts, they would rotate over to the Keeper as if to inquire about the little girl’s whereabouts. Their check-in process continued until mid-afternoon, when the weather finally started to clear up and Mokogodo was reunited with her peers. When Latika and Kerrio spotted her from afar, each of them raced to reach her first. Neither girls are the best runners, but Kerrio ended up winning their little race. Then, the three friends got to spend some bonding time together!
Last night, Pardamat and Talek had a long fight across their stable wall. Their disagreements usually occur for no good reason, but we believe this argument began when Talek reached her trunk into Pardamat’s room to snatch some of his food. Pardamat certainly took this seriously, and proceeded to grab Talek’s trunk and jam 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!
Maxwell enjoyed a lengthy play this morning with his wild warthog friends. Max would chase the pigs around his stockade for a few minutes, before everyone took a short break to eat together. Then, it was time for the next round. This continued for some time!
Mageno often leads the orphans towards a chosen destination for food. Muridjo, Nyambeni, and Mushuru usually follow from a distance. This afternoon, however, it was little Mokogodo who led the group to greener pastures! Latika, as usual, was glued to her side, while Sileita, Kerrio, and Nyambeni followed close behind.
What an exciting morning for our baby boy Taroha! He came out this morning in a very jovial mood, wanting to engage with everyone and tussle around. His neighbour Olomunyak was ahead of him, and Taroha started with him, pushing him from behind. We couldn’t tell if he was trying to speed him up or show him the way ahead. Olomunyak was not in a mood for nonsense and stepped aside, allowing Taroha to continue with his jovial mission.
Next stop was Muridjo’s room. Taroha walked up to her door and attempted to open it a couple of times, without any success. After this, Taroha continued to Mokogodo’s room, where the little girl was still sleeping. He also attempted to open her door by headbutting it and pulling, but without a Keeper’s hand, it remained firmly shut.
When Mzinga and Nyambeni noticed Taroha’s antics, they quickly stepped out to assist him. By this point, all three of them were working together to open Mokogodo’s door. A Keeper decided to help by opening the door for them.
During the public visit, Mageno joined Weka in yelling while they ran to get their bottles. It got quite noisy, between their screaming and the visitors’ delighted reactions!
It was no ordinary morning for the four older boys of the Nursery. Mukutan, Choka, Kitich, and Loldaiga were out to showcase their strength! It was such a cold morning that they may have been tussling to keep warm. Whatever the motivation, this game consisted of chasing each other around, then pushing or play-mounting each other.
Meanwhile, Nyambeni, Mzinga, Latika, Mushuru, Sileita, Kerrio, and Latika surrounded little Olomunyak and Mokogodo to keep them warm. Whenever either baby attempted to stray from the circle, either Latika or Sileita immediately pulled them back into the huddle.
A funny scene unfolded at the end of 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. We think that the bird had been teasing the elephant, landing a few paces ahead of Mzinga and then flying out of reach when her inevitable change ensued. This process repeated 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!