This month marked Taroha’s first rescueversary. He has come so far over the past year, in terms of both health and spirit. When he was first rescued, he was in poor condition and stayed close to ‘blanket baby’ Mokogodo.
Soon after first light, Sileita and Muwingu padded out of their stockades and down to little Mokogodo’s stable. The two older females stood quietly outside the door, waiting to take her to the forest. But, as it was a cool drizzly morning, they were waiting in vain. The Keepers kept the smallest member of the herd in her room and gently pushed the girls away. Sileita and Muwingu led the herd out to browse in the forest. After filling their bellies, many of the orphans had fun in large puddles of rainwater. Weka, Choka, Kerrio, Sholumai, Mushuru, Mukutan, Kitich, Mageno, Latika, Loldaiga and Muridjo paddled and rolled around in the muddy pools.
When it was time for a milk feed, some of the Keepers sent groups of three or four elephants down to others waiting around the wheelbarrow filled with bottles of milk. The younger ones go first and the older naughtier ones go last. True to form, Weka and Loldaiga sprinted through the forest down to the wheelbarrow, trumpeting all the way as if their last milk feed had been three days ago, rather than three hours ago. After downing their milk in seconds, the feisty friends calmed down and ambled away to continue playing.
Later in the morning, the orphans enjoyed another milk feed and then stood quietly around the mud bath. Some browsed on lucerne as others drank from the water buckets. No one went swimming today as they had cooled off earlier in the forest.
In the afternoon, Maxwell, the blind black rhino, relaxed in his mud bath. He lay on his side and then rolled onto his back. When a family of warthogs paddled in to join him, he clambered out and chased them away. Today, he was not in the mood to share his wallow!
Our inseparable pair are expanding their circle of friends! After being rescued in February and March last year, Mokogodo and Taroha became best buddies. The two babies were always together, standing so close that they were touching most of the time. One year later, the orphans have recovered from their ordeals, grown in strength and confidence, and are daring to spend time apart. Everyone’s favourite baby, Mokogodo, spends most of her days being fussed over by one or several older girls. Kerrio, Latika, Sileita, Muwingu, Weka, Muridjo, Nyambeni and Mzinga all love her although her main nannies are Sileita, Muwingu, Kerrio and Latika. Meanwhile, Taroha is often found hanging out with Nyambeni, Mzinga, or Muridjo. He has also formed a special friendship with Talek.
As the orphans spread out in the forest this morning, Taroha and Talek began to play. They pushed heads together and chased each other and played a wrestling game that lasted for a whole hour. The gentle bull loves playing with the girls, especially little Talek.
Later in the day, Muridjo and Mzinga were browsing quietly on the same shrub when something gave them a fright. The two girls trumpeted, about turned and charged away into the bush. Predictably, their reaction had an impact. Moments later, Nyambeni, Mzinga, Kerrio, Mageno, Kitich, Weka, Latika and Kamili were running around in haphazard circles, kicking up clouds of dust, before sprinting for the stockades in a cluster. Having wandered back to the herd, Muridjo and Mzinga calmly watched all the chaos.
The orphans gathered in the area outside their stockades in the early morning and wandered out to the forest. Kerrio, Talek, Taroha, Mzinga, Latika, Nyambeni and little Mokogodo browsed in a mini herd close to the Keepers as the others walked far into the forest. Half an hour later, the Keepers heard loud trumpets coming from the dense bush — Sileita and Muwingu had realised that some of the babies were not with them! Kerrio and Latika immediately rumbled back. The Keepers heard sounds of crunching grass and trumpeting elephants and, moments later, Sileita emerged from the bush followed by the rest of the herd.
Pardamat is becoming quite the clown! Later in the morning, Pardamat, Talek and Taroha gulped down their milk and made a beeline for the mud bath. The three orphans paddled around the pool, splashing thick mud in every direction with their big pads. Then Pardamat decided to practise his sliding skills. He climbed out, crouched down on his belly and slid into the water! Joining in the game, Taroha and Talek nudged him out of the pool with their heads and trunks. Out he climbed, down he went, and in he slid again as his two friends ran around making enormous splashes.
This morning, the orphans settled calmly to browse in the forest. In contrast to most days, big boys like Mukutan, Choka, Loldaiga, Kitich and Mageno showed no interest in wrestling or showing off – instead, they kept their heads down and concentrated on filling their bellies.
Later in the morning, Kerrio, Sileita, Latika, Nyambeni, Mzinga and Taroha hosed their bodies and rolled around in a pool of standing water in the forest. After cooling off, Kerrio lay down on the edge of the puddle to massage her body against the wet soil and Nyambeni and Mzinga ambled over to play their favourite game — climbing on top of Kerrio! First Mzinga knelt on her and Nyambeni pushed her off and then Nyambeni climbed on her and Mzinga pushed her off . So the game continued as Kerrio lay patiently on the ground, waving her trunk in the air.
Taroha was the only orphan out of a herd of 21 to wallow in the mud bath today. As the others stood around browsing and drinking, he waddled into the water, paddled around and lay down to rub his trunk against the edge. The Keepers had to persuade him to get out when it was time to return to the forest!
Muridjo, Nyambeni, Mzinga and Shujaa were in mischievous moods this morning. After browsing for a time at first light, they turned their attention to a family of warthogs trotting along in the wake of the herd. Trumpeting in excitement, they charged and chased them through the bushes. The pigs kept ahead of the elephants with minimal effort, darting off in different directions as the orphans thundered past them. When the warthogs tired of the game, they disappeared into the forest. Deciding that they must have gone to the stockades, the four elephants then ran home, still trumpeting indignantly with trunks held high. Of course, the pigs were nowhere to be found. A Keeper calmed the elephants down and sent them back to join the herd.
Later in the morning after another milk feed, the herd returned to the forest. Muwingu, Kitich and Sileita found a patch of dry earth that was perfect for dust bathing. They lay down for a roll around, covering every part of their bodies with soothing soil. When Kitich began play mounting a prostrate Muwingu, the mini matriarch wasted no time in pushing him off. Sileita shoved the big boy off her friend whereupon Kitich got the message and lay down for another massage.
In the afternoon, Sholumai was putting the big boys firmly in their places. First she chased Mageno and then Loldaiga. When Loldaiga turned around to confront her, she set her sights on an unsuspecting Kitich who was plodding along behind. She grabbed his tail, he yelled loudly, and the Keepers stepped in to protect the young bull.
At first light, the Keepers opened the gates of the youngest orphans’ stables. Taroha, Talek, Pardamat and Mokogodo had the area to themselves for a few minutes before the older, rowdier elephants padded out to join them. Sileita and Kerrio scooped up the three babies as Pardamat headed over to be with the big boys. The herd wandered out to browse in the bush. Soon after the orphans spread out in the forest, Sholumai and Mushuru walked away from the herd, reacting to the presence of several giraffes and buffaloes grazing nearby. The two girls, who had never headed off on their own before, went deep into the forest, returning to the herd in time for the mid-morning milk feed.
The first group of younger elephants visited the mud bath later in the morning, padding down the path in groups of three or four. On a hot day, Taroha was first to plunge into the mud bath. An adept wallower, he rolled around confidently, stretching his legs in all directions, and then submerged his whole body. Many of the others followed his lead into the cooling water. One or two orphans required encouragement from the Keepers – Talek and Kamili paddled in only after having muddy water shovelled over them.
This morning in the forest, a herd of impalas were grazing quite close to the orphans. When the antelopes dared to come close, Weka, Choka, Mageno, Loldaiga, Kitich, Muwingu and Mukutan reacted. The seven orphans trumpeted, twirled in their direction and chased the impalas. Their over-reaction to the innocent antelopes upset the younger members of the herd who ran off in various directions. Mzinga and Nyambeni headed straight for little Mokogodo and stood protectively around her, refusing to leave her behind.
Two hours later, it was time for a milk feed and everyone gathered together. The Keepers sent the younger orphans down in groups to other Keepers waiting for them at the wheelbarrow. The orphans drank their milk and moved away obediently so the next group could sprint through the trees for their bottles. Seven groups later, all 21 orphans had been fed.
Orphans under the age of two usually do not have oats added to their milk as the special formula suits their tummies and some babies find oats difficult to digest. Talek, Taroha and Mokogodo are given bottles filled only with milk. Pardamat, however, is a law unto himself. He is such a greedy boy that the Keepers decided recently to add some oats to his bottle even though he is only one year old. He loves his new bottles and has stopped asking the Keepers for more at every feed! Mokogodo sometimes asks for more but she really is too young to digest porridge and so will remain on formula until she is older.
There were no clouds in the sky this morning when Muridjo led the herd of elephants out to browse in the forest. Kerrio, Mzinga and Nyambeni were bringing up the rear, making sure that Taroha and Mokogodo were not left behind. Today, little Mokogodo was keeping up with the herd - in contrast to some days when she lags back with a Keeper because the others walk more quickly. On days when she does get left behind, it is not long before Kerrio or Nyambeni or Mzinga or all three whisk around to check on her.
Out in the forest, the orphans spread out to browse. After filling her belly, Sileita draped her big body with a decisive flop on the ground in an attempt to entice little Talek to play with her. While Talek did not take the bait, sturdy Muwingu was more than happy to accept the mini matriarch’s invitation. Although Sileita had her sights set on a smaller target, she was a good sport about it.
When Raha and her Keeper wandered past later in the morning, Mzinga spotted her rhino friend. Almost as if she was pretending not to notice Raha, Mzinga began browsing in her direction, nonchalantly walking away from the herd towards the rhino. Her tactics did not fool the Keepers - but they were happy to allow her to spend time with the rhino. Mzinga ambled up to Raha, trunk touched her and rumbled in greeting, as the rhino stood quite still, accepting the attention without responding. Mzinga is indeed a special little elephant!
Muridjo and Mageno led the herd deep into the forest this morning where they spread out to browse and to play. As the time for another milk feed approached, two Keepers pushed the wheelbarrows of bottles out to the bush as others grouped the elephants in preparation. Murijdo and Mageno (still full of energy) and also Nyambeni and Pardamat were in the first group sprinting through the shrubs to the wonderful wheelbarrow full of milk. This morning, Loldaiga, Kitich, Mukutan and Choka were so busy playing noisy wrestling matches that the Keepers had to whistle for them.
Raha, the baby rhino, was the first orphan to return to the stockades in the afternoon. She plodded down the path behind her Keeper and around the corner to her stable. As usual, there were a bunch of delicious greens suspended on a string from the ceiling. Nothing comes between Raha and her yummy greens. Eyes closed in concentration, the little rhino focused on the feast before her. As she did so, the other orphans padded down the path and into their stables and stockades. They gulped down yet more bottles of milk and settled to browse on their greens.
A young bull was rescued in the Maasai Mara today. The new orphan is about the same age as Pardamat and was put in the room next to Taroha. He was agitated and stressed but in reasonable condition. Olomunyak (which means ‘lucky’ in Maa) will stay in his stockade for a few days as he adjusts to his new life, learns to drink milk from a bottle and begins to recover from his ordeal.
On a clear morning, the Keepers opened the doors one by one and the orphans walked out of their stockades. Sholumai snuck into the little fenced garden where she could tuck into a bounty of untouched branches. This morning, she managed to mostly evade the spotlight by clambering over the fence and making her escape while Kitich, Loldaiga and Muwingu loitered in the foreground. Soon Mushuru led the herd out to the forest and they settled down to browse. As the day became warmer, Loldaiga challenged Mageno to play the pushing game and Kitich followed suit with Choka. The four bulls tussled among the trees as the rest of the herd massaged their bodies or continued to browse.
Little Mokogodo did not keep up with the others this morning. As she toddled along in their wake with a Keeper, Weka and Taroha turned back to check on her. After rumbling quietly and touching her with their trunks, they walked slowly along beside her, keeping the smallest orphan in the Nursery company.
On a sunny afternoon, many of the orphans paddled or wallowed in the mud bath. Latika and Weka rubbed their heads on the sides and then lay relaxing in the muddy pool. Laidback Shujaa somehow managed to play the pushing game with Muridjo while lying on the pile of soil next to the wallow. He rested his rump on the mound as he twisted trunks with his girl friend.
This morning, the Keepers led the orphans out to browse in the bush with Weka in the lead and Sileita bringing up the rear. The mini matriarch was checking that all were present and correct. As Mzinga and Nyambeni investigated a tree stump, Taroha began his morning with a bottoms-up browse followed by a quick chat and de-ticking session with a Keeper. Predictably, Kitich and Loldaiga were soon playing the pushing game and Mukutan and Choka were chasing each other around. Mukuta is the oldest bull in the herd but courageous Choka is quite happy to challenge him.
Later in the morning, Raha, the baby rhino, paid her daily visit to the mud bath. She marched slowly along the rope cordon and lay down on her special pile of soil for a dust bath. Her Keeper shovelled soil all over her as she lay on her back with legs in the air. Soon she returned to the forest and the first group of 10 younger elephants took her place. They gulped down their milk in groups and walked on to the mud bath. Young boys Taroha and Pardamat made a beeline for the pool. They paddled and then played a gentle version of the pushing game in the water. Talek joined in the game as Kerrio and Latika sandwiched little Mokogodo and the others browsed on supplementary lucerne.
Back out in the forest, Talek and Taroha stayed close to mini matriarchs Sileita and Kerrio while Pardamat trailed along behind Muwingu, Sholumai, Mushuru, Mukutan and Loldaiga.
The girls were squabbling over Mokogodo again this morning. Emerging first from her stockade, Muwingu (who is becoming a lovely mini matriarch) headed straight for the little girl’s room. As she stood patiently outside Mokogodo’s door, waiting for a Keeper to open it, Mzinga and Nyambeni ambled over to join her. Naughty Mzinga, who had a better plan, began pushing and pulling at the half door of the stable. (The young girl is known for this behaviour. During the night, she often nudges her own door when she hears someone pushing the wheelbarrow of delicious milk around the stockades and does not stop until she has a bottle in her mouth.) Mokogodo’s Keeper opened the door and Mzinga swept into the stable, scooped up a bunch of the little one’s special soft greens, and whisked Mokogodo out to join the others. Muwingu, Nyambeni and Mzinga then escorted little Mokogodo out to the forest, following along behind the rest of the herd.
The orphans spread out to browse as usual although Muwingu and Kerrio remained close to Taroha, Talek and Mokogodo (the youngest members of the herd) for the whole day. Pardamat is also one of the youngest but he does not particularly like being fussed over by the older females. Today, he spent the morning playing with Shujaa – the older boy was teaching him some wrestling tricks.
Later in the afternoon, the Keepers sent the orphans back to the stockades for the night. As Sholumai padded around the corner in the last group, she ran into a warthog wriggling under the fence and away from Maxwell’s stockade. The skittish girl got such a fright that she ran back into the forest and did not return until dusk.
It was a cool overcast morning and the long grass was soaked with dew. Sileita, Latika and Kerrio led the herd out to the forest as usual and settled down to browse with the younger orphans. Meanwhile, ‘the bachelor boys’ — Mukutan, Kitich, Loldaiga, Mageno and Choka — decided to separate themselves from the rest of the herd and have some fun. Loldaiga stood on his hind legs as he rested his fore legs against a tall tree. He was determined to reach the soft green leaves at the top of the tree. Stretching his trunk high, he twisted off some tasty branches. But before he could return to earth, Choka and Mukutan scooped up the fruits of Loldaiga’s labour and popped them into their own mouths! He repeated the charade a couple of times before giving up and walking over to Kitich. Imitating Loldaiga, the younger bull was also stretching his trunk high and plucking down branches from treetops - but he had back up! When Loldaiga tried to pinch some of Kitich’s spoils, wingman Mageno pushed him away. After lots of tussling over greens, the boys settled down to play. They pushed heads and clinked little tusks and chased each other for much of the morning.
The games continued in the afternoon but with different players. Muridjo, Sholumai, Mushuru, Nyambeni and Pardamat sprinted around in the bush, doing their very best to chase away every impala and baboon they came across. Their prey merely moved a few metres away and went back to grazing whereupon the indignant elephants gave chase again, trumpeting as they charged.
On a hot afternoon, many of the orphans cooled off in the mud bath. Kerrio was the first to wander in and soon the pool was full of wallowing, splashing elephants.
After many days without rain, it poured last night. Some of the orphans tolerate downpours of rain well and others not so well. Weka was the first to begin protesting about the rain and she was soon joined by Mukutan, Talek, Muwingu, and Muridjo. Soon the five trumpeting elephants had woken up all the Keepers and the rest of the herd. Everyone was happy when dawn arrived. The Keepers prepared the milk, fed the orphans and opened the doors. All walked out of their stockades quickly this morning, in particular Weka, Mukutan, Talek, Muwingu and Muridjo. The five ran out and headed straight for the forest.
After a few hours of browsing and playing in the bush, the herd were shepherded down to the mud bath for another milk feed. Shujaa and Nyambeni emptied their bottles and then had a great time playing. They rolled around on the mound of loose soil, scratched their backsides against the rope, chased each other, wrestled and, finally, plunged into the pool for a cool down.
In the afternoon, Mageno and Nyambeni led the orphans back out to the forest. As the others spread out, rather than leading them deeper into the woods or playing with his friends, Mageno did something very out of character. He, with help from Nyambeni, decided to babysit Mokogodo and Talek! Much to the Keepers’ surprise, the growing bull walked over to the babies, touched them both and browsed next to them for quite some time before remembering that he was a big bull and heading back to his friends.
Maxwell was standing by his gate in the early morning. Often, one or two elephants stop to greet the rhino on their way past but not today. With Weka in the lead, the whole herd padded past his gate and on to the forest full of tasty greens and muddy puddles following yesterday’s rain. Max was still standing by his gate when Raha emerged from her bedroom. When the baby rhino walked up the path behind her Keeper, he could smell her scent. As she approached his gate, he sneezed to attract her attention. In response, Raha stopped, stared at the large rhino for one or two minutes, and continued on her way to the bush. Maxwell turned around and settled down to browse on his pile of pellets.
Today was a special day. After spending a few days in his stockade while settling in, Olomunyak met his new family. In the middle of the morning, Kerrio led Nyambeni, Mzinga, Taroha and Muridjo back to the stockades to meet the recently rescued baby boy. Kerrio shepherded him out of his room as the other four waited outside. Olomunyak was given a calm and friendly welcome by the five chosen orphans – they rumbled and trunk touched him before leading the newbie out to join the herd.
Out in the forest, the new boy was welcomed by the rest of the herd. Kerrio did not leave his side for almost the whole day. Sileita and Latika were especially gentle to Olomunyak and spent time standing around him protectively. Intrigued, Mageno tried to push away the girls so he could get close to his new little brother. Olomunyak behaved calmly and quietly — all in all, his first day with his new family was wonderful.
Mokogodo made a new friend today – Olomunyak! The two orphans left the stockades together this morning, walking along slowly in the wake of the herd with a Keeper. Out in the forest, the smallest girl and the newbie settled down to browse, staying close to each other for a long time. In recent days, Taroha — Mokogodo’s original bestie — has been spending time with some of the older orphans rather than sticking to Mokogodo all day. For her part, Mokogodo has been mostly with either the older females or the Keepers. But today she was with her new friend!
Later in the morning, the Keepers sent the orphans down to the mud bath for a milk feed in small groups. Pardamat, Talek and Olomunyak were in the first group. On their way, naughty Pardamat blocked the path, preventing Olomunyak from reaching a Keeper waiting with his bottle of milk. Noticing this behaviour, Mzinga and Nyambeni sprinted down from the top of the slope, overtaking several orphans on their way to Pardamat. The budding mini matriarchs took control – nudging Olomunyak gently on to the mud bath and blocking Pardamat from going one step further until the newbie was with a Keeper. As the orphans spread out around the wallow, Mokogodo and Olomunyak chose to stand next to each other. Moments later, a rather jealous Taroha shoved the new boy away from his best friend and the Keepers had to keep their eyes on two little boys. Apart from the feisty toddler dynamics, all went well for Olomunyak on his second day with the herd.
In the afternoon, Loldaiga wandered a short distance away from the others in the direction of Raha who was leading her Keeper around the forest. Not expecting to come across the small rhino, Loldaiga about turned, trumpeted in alarm and ran back to join the herd, as placid Raha continued on her way, seemingly unperturbed by the large elephant’s behaviour.
The orphans woke up this morning in jovial moods. As Shujaa was doing his stretching-trunk-over-the-door trick, the Keepers let him out first. The young bull headed straight over to greet Maxwell who was standing on the other side of his gate. The elephant extended his trunk through the gaps in the gate and laid it over the rhino’s head. As they stood together, Weka and Sileita ambled over to join them. Three elephants then stood on one side and the blind rhino on the other side - Max stood very still as the orphans stretched their trunks through the gate and draped them over his head.
After Mokogodo, Olomunyak, Talek, Taroha and Pardamat had walked out of their rooms, the whole herd wandered slowly out to the forest. Sileita again lay down, inviting the little ones to play on her as she rolled around on the ground. But they were too busy browsing today to play the game of mounting the mini matriarch and sliding down her back. When big boys Loldaiga, Mukutan, Kitich and Mageno headed over in her direction, Sileita sensibly clambered to her feet and walked away, removing temptation from the bulls.
In the afternoon, Pardamat was in a boisterous mood. Every time, a family of warthogs came close to the herd, he trumpeted loudly and chased around after them. They trotted away, he began browsing, they came back and he did it all over again. Mzinga could not resist joining in the game and soon there were two elephants running around after the nimble pigs. Meanwhile, Kerrio watched on from the sidelines – she was not tempted to join the game but she had their backs, just in case there was a problem.
As usual, Sileita padded out of her stockade this morning and down to the babies’ stables. She stood there patiently waiting for their doors to be open. As a Keeper went from room to room, opening each door, the mini matriarch ushered Talek, Taroha, Mokogodo, Olmunyak and Pardamat out and up the path to join the others. When the herd headed out to browse, she continued to assist the Keepers by walking along at the end of the line and making sure all the babies were there. The lovely girl can be depended upon to look after all the younger orphans. Even at milk feeding time, she stands aside so the little ones can have their bottles first. Sileita leads by example, showing younger orphans like Kerrio, Mzinga, Nyambeni and Muridjo how to be the best of all matriarchs.
In the afternoon at the mud bath, in his role as the oldest bull in the Nursery herd, Mukutan was being assertive. After drinking his milk while holding his bottle expertly with his trunk, he strolled over to Shujaa, Pardamat and Taroha and gave all three younger boys unwarranted shoves. Kind Mageno came to their rescue, pushing Mukutan away and standing protectively next to the boys. Mukutan had to content himself with walking around the mud bath watching Taroha and others rolling around in the muddy water.
At first light this morning, the orphans spread out to browse in the forest. As some stretched up to twist down branches from trees and others twisted up clumps of grass, several clustered around a large fig tree with a hollow in its trunk and enormous roots above the ground. They rubbed their trunks against the bark and chased each other around it, moving away but always coming back to the same tree. Eventually, Choka straddled it with his tusks and trunk and began shaking the tree. As his friends continued to play, a cloud of moths so large they looked like bats flew out of the hollow and away.
Raha was in a grumpy mood this morning. Most days, she plods out of her stable, clad in her cherry-red blanket, and up the path past Maxwell’s gate to the forest. Since her strength and health has improved, she often leads her Keeper, heading off at a brisk pace for a very small rhino. Today, even though it was not raining, Raha did not want to budge. She stood obstinately in the corner of her stable gazing at the wall. Eventually, her Keeper cajoled her out and she walked extremely slowly in the direction of the forest. To make matters worse, when she paused at Max’s gate to greet him (as she occasionally does), the black rhino was not there. On this day of all days, he was still asleep. Raha stood still, refusing again to budge for quite some time. At last, her Keeper’s patience was rewarded – Raha cheered up and walked out to the forest.
The orphans were full of energy this morning. After gathering in the area outside the stockades, they set out to the forest with a spring in their step, except for Mokogodo and Olomunyak who dawdled along at the end of the line. They browsed for a short time and then it was playtime. After his wiggling attempts to woo friends into a playful match did not work, cheeky Kitich tried a more direct approach with Loldaiga, nudging him from behind. The older bull was only too happy to oblige – and the two friends clashed tusks around a tree. Not far away, Choka and Mageno were also playing pushing and chasing games as Muridjo, who loves to do her own thing, cantered around in a clearing.
After a milk feed and as the day became warmer, the orphans ambled further into the forest. Several gathered in an open area with patches of mud and of dry soil. As reserved Kamili stood on the sidelines, Kerrio, Nyambeni and Mzinga paddled in the thick mud and then lay down for a roll around and a barney, pushing up against each other and waving their trunks in excitement. Meanwhile, Kitich and Shujaa were happily hosing themselves with dry soil and bending down to rub their faces against the ground.
This morning, Latika was doing Shujaa’s trick of stretching her trunk over the door. She could sense the presence of several impalas on the edge of the forest and could not wait to get going. A Keeper responded to her twirling trunk and rumbles — he opened the door and she dashed out. Moments later, she led a group of friends out to find the impalas. Trumpeting with excitement, Latika, Muridjo, Sholumai, Loldaiga and Kitich, with Pardamat toddling along behind, chased around after the impalas who merely moved a few paces away and then returned when the little band of elephants turned their backs. And so the game went on! Kamili, Mushuru and Muwingu continued to browse quietly as their noisy friends careered past them.
The herd had a milk feed in the forest today. As two Keepers brought out the wheelbarrow of delicious milk, others organised the orphans into groups, sending the youngest ones down first and finishing up with Sholumai, Mukutan and Loldaiga. Pardamat, Talek, Olomunyak and Mokogodo sprinted down in the first group, gulped their milk, and moved away to allow the next group to take their place. Pardamat made a half-hearted attempt to pinch an extra bottle but was pointed on his way with a stern finger. Now that he has porridge in his bottle, he has become an obedient boy!
When the doors of Taroha’s and Olomunyak’s stables were opened this morning, the two young bulls both headed for little Mokogodo’s stable and waited outside. (Taroha continues to be a kind and protective little bull.) The two boys were joined, minutes later, by a bevy of girls. Kerrio, Mzinga, Nyambeni, Latika, Sileita and Muwingu stood in a cluster outside Mokogodo’s door. When the moment came for the little girl to wander out (oblivious as usual to all the attention), Sileita pulled rank. As the matriarch of the Nursery herd, she would escort Mokogodo to the forest!
In the afternoon at the mud bath, many orphans either went swimming or rolled around on the mound of soil. Mzinga splashed in the wallow and climbed out for a dust bath. She lay on her side next to Mageno with Kitich hovering nearby. They rubbed their bellies and rolled around with trunks waving. Kerrio soon left the pool to join them. As she ambled up to Mzinga, she accidentally put one foot in the water bucket. She greeted her friend while kicking her back foot around in the bucket playfully. Moments later, the bucket toppled over and water spilled out and her foot stayed in. Nonchalantly, she pushed the bucket until it fell over again and rolled away. After a quick trunk twist with Mzinga, Kerrio turned around to play football! She shoved the object with her front legs and kicked it around delightedly with her back legs several times. Watching her antics, Mzinga decided that she wanted a turn. She dipped her trunk in the dented bucket and began pushing it around too!
Mukutan was full of beans this morning. As the oldest and strongest boy, he is arguably the dominant bull although only just — he faces stiff competition from Loldaiga, Choka, Mageno and even Kitich. He bounced out of his stockade, gathered up his four mates, and headed out to the forest. The big boys browsed but only for a short time as fun and games were soon instigated by Choka. Choka nudged Mukutan’s backside several times with his head. After ignoring the first two prods, Mukutan accepted the challenge. He turned around and the contest of strength began. The bulls entwined trunks, pushed heads, chased each other and then one lay down as the other play mounted him. Loldaiga, Mageno, Kitich and tomboy Mushuru soon followed their example. As the boys and girl played, the others either continued to browse or massaged themselves against tree stumps and rocks.
Raha was also full of beans! Out she strode as soon as her Keeper opened her gate and ran ahead of him up the path, doing the odd little skip and making squeaking sounds. Happily, Maxwell was waiting at his gate when Raha walked past. She stopped, stood staring at the large male rhino, made another series of squeaks, and continued on her journey. Max then completed several laps of his enclosure before settling down to graze on his pile of pellets with a couple of warthog friends.
Tomboy Mushuru was behaving out of character today. Rather than browsing with Sholumai or playing pushing games with Mageno and Choka, she was sticking closely to Taroha and Mokogodo. Despite the nearby presence of nannies Sileita, Kerrio, Latika, Muwingu, Nyambeni and Mzinga, Mushuru succeeded in spending an hour with the little ones before they were whisked away by Kerrio. Not only Talek but also newbie Olomunyak were spending the morning close to the Keepers – Talek greeted three of her carers individually but Olomunyak just browsed quietly. He is settling in well but does not yet have the confidence to extend a trunk to his human family.
On a hot afternoon, many elephants cooled off in the mud wallow. Water baby Nyambeni was the first to plunge in, paddling around and then submerging her body in the muddy pool. Mzinga was the next to get wet, followed by Sholumai Mukutan, Kitich, Loldaiga, Kamili, Kerrio, Latika, Muridjo, Shujaa and Pardamat. Kitich is not known for his love of swimming but today he was at his most endearing (and annoying) in the water – climbing on top of backs, kneeling on heads, entwining trunks and generally being mischievous. Kerrio was doing her normal trick of lying near the edge and inviting others to play on her. Not only Kitich but also Mzinga, Nyambeni and Pardamat made the most of the supine mini matriarch today.
Maxwell had a motley crew of visitors today! In the early morning, he shared his breakfast of pellets with not only a family of warthogs but also several baboons and birds. The warthog knelt next to him to nibble on pellets as the baboons picked up handfuls and scampered away. A couple of birds perched on his head as others checked his enormous body for ticks or picked up pellets in their beaks. On some days, the rhino is not in the mood for sharing but today was not one of those days.
Meanwhile, the orphans headed out to the forest as usual. They were in quiet moods this morning, focusing on filling their bellies or scratching themselves against trees. In contrast to most days, no one played pushing or chasing games.
Although she was rescued over two years ago and has spent over half her life in the Nursery, Kamili has remained a shy and reserved girl. With tiny tusks and still folded ears, she often chooses to browse within the orbit of the herd but at a short distance away. In contrast to almost all of the older females in the herd, she rarely looks after the babies, tending to push them away rather than draw them in. This morning at the mud bath, as Kamili was hosing herself with dry soil, little Talek made the mistake of walking into her and was rewarded with a shove!
On a cloudy morning, the orphans padded out of their stables and headed straight to the forest, walking briskly rather than dawdling along. They browsed in small groups, with babies clustered around nannies except for Talek who was spending time with a Keeper and Pardamat who was shadowing the big boys. Muridjo was at her most quirky today. Ears flared and trunk up, she sprinted out from the stockades and began chasing her tail in a clearing, trumpeting in excitement. Her mood was infectious. Minutes later, not only Muridjo but also Shujaa, Muwingu, Nyambeni, Loldaiga and Mzinga were also running all over the place, trumpeting for no reason. The Keepers called their names and whistled soothingly and, eventually, the little gang calmed down. Peace was restored until, ten minutes later, Muridjo and Mzinga came across three warthogs – the temptation was irresistible and off they ran again.
In the afternoon, confident Pardamat paddled around for ages with several older elephants including Loldaiga and Sholumai before clambering out of the mud bath. He toddled over to the mound of soil for a dust bath. Kamili was lying on one side of the mound, rubbing herself all over, as Shujaa lay on his back on the other side.
During the night, it poured with rain. Most of the herd remained calm but not Loldaiga. The big bull kept shouting as he walked up and down his stockade. As the rain continued, he began pushing hard against his door. Realising that Loldaiga was upset, two Keepers went into his room and soothed him with a treat of sugar cane.
The newest member of the herd is settling in well and learning the ropes. This morning, when the orphans padded out of their stables and stockades, everyone except for Olomunyak meandered in the general direction of the forest. But he headed in the opposite direction. He could smell the milk-mixing area and made a beeline for it! Sweet Taroha, who sleeps in the neighbouring stockade, tried to round him up but Olomunyak was a boy on a mission! It took Kerrio and Mushuru to resolve the situation. The mini matriarch and budding nanny found him, draped their trunks along his back, and shepherded him off to join the herd.
In the afternoon, there was a wonderful session at the mud bath. Many wallowed in the water as others rolled around on the pile of earth, playing with friends as they covered their bodies with soil. Shujaa lay on the mound, massaging his trunk against the wet soil with back legs straight and backside in the air, performing an elephant down-dog yoga position, before lying completely still with his trunk almost in his mouth. A soaking wet Latika chucked soil onto her back and dug into the soft ground with her front legs. Nyambeni relaxed on the other side of the mound until Mageno did his best to mount her. She shook him off, pushing him with her head, and marched away. Accepting the inevitable, Mageno hosed himself with soil instead.
As the orphans milled around outside the stockades this morning, the Keepers whistled and ushered them out to the forest. Kamili was in the lead today with Sileita, Mokogodo and Olomunyak ambling along at the end. Everyone was walking in the right direction except for Mushuru and Muwingu – who were playing hide and seek with the Keepers. The two girls greeted Maxwell at his lower gate, then ran off behind the stockades and round the corner to his upper gate. After trying to pinch a few pellets by extending their trunks through the gaps, they ran back to the lower gate. When three Keepers closed in on the mischievous elephants, they did as they were told and strolled out to join the herd.
Out in the field, the orphans browsed and played and browsed some more. Mukutan and Sholumai stretched their trunks up high into trees to expertly twist off tasty branches while Nyambeni and Mzinga played the pushing game and Kerrio massaged her backside against a tree stump.
Later in the morning, Pardamat was misbehaving at the mud bath. Despite being given oats in his milk to fill his tummy, he made a fuss. After gulping his bottle, he ran to the wheelbarrow in the hope of pinching an extra one. Two nannies decided that enough was enough. Bad cop Kerrio shoved him with her head, knocking the naughty boy over, and then good cop Latika extended her trunk and helped him to his feet. Message received loud and clear, a disgruntled boy walked over to browse on greens and behaved beautifully at the next milk feed.
Today, it was Mzinga who sorted out a toddler squabble rather than Kerrio or Sileita. Although she is only two years old, this little girl with the flat ears and big face is learning fast (especially from big sister Kerrio) and has the potential to become a wonderful matriarch. This morning at the mud bath, Taroha and Pardamat were in the first group sent down for their milk feed. Taroha gulped his bottle and demanded another from a Keeper. When this was unsuccessful, he headed for Pardamat who was carefully finishing up every drop of his milk and pushed the little boy away from the bottle. A moment later, Mzinga was standing between the two boys. They shouted their complaints but, when she did not budge, they had no choice but to do as they were told. Taroha walked away and Pardamat finished his milk. When Talek tried the same trick on Mokogodo minutes later, Kerrio stepped in and told off naughty Talek. On this occasion, neither put up any resistance.
On a hot afternoon, many of the orphans paddled or swam in the mud bath while others rolled around on the mound of soil. As many wet muddy elephants stood around the pool or lay on the wet ground like enormous ticks, three remained in the water. Sholumai made a half-hearted attempt to get out of the water and then slid back in on her belly as Latika and Mukutan wallowed with trunks waving. Soon, just one orphan remained in the water - Mukutan continued to wallow contentedly, lying along the edge with half his body submerged.
The big boys were doing their thing again this morning in the forest. Loldaiga, Mageno, Choka and Kitich browsed for just a short time before settling into some serious playing. Loldaiga and Mageno pushed heads, twisted around and clashed again while Choka chased Kitich around, doing his best to mount him. As Loldaiga and Mageno continued their contest, Choka and Kitich rolled around on a patch of dry soil, taking it in turns to clamber on top of each other. Not far away, good buddies Shujaa and Muridjo were playing one of their favourite games – chasing impalas. They lumbered around after the nimble antelopes, having a great time until the impalas ended the game by disappearing into the bush. Shujaa, never one to hide his feelings, then trumpeted in annoyance and several friends came over to check on the noisy boy.
Meanwhile, Mzinga and Nyambeni were running around after some warthogs, inviting them close and then taking a few steps towards them, and then browsing again. To their disappointment, the pigs soon tired of this game! With no urging from the Keepers, all the games magically came to an end as the time for a milk feed approached. Orphans gathered together, hoping they would be in the first group sent down to the wheelbarrow full of bottles of delicious milk.
In the afternoon, several orphans paddled in the mud pool as many enjoyed a dust bath. Sileita and Muwingu sucked up trunkfuls of dry soil and squirted them all over their bodies with Mokogodo standing docilely between them. It was a nanny-sandwich day for the smallest girl in the herd.
As usual, little Raha was the first to visit the mud bath this morning. On some days, she walks slowly around the rope cordon but today she was feeling frisky! Raha started at her normal pace but then broke into a trot, shaking her head and pushing the rope as she jogged along. Lap of honour over, the small rhino lay down on her back for a dust bath on her special mound of soil. Her patient Keeper shovelled soil as the little princess waved her legs in the air before obediently toddling back to the forest as soon as he whistled. Her place was taken by the group of 11 younger orphans who drank their milk in groups of three or four and spread out around the pool.
In the afternoon, the elephants were once again feeling playful. Kerrio and Mzinga were playing on the mud pile next to the wallow – full of excitement, the two friends shook their heads and kicked their legs in the air as they rolled around. When big bull Mukutan tried to climb on the girls as they frolicked, he was seen off by the Keepers. Nearby, Kitich and Mageno splashed around in the pool together while Weka rubbed her face against the edge as her backside sashayed from side to side. When it was time to go, the Keepers whistled and the orphans walked obediently back to the forest. After a final wander, Mokogodo led the herd home for the night. Everyone had a spring in their step, knowing that a cosy bedroom stocked with greens and a bottle of milk was waiting for them.