The northern sector of Tsavo East received rain early this year, which was a welcome surprise. and November began with a steady drizzle.
As the dry season reached its peak, the past few months had been very busy around Ithumba, with well over 100 ex-orphans and wild elephants congregating at the stockade water troughs on any given day. The moment the rains arrived, however, all visitors evaporated, off to enjoy the fresh bounty of greens found further afield.
The fewer ex-orphans and wild elephants there were in the morning, the happier the orphans seemed. We can understand why: Elephant society is based on respect, and the presence of so many older elephants put our orphans at the bottom of the proverbial totem pole. Enjoying having full run of the place, the orphans began savouring their breakfasts, lingering longer and longer before venturing out into the bush.
With that said, we welcomed a steady trickle of ex-orphan visitors and their children throughout the month. These included Chaimu, Chapa, Enkikwe, Galla, Kinna, Kaia, Kama, Karisa, Kitirua, Lualeni, Makena, Malima, Malkia, Maramoja, Mulika, Moe, Mkuu, Mwende, Mala, Mteto, Mulika, Mundusi, Nabulu, Namalok, Narok, Nasalot, Noah, Nusu, Neshashi, Olsekki, Oltaiyoni, Pare, Sapalan, Sunyei, Saba, Siku, Tumaren, Tembo, Tusuja, Vuria, Wendi, Wiva, Wema, Wendi, Wiva, Wimbi, Yatta, Yogi, Yoyo, Yetu, Yebu, and Zurura.
Two orphans always welcome the arrival of wild visitors. We are, of course, referring to our social butterflies, Vaarti and Mayan. These friendly boys hero-worship older bulls and relish any opportunity to hang out with them.
At five years old, Bondeni is starting to grow up — but at heart, he remains the same old mischievous, spoiled baby boy! He is a notorious noise-maker and starts shouting when he hears the Keepers preparing the morning milk bottles, often rousing the other orphans from their peaceful slumber. All affection for his long-suffering sisters, Kindani and Kinyei, is forgotten when bottles are in the picture: He shoves the girls out of the way and then takes his time to savour every sip of milk, reminding us why he has earned the nickname ‘slow drinker.’
The dependent orphans and the ex-orphans’ wild-born babies have a (mostly) good-natured rivalry. One afternoon, Lodo ran into trouble with Nasalot's youngest, Noah, when he accidentally bumped into him. Noah believed that Lodo had pushed him intentionally and prepared for war. Lodo was not ready for a fight and surrendered, but Roho was not going to give up so easily. Eager to defend his friend’s honour, Roho walked behind Noah and pulled his tail. Noah screamed as he ran toward his mother, while Roho ran away and quietly celebrated his victory.
We had a worrying development on 6th November: That morning, Chaimu arrived at the stockades — but we were dismayed to see that her baby, Chapa, was not with her. Chaimu showed no signs of agitation, so we hoped he was just in the care of his usual nannies, Naseku, Roi, and Malkia. They showed up later, but Chapa was still not with them. The Keepers spread out in the bush and began searching for the missing baby. Despite an extensive search, Chapa was not found. That evening, it rained, and all the ex-orphans — including Chaimu — disappeared. We did not see her for the rest of the month, making it difficult for us to get any news about Chapa.
Two days later, Lualeni arrived at the stockades without her daughters, Lulu and Lexi. She seemed relaxed as she fed on lucerne and then joined the orphans out in the browsing field. Lualeni’s daughters are older — Lulu is six and Lexi is nearly three — so we are less concerned about their absence; it is common for elephants to share nannying duties among friends.
Sururoi and Naleku are two of our keenest wannabe nannies, but the dependent girls instinctively know which mothers would be receptive to their help. When the notoriously mercurial Wendi visits, they don’t even try to approach her youngest, Wimbi. They similarly give Mulika and her newborn, Moe, a wide berth — while not as unpredictable as Wendi, Mulika is a no-nonsense elephant and would not welcome two tagalong girls!
Olorien is a serious young elephant, known for her fiery temper when the occasion demands it. One afternoon, a big rainstorm left the ground slick and treacherous. The orphans walked carefully to avoid a tumble, but Olorien wasn't so lucky as she slipped and fell. She felt embarrassed but composed herself and stood up.
After months of dry conditions, the elephants are relishing every raindrop. One evening, the clouds gathered and it started raining heavily. Kuishi, Esoit, Mukkoka, and Larro dodged the Keepers and headed towards the Imenti area. Some Keepers took the eleven present orphans back to the stockade compound, while others tried to wrangle the truants. They were mostly concerned about Esoit, who is too young to sleep outside the stockades. Shortly before seven o'clock in the evening, the four orphans were located and frogmarched back to the compound.
By month’s end, everything was lush out in the bush — but, the grass is always greener! Despite the abundance of food at their feet, the babies seemed more restless than usual. They kept walking long distances, as if believing there was a better bounty ahead.