Two big, old, bull buffalos have taken up residence at the Umani dust bath. It is as if they have decided they are members of the orphan herd! They show up every day and plant themselves on the soft soil piles while the orphans go about their business.
Amali and her friends woke up and headed out to the bushes, with Mwana trying to follow them. Mwana placed her tiny trunk on Amali, seeking her favourite's help to rest her trunk as they walked. However, mischievous Kapei suddenly appeared and disrupted the moment, causing Mwana to scream. This made the whole herd rush to see what had happened to their precious baby.
Amali stopped by the side, waiting for the nannies to help, as she couldn't handle the situation caused by Kapei on her own. When the head girls arrived to help Mwana, Kapei was nowhere to be found. He realised he was in danger of being disciplined and escaped. Murera arrived, full of energy, demanding to know why her baby screamed and who was at fault. It was fortunate that Kapei was not around, as he could have faced consequences from the herd.
Lima Lima then decided to lead a delegation to report to Zongoloni and Ziwa about Kapei's misbehaviour. Everyone was unhappy with him.
Later in the day, the drama was forgotten. Sonje and Mwashoti were seen chasing butterflies but couldn't catch any. They ended up venturing into bushes after missing the butterflies, unable to grab them with their trunks.
Zongoloni returned to the herd accompanied by five large bulls. They were giants that surprised many Keepers due to their size compared to hers. Zongoloni seems to prefer these big-bodied bulls. The bulls turned away when they noticed the Keepers nearby. One bull raised its head, scanning the area to ensure safety. Kiombo and Maktao joined them, but Kiombo found it difficult to get close to Zongoloni as she was surrounded by the giant bulls.
Enkesha trumpeted to call the nannies to join her for a consultation on the safest course of action. She was leery of the big bulls around Mwana, Amali, and Kapei. Mwashoti threw some dust over his head, signalling that he was ready to move out. He followed Sonje towards the hills, but Lima Lima later changed direction after receiving wise advice from Murera and Kiasa. They asked her to lead in front so that other babies would follow and avoid the wild bulls.
As the herd moved towards the hills, they encountered some buffalo blocking their path. Amali and Kiasa stood their ground, defending themselves from the buffaloes. The elephants showed great protectiveness towards their Keepers, who stood behind the elephants for protection. Thanks to the elephants’ defence, the buffalos moved off and everyone was safe.
The early morning was filled with excitement as all the elephants joyfully left their stables, looking forward to the new day. Kapei dropped his bottle after finishing his morning milk, ready to follow Amali, Mwana, and Murera. But Kiasa, being protective of little Mwana, blocked Kapei's way to prevent any rough behaviour. Murera took a moment to scratch herself against a big tree while Enkesha and the other young nannies were taken away by the older nannies. Sonje remained behind to escort Murera back to her baby, but Murera was in no hurry. She knew Mwana was safe with the other girls and would return when she was ready.
Meanwhile, Maktao and Kiombo were playfully pushing each other when suddenly monkeys appeared in the trees above them. The monkeys started screaming, startling Kiombo and causing the play fight to come to an abrupt halt. Kiombo quickly moved towards Quanza for comfort as the monkeys squabbled over fruits.
In the afternoon, the orphans moved to Chyulu for their browse. They encountered Faraja and Ziwa within the bushes, and Ziwa welcomed them to join his group of wild friends. However, the matriarch of the wild herd blocked Ziwa from approaching Sonje and the other orphaned elephants. She is very protective of Ziwa and, we believe, fears that the orphans will kidnap him, Sonje, Quanza, and Lima Lima noticed the block and decided to rejoin their own herd. Together, they walked to where the Keepers were taking a short break.
The orphans, accompanied by the Keepers, crossed to the other side of the hills in search of green pastures, following Sonje and Alamaya. Quanza and Kiombo teamed up to pull down a heavy branch that Sonje was struggling with. However, Enkesha and Kapei grew impatient waiting for the branch to come down. Kapei left, followed by Enkesha, disappointed that they couldn't eat immediately. Sonje wouldn't have allowed them to simply wait and eat without putting in the effort to help bring down the branch.
As they were struggling with the branch, several crane birds flew onto the nearby tree, making noise with their wings. Startled, all the elephants quickly ran away to escape whatever they thought was in the tree. The Keepers calmed them down, calling everyone by name until they regrouped.
It was a cold day, and at the waterhole, none of the babies attempted to get into the mud bath. They tested the water with their trunks before deciding not to swim. They drank water and then moved away to a dust pile, where Lima Lima knelt down to dig up the soil and eat the salty dust.
Zongoloni arrived with Sonje first thing. Mwashoti and Quanza appeared later, slowly coming to join the herd. By this time, the orphan herd had already gone into the Umani Hills, so Mwashoti smelled along the path to find them. Quanza followed behind, trusting him to find the herd. Kiasa heard them approach and went to green them. This surprised Quanza, who ran around as if celebrating finding the babies.
Later, Alamaya appeared from the Chyulu side after a very long time away. The Keepers felt lucky and happy to see their friendly baby coming home for a visit.
At the mud bath, the orphans were joined by four buffaloes who refused to leave. Mwashoti, was not happy with their presence and was determined to chase them, perhaps because he wanted to keep his Keepers safe. He was backed up by Amali and Kiombo, who helped him chase out buffaloes out of sight.
Zongoloni and Mwana had a tough time today. When Mwana tried to go under Zongoloni's belly and nurse from her as she is normally allowed to do, her nanny walked away. Mwana tried again and was allowed for a moment, until Zongoloni walked away again. The Keepers realised that Mwana, who now has teeth, might be hurting Zongoloni while breastfeeding, which is why she was being denied.
Mwana moved to Lima Lima and tried her luck with her. However, Lima Lima did the same as Zongoloni. Mwana eventually gave up and joined Enkesha and Kiasa in a nice patch of mud.
After some mud bathing and rolling in the wet earth, Mwana moved to Murera. Her mother did not object and allowed Mwana to breastfeed, but insisted she have good manners, not pulling too hard as she had done with her nannies. Murera warned her, and Mwana listened, understanding that if she did not behave, she would not be allowed to nurse in such a rough manner.
Some wild warthogs crossed to the mud bath area. When Kapei spotted the tiny pigs, he moved to chase them out. The warthogs, realising they were being followed by Kapei, ran away and hid in their holes. Kapei, unable to see where the warthogs had gone, stopped outside with Maktao. They both blew loud trumpets and charged around the shrubs, trying to scare the warthogs, but none emerged.
The elephants relocated to the other side of the Kibwezi Forest. Everyone wanted to change their food type this morning. A large tortoise found its way to where Lima Lima was browsing with Amali and Kapei. When Kapei spotted the moving tortoise, its body not very visible to the babies under the tall grass, he could hardly believe what he was seeing. Kapei raised his trunk and moved to Lima Lima to pass on the information.
When Lima Lima got the information from Kapei, she moved and kicked the tortoise, treating it like a football she wanted to play with. The tortoise was flipped on its back and made some sounds, its feet facing upwards. This scared Lima Lima, who made a hasty retreat. Even after the tortoise got up and walked away, Kapei and the other orphans did not return to that place.
In the afternoon, the orphans lost direction when they were led astray by wild friends. The wild friends and the nightclubbers were leaving, which confused Kiombo and Maktao. When it was time for the orphans to come back home, the Keepers had to trace them, which took many hours as it was getting late and dark. The Keepers returned with those who were around, leaving Kiombo and Maktao to spend their first night with the nightclubbers and wild friends. However, both boys arrived much later in the night, realising it was dark and they missed their bedrooms.
A big group of buffaloes came along the open fields where the elephants were browsing. The buffaloes appeared from the side opposite to where the orphans were, and none of the orphans noticed them initially. It wasn't until the buffaloes began to lie down on the grass to sleep that Enkesha, who was with Kiasa and Mwashoti, detected their scent.
Mwashoti, being the strong boy among the girls, took on the duty of chasing the buffaloes away. He charged at them, trumpeting loudly, which caused the buffaloes to panic and start retreating into the forest. The elephants kept up the pursuit, blowing trumpets and creating a noise that was unbearable for the buffaloes. Even little Amali joined in the chase, ensuring the buffaloes were driven far away.
Murera and Sonje urged the orphans to keep up the pressure, and with the help of Kiombo and the other boys, they kept the pace until the buffaloes disappeared into the Kibwezi Forest. After successfully chasing away the buffaloes, the orphans returned and browsed along the open grass area. They eventually moved close to the water troughs where Mwana and Zongoloni had gone for a drink. Mwana and Zongoloni then got into the nearby waterhole for a wallow, and they were soon joined by Murera and Sonje.
The arrival of Sonje with her nightclubbers, Mwashoti and Lima LIma, was marked by loud trumpeting as they joined the herd. This trumpeting was their way of announcing their arrival and signalling the other orphans to wait for them. Kiombo and Maktao were the first to walk over and greet Mwashoti and Lima Lima. We assumed there would be no more visitors that day, but then more elephants continued to trumpet, indicating that more arrivals were on the way. Despite being far from the main herd, which had moved through Umani Springs, these newcomers made their way to the herd through the watersprings.
Quanza arrived but was not satisfied until she could see the younger babies, Amali and her little sister, Mwana. She rumbled, which was enough to make the babies run to her. Quanza rushed to meet them, hugging Mwana closely with her trunk.
Today’s midday mud bath was eventful. Six buffaloes had taken over the waterhole and were reluctant to move out when the elephants arrived. Murera, along with Amali and Mwashoti, tried to wake the buffaloes, but they refused to budge. This forced Murera and her friends to come up with new tactics to clear the waterhole for safe swimming.
Alamaya and Makato were the first to show solidarity as the strong boys of the group. They were soon followed by the girls. Together, they started a coordinated effort to drive the buffaloes out of the waterhole. Overwhelmed by the elephants, the six buffaloes left the waterhole, running with their tails up. This cleared the way for the elephants to enjoy a good time swimming and mud bathing.
After the mud bath, the little girls walked to a dust hill and began rolling on top of each other. Amali and Mwana were particularly happy. Later, Sonje and the other head girls went for shade under the bushes while the babies browsed and played around.
The peace was disrupted when Kapei, being a rough boy, pushed down Amali. This did not sit well with Quanza, who was nearby. Quanza felt that he had to pay for his actions and wanted to defend Amali by all means possible. Kapei was forced to run away, joining friends who would accommodate him.
Playful Mwana did not entertain Kapei when he approached and placed his trunk on her back, attempting to play with her. She knew that when Kapei did this, it meant he was trying to mount her. She blocked any attempt with the help of Kiasa and Enkesha, managing to kick Kapei away before things escalated. Mwana rumbled and her nannies guided her away from the boisterous boys.
Some wild elephant friends were heard trumpeting in the bushes far towards the Chyulu side, which caught the attention of Mwashoti and other boys. The Keepers saw Lima Lima also heading towards the trumpeting sounds. When they arrived, they found Ziwa and his team trying to alert the orphans to their presence. Lima Lima guided Ziwa back to the herd, where he was warmly received by long-time friends who had missed him. They eagerly asked him questions about his life away from the group. After a few hours, Ziwa's adopted family came in search of him, and he left with them in a hurry.
Kiombo and Maktao joined Mwashoti and began their pushing games. Mwashoti, acting as their ‘boxing trainer,’ helped Kiombo push back strongly. However, Kiombo couldn't match Maktao's strength — at one point, strong Maktao even overpowered Mwashoti. The game ended unfavourably for Kiombo when Maktao pushed him down. Kiombo screamed for help, and Sonje, who was browsing nearby, rushed to his aid.
Later, the orphans walked to the big waterhole. Sonje led the way, followed by Kiasa. Although some of the herd were reluctant, everyone eventually joined. Mwashoti and Lima Lima initially tried to stay away from the swim, but Zongoloni insisted that all join in the inclusive mud bath.
During the swimming, a crocodile, disturbed by the noise and water-kicking, floated to the surface and attempted to escape. In its rush, the young crocodile stepped on Sonje's back, startling her. She charged back into the water, shaking off the crocodile, which then leaped to the banks of the swimming pool to hide. Once the orphans realised the water was safe, they all walked to the shade under big trees to dry off. Mwana, Amali, and the other nannies enjoyed a dust bath nearby.
Bullying began this morning immediately after Mwashoti arrived into the herd from his night out. He returned with Quanza, and later Sonje joined them. Mwashoti wasted no time and started bullying Maktao, whom he found foraging alone behind the stockades. Mwashoti began by pulling Maktao's tail and trunk, trying to provoke him into a fight. Maktao, ready to defend himself, was overpowered and fell to his hind knees. Mwashoti took advantage and mounted him while he was down.
Luckily, Maktao received support from the other elephants who were concerned about Mwashoti's behaviour. Enkesha and Zongoloni teamed up and charged toward him, trumpeting loudly. Seeing Zongoloni and the young girls coming after him, Mwashoti abandoned Maktao and went into hiding.
The babies then moved to an anthill to play. Mwana found a comfortable spot atop Enkesha, with Kiasa moving around all the nannies on the hill. However, Kapei and Kiombo were not welcomed to join, as their rough playing style was a concern. Murera watched over them, confident that the nannies would protect the baby elephants.
Sonje was the last night clubber to arrive after all the orphans had gathered for the lucerne pellets this morning. She found that the pellets had been eaten by the other orphans, leaving nothing behind. Even the baboons, who were waiting for leftovers, were disappointed as Amali had scooped up all the remaining pellets. Realising there was nothing left to eat, Sonje moved to a full waterhole to drink before heading to another area with more food. Mwashoti followed her into the bushes, while Enkesha and the other nannies followed Murera and the boys.
A tug-of-war started between Kapei and Kiombo when Kapei wanted a stick that was inside Kiombo's mouth. Kapei demanded a part of it, but Kiombo did not relent and forced little Kapei to run for his safety after warning him to leave or face the consequences. Kapei knew that Kiombo meant business and did not wait any longer after the warning.
Amali had a disagreement with Mwana, but they resolved things amicably. Amali agreed to what Mwana wanted, recognizing that she was just a baby. We always say that Amali is very mature for her age.
This morning, the orphans were in a hurry to reach the Kenzili hills area for browsing. Alamaya, a long-time friend who had been away on a safari, returned home today and linked up with his friends. When he walked to where Mwashoti was, there were loud rumbles and trumpeting within the herd, welcoming Alamaya back. Mwashoti tried to push Alamaya, but quickly backed off upon seeing Alamaya’s intimidating tusks. The Keepers can easily identify Alamaya by his missing tail; otherwise, his huge size might make him hard to recognise after long safaris away.
Amali then moved to snatch some little sticks from Kapei and gave them to Mwana. However, Mwana spit them out after testing and finding them unpleasant. She walked back to Sonje to vent her anger and then ended up with Murera, who allowed her to nurse calmly.
The mud bath turned into a mixed browsing and foraging zone for both buffaloes and elephants today. When the orphans arrived for their midday bottle feeding, they found a large number of buffaloes already at the spot. Neither group was ready to leave. After feeding, Kiombo attempted to chase the buffaloes away but found it difficult. Seeing Kiombo struggle, little Amali and Kapei joined the effort. Two buffaloes initially showed signs of leaving but then circled back, creating a merry-go-round scenario where elephants and buffaloes chased each other in circles. The Keepers couldn’t help but laugh as they observed.
Murera, noticing the buffaloes were not ready to leave, blew her trunk loudly to scare them away. Despite her efforts, the buffaloes remained. Eventually, Murera and the others gave up and retreated into the bushes. Later, Maktao snuck back to the larger waterhole and found a big male buffalo rolling in the mud. Determined, he managed to chase the buffalo away, clearing the area for himself and his friends to swim. His loud trumpet call signalled his colleagues to join him. Soon all the orphans arrived, turning the mud bath into a serious swimming session for everyone.
Alamaya skipped the morning visit today, but as the orphans were climbing the Kenzili Hills, he was seen with a wild herd that seemed to be his adopted family. He showed no interest in joining his friends but raised his trunk toward Mwashoti. The Keepers saw this and thought Alamaya might come over, so they welcomed him with lots of treats. Alamaya ate all the pellets given to him but, without showing any appreciation, he left to rejoin his wild herd friends. He passed by the orphans without stopping to say jambo to any of the babies. Later, Mwashoti and Quanza went to chat with him but returned after Alamaya pushed Mwashoti hard with his long tusks. Among the orphans, Alamaya is the only other boy with strong and long tusks, which is a reality check for Mwashoti.
Kiasa and Enkesha walked into the deeper bushes, trying to follow Sonje, who was venturing further. Lima Lima and Amali joined them, but Amali soon realised she was too far from Mwana. Panicked, she rushed back to where Murera and her baby were relaxing under the bushes. They were waiting until the day cooled down, preparing to browse again after the hot afternoon.
Kapei found himself in trouble when he took food from little Mwana. Amali, noticing this, let out a scream to alert the other nannies to help Mwana, who was left without her meal. Realising he was in trouble as the nannies approached, Kapei tried to escape by moving close to where Maktao and Kiombo were playing a pushing game. However, he did not manage to evade Kiasa and Lima Lima, who caught up with him and disciplined him for taking Mwana's food. Mwana relies on the older elephants for guidance and is still learning about the foods elephants eat. Her mother, Murera, didn't panic or intervene, trusting that the other nannies had the situation under control.
At the waterhole, there were no buffaloes today, unlike other days, likely because Amali had pushed them away the other day. This absence allowed the elephants to enjoy their swim without disturbance. Mwana, the little leader, led the others into the waterhole, and they all began to swim happily, having a great time in the water. Sonje got a big surprise when she encountered a turtle. As she was splashing water on her back, she spotted the turtle trying to escape. She started kicking the water and the other orphans followed suit, chasing the poor turtle out of the lovely pool.
Last night was not peaceful inside the stockade. Before midnight, the baboons had a tough time as leopards raided their territory. The baboons made a lot of noise, and the loud commotion around the stockades worried the elephants. Amali, Kapei, Kiasa, and Kiombo rattled their gates to alert the Keepers. Murera was unbothered.
The baboons continued their noise through the morning, and we could hear the leopard calling even after the orphans left their stockades. To keep everyone calm, the Keepers gave them more pellets outside the gate until the forest felt safer. Eventually, they walked the orphans to the Kenzili area, avoiding certain routes that were deemed unsafe due to the disturbances.
All day, Amali seemed scared and unhappy after the night’s events. Sonje and Zongoloni tried to comfort her, giving her peaceful advice and assuring her that things were back to normal.
It was a very good start to the new day when the Keepers spotted Faraja back home. With him was a young male friend who had accompanied him to learn about his home and the orphaned family. The herd happily received Faraja. Kiombo noticed the youthful wild friend who had accompanied Faraja and began to rough him up and ask many questions. Feeling unsafe, the wild bull decided to leave and ran back to the bushes, leaving Faraja behind with Sonje and Zongoloni. Quanza later joined them, and together they headed towards Chyulu.
Kapei tried to follow Faraja, as he was trying his luck to see whether the older bull would allow him to join him in the wild. However, the Keepers were still concerned as they deemed Kapei too young to live in the wild with Faraja. Kapei is very greedy about his milk bottles and would not stay away for long before feeling thirsty. He rejoined Amali and Enkesha, who were preparing to return home after a long day of browsing. The elephants stopped for some evening mud baths, then moved to the water trough to drink clean water. Finally, they headed back home, with the herd now under the leadership of Amali and Mwana from the front.
Many wildlife roamed around today, including large families of wild elephants and buffalo herds. When the orphans saw the big herd of wild elephants and later encountered the buffaloes, Murera hid. Amali, who was on a different side and unable to see Mwana and the other nannies, began looking around to find Murera and her baby. But as they were moving away, they came face to face with the buffaloes. Murera led the Keepers to safety, moving quickly even with her bad leg.
All the elephants later met at the waterhole when the heat became too intense. Kiasa and Enkesha jumped into the water, joined by Mwana, Amali, and later, the rest of the herd. The nannies kept Kapei off to the side, so he couldn’t interrupt the fun swimming mood that Amali and her little sister were enjoying. When Sonje and Quanza arrived, they found the space occupied and had to wait for some time to get their turn to wallow. Kiombo and his great friend Maktao were behaving like enemies, constantly pushing and pulling each other's tails. Quanza intervened to calm them down and prevent a big fight. She called Zongoloni to join her in helping the two boys. Eventually, Kiombo left and Maktao went his own way, stopping the fight as Quanza intended.
In a surprising turn of events, the dust bath buffaloes have now become our orphans’ friends. Since the orphans arrived for their midday dustbathing, the buffaloes have kept to the same schedule. It is now the Keepers' role to ensure a peaceful coexistence between the buffaloes and the elephants. We just keep an eye on them and leave them alone. In turn, the buffaloes also leave us alone.
One of the buffalo leaders, a huge bull, tried to move towards where some elephants were beginning to dust themselves. Kapei decided not to let the buffaloes cross their line and get close to where the nannies, Murera, and baby Mwana were cooling off in the waterhole. The young bull stood firm, which caused the buffalo leader to retreat and run away. Everyone was very proud of Kapei’s bravery.
Enkesha went to her knees, trying to dig and lick the dust for minerals. Kiasa wanted to join her, but Kiombo and Maktao denied her entry. It soon got too hot to be in the sun, so Mwana signalled to everyone that it was time to leave. Amali followed, blowing her trumpet happily, as they all left to find shade to relax under.
Murera walked slowly while her baby was under tight security with the nannies. Murera was relaxed, knowing the nannies were happy with Mwana being with them. After a short walk, Mwana got thirsty and looked for her mother, but found Murera was too far away. Lima Lima and Zongoloni were the only nannies around her. This made Mwana go to Lima Lima to nurse, but nothing came out, forcing her to rush to her mother.
Antelopes and vervet monkeys became playthings for the orphans in the morning. As they approached the gate, ready to leave the stockades, the orphans stretched outside and immediately spotted the antelopes and vervets near the pellets area. None of the babies wanted the antelopes and vervets around their pellets, so the whole herd turned them away. Once the intruders left, the orphans enjoyed their free time. Amali would not stop running after the antelope, as she took her defensive duties very seriously.
While waiting for Amali to return, the nightclubbers, led by Mwashoti, arrived one after another. Sonje and Alamaya were the last to come from behind the stockades. The Keepers suspected that a wild herd followed Alamaya, and indeed, a huge old bull elephant appeared, shaking the bushes around as Alamaya arrived. The bull, a good friend of Alamaya, watched from a distance and left a few minutes later. Alamaya soon followed him. The head girls followed Murera, knowing that she wouldn't let the bull near them.
The day went smoothly until dust bath time, when Quanza disappeared with Kiombo and Maktao. The Keepers were not bothered and let them be, knowing that the boys were testing the waters, seeing if they could join the nightclubbers. However, late at night, Kiombo and Maktao returned to the gate, asking to be allowed in. The Keepers showed them into their bedrooms, where Kiombo and Maktao then demanded their missed bottles. Unfortunately, their bottles had already been enjoyed by other friends in their absence. They learned a lesson that their choices have consequences, and going wild means missing milk.
The day began very chilly as we entered the cold season earlier than expected. Murera and her baby slowly emerged from the stockades, showing that the elephants also felt the cold. Mwana, following her mother's pace, wasn’t walking very fast, but she was warmly welcomed by Amali, Kiasa, and Enkesha when she reached them.
Shortly after, Faraja arrived with Alamaya, signalling to the Keepers that the wild friends might also be nearby. Indeed, within minutes, a wild herd appeared. The Keepers moved aside while the dependent orphans mingled with the visitors. The wild herd didn't leave until Alamaya was ready to go with them, ensuring they left together as they had come.
Murera and the other girls stayed away from the wild herd. Murera nursed Mwana while Amali calmly watched over them. Meanwhile, at the water trough near the mud bath, some of the babies, along with Lima Lima, went to dust themselves. Quanza dug into the soil, where there are lots of nutritious minerals.
This morning, the elephants greeted each other joyfully outside the stockades. Joined by Lima Lima and Mwashoti, the dependent orphans headed to the Umani Springs, where they found two wild bulls swimming. Lima Lima, being the best of the best, was feeling protective of her Keepers and took action. She moved forward to interact with the bulls, keeping them occupied while the Keepers moved further away.
Murera and her baby, together with the usual nannies, then found dozens of buffalos sleeping in the open grass fields. The orphans wisely decided to ignore the buffaloes and everyone passed happily and without incident. All in all, it was a day full of interesting wild interactions!
The day began very calmly, with the orphans relaxed and happy. Sonje and her friends stepped in to help Kapei, who was trying to climb the dust hill while Kiombo was blocking him. Sonje and Kiasa intervened to help Kapei reach the top. With this resolved, everyone turned their attention to browsing, choosing to go the Kenzili way.
Quanza and some others initially wanted to go to the other side of the Kibwezi Forest, but the majority insisted on Kenzili. The decision was made after Lima Lima, Zongoloni, and Quanza reached an agreement. They didn't want to follow blindly, but were influenced by Amali and Mwana's interest in the Kenzili direction.
As they approached the slopes of Kenzili, some noise was heard coming from the hills. The orphans monitored the direction of the noise, trying to identify the source. As it turned out, it was some hadada ibis on top of a tree. The orphans were relaxing under the same tree. The boys quickly got up and ran away from the bushes and shrubs, alarmed by the noise of the hadada ibis. When the birds left the trees, making even more noise, Mwana raised her ears, trying to understand what was happening. Everyone moved together, with Mwana in the centre.
When the orphans returned to the dust hill, they found two buffaloes. One buffalo resisted running away while the other moved off. When Maktao and Kiombo saw the stubborn buffalo, they rushed to it to clear the way. The boys put in effort, and eventually forced him to move aside. Maktao and Kiombo celebrated their victory, having won the standoff.
The mud bath today was peaceful without interruptions from wild friends or buffaloes. The babies stayed with Murera, who watched the big group wallowing and gave them time to finish their swimming before joining them. When the boys left the waterhole, Sonje moved to where Murera and the little babies were waiting for their turn. After the others left, Murera and Sonje entered the waterhole. Murera opened the swimming for them to enjoy, and everyone had room to play in the mud bath.
Later, Faraja, Alamaya, and Mwashoti joined them. After some time, the orphans decided to retreat into the shade as the afternoon turned very hot with a hot breeze from the Chyulu Hills. Amali and Kapei agreed to stay close to each other and did not quarrel.
When it was time for the evening walk back to the stockades, the babies looked tired. The walk took longer as some babies lagged behind. Sonje and Zongoloni, who were looking very moody and quiet, led the group. The Keepers were not too worried about Sonje and Zongoloni, knowing it was normal for girls to have mood swings, especially during pregnancy. Eventually, all the elephants came home, and finally Mwana and Amali could rest after a long day in the hot sun.
Today began very cold and misty. Looking towards the Umani Hill, it was very dark because of the foggy morning, which made the day start slowly. The orphans felt it would be cold all day. However, the Keepers knew that when the day started like today, the afternoon would be hot and sunny. Around the afternoon, it began to warm up. They began to flap their big ears, signalling that they were feeling the heat. Lima Lima and Quanza started looking around to find a waterhole for the babies. Quanza raised her long trunk above her head, and Lima Lima did the same. A few minutes later, the babies began to move, following Lima Lima and Quanza to the nearby waterhole.
The whole herd moved towards the waterhole, leaving no one behind. The Keepers did not follow them, knowing the waterhole was close by and that Lima Lima would bring them back after cooling off. Amali turned back to investigate a unique noise coming from the bushes. It was a male bushbuck making a barking sound that scared her. She returned to where her favourite little sister was standing with Murera and nannies.
Meanwhile, the boys remained boys. Kiombo grabbed Maktao's tail, which caused Maktao to chase Kiombo. Kiombo then turned and faced him for a fight. At first, the Keepers thought it was just play, but then it turned into a real fight. As they pushed and pinned each other to the ground, Faraja intervened and forced the boys to separate.
Hadada ibis flew over and around some trees where the orphans were having some day rest. When the hadada ibis flew and stopped over the trees, both birds were constantly communicating with others. The noise they made while screaming on top of the trees made some of my babies alert, with their ears up, in fear of what the noise was about. Things got worse when two hornbills arrived at another fig tree, making their own noises. This made the orphans flee, as they felt unsafe under the tree due to the continuous bird noises. Amali could not believe her ears when the birds kept making such noise. This led them to run away and change direction towards the Chyulu area, where they felt safer than staying in the deep forest full of noisy birds.
The Chyulu Hills was the place to be for the elephants after moving away from the Kibwezi Forest, which was dominated by noisy birds. After broader consultation with the head girls and receiving permission to relocate, the little nannies also did their job to convince Mwana. Then, all moved as one to their new location.
Kiombo pulled down a big branch while balancing on a rock. By bad luck, he lost balance on the rock, tumbled over, and didn’t even get the branch. Maktao came over, mocking him as good friends do. Kiombo felt that Maktao dishonoured him, so he repaid him by grabbing his tail as a warning that his behaviour was not nice.
Today, the orphans were visited by a wild bull friend who was hanging around with Kiasa. Kiasa wanted to prove to the other orphans that she was attractive to bulls, even though she is still very young. She aimed to demonstrate to the other little girls that she could win the hearts of the young bulls, just like Lima Lima did when she was younger. So, it was not strange seeing Kiasa today with such a huge bull next to her.
Kiasa was also opening the Keepers' eyes to be ready for more unexpected guests. After some hours, a large number of wild elephants arrived and joined the orphans, and they all began browsing together as one team. When it was time to come home in the evening, the bull left. However, the large wild herd mixed with the orphans, causing confusion as the orphans were getting ready to walk back home. The Keepers could not see Lima Lima, Zongoloni, Quanza, Sonje, Mwashoti, little Amali, and Kapei amidst all the wild elephants. Murera, who always stays out of the way of wild elephants, was ready to start walking home, along with Enkesha and Mwana. The orphans arrived at the stockades without Lima Lima, Zongoloni, Sonje, Amali, and Kapei.
We were very hopeful they would bring Amali and Kapei back for their bottles, but unfortunately, Amali and Kapei did not return home. They were taken away by the head girls, who were supposed to bring them home but decided to go with the wild herd instead. Some two hours later, Amali was brought home by Sonje and Quanza, but Kapei remained absent. He spent the night out with Lima Lima and Mwashoti, which was a very significant event in Umani, as he is young to be spending nights away from the stockades.
We doubt that Kapei will repeat this exercise any time soon. Throughout the night, the Keepers could hear him complaining in the bushes with Lima Lima and Mwashoti, but he could not make it home until dawn the following morning.
Today, very early in the morning, as our normal duties began at six, all the babies came out and moved directly to the elephant loading ramp. Some orphans took part in scratching against the wall, while others were busy eating pellets. The Keepers were approaching the elephants when one Keeper spotted a wild herd by the fence line coming to join the babies.
As soon as the wild herd arrived with their babies, Murera sensed their presence and started to move aside, giving space to avoid being caught in any potential running if the wild herd began chasing the orphans. The wild elephants joined the orphans, and both groups happily ate pellets together. This made the Keepers realise that even the wild herd recognized the pellets and came knowing they were given to the orphans.
However, the wild herd ended up chasing the orphans away, leaving the pellets for themselves. Murera, anticipating this, had moved away early, knowing she would be targeted because of her walking style due to her injured hip. The other orphans also left like her. It was amusing when the wild herd realised the Keepers were watching them; they too ran away, leaving the pellets on the ground, uneaten. None of the orphans returned to follow the wild herd.
Eventually, the orphans moved to the Chyulu Hills side, where the Keepers and Murera guided them to the top of the hills for morning and midday browsing before reporting for the midday bottles. Later, Mwana and Amali led everyone into the swimming pool as the day turned too hot. While inside the waterhole, Kapei and Mwashoti took turns jumping on top of each other. However, Kapei got a taste of his own medicine when Mwashoti mounted on top of him. Unable to bear Mwashoti's weight, Kapei screamed, which alarmed the herd. This prompted the big girls to come and help Kapei by pushing Mwashoti aside, relieving Kapei from carrying the heavy load that he could not manage.