Our mercurial girl, Kamok, began the month with a warning. She does not like babies and makes no effort to hide it — in fact, she broadcasts her aversion by taking every opportunity to push babies. This has earned her a rather unsavoury reputation among the ex-orphan mums and nannies. Kamok discovered this the hard way when she sauntered too close to Ithumbah’s three-month-old baby, Iman. The protective mother snapped into action and whipped Kamok with her trunk, warning her that any funny business wouldn’t be tolerated. 

The month was dominated by Mapia and Jotto’s ongoing quest to establish dominance. At six years old, both boys are becoming very aware of bull hierarchy — and each is eager to claim their place! At the moment, they are evenly matched, but the Keepers bet that Jotto will ultimately emerge as the winner. Mapia has a thick-set body and is stronger, but Jotto is wily and determined. 

It has been nearly two decades since our Ithumba Reintegration Unit was established, and in that time, we have become very familiar with certain wild elephants. One of our favourite families is led by ‘Queen,’ a regal female who is very respected by the ex-orphans. She often visits the stockades with her grown daughter, adolescent son, infant daughter, and granddaughter. One morning, Mteto had the great privilege of spending time with the two babies in Queen’s family.

Poor Kithaka is still recovering from his bad leg injury. We have no idea how he got such a sprain, but the vet suspects he got pushed or took a bad fall. The good news is that he is positively responding to treatment, although he still has a long healing journey ahead of him. However, he is proving to be an excellent patient and seems to be enjoying his sojourn at home. Sometimes, when his friends try to enter his big stockade, he even shuts the gate in their face — no doubt because he doesn’t want to share his hearty stash of lucerne! 

9th October was a very exciting day. Just after the dependent orphans left the compound, Wendi arrived with a tiny baby girl, who we named Wimbi. We can hardly believe that the orphan we rescued 20 years ago is now a mother to three daughters. Wendi has always been a hopeless troublemaker, and motherhood hasn’t exactly cured her of her old ways. Luckily, her eldest child, Wiva, is very diligent. On several occasions, the Keepers witnessed Wiva looking after Wema and Wimbi while Wendi was busy antagonising the other orphans.

Ex-orphans Mutara and Wendi are like oil and water — Mutara is peace-loving and calm, while Wendi delights in chaos. It is very interesting to see how Mutara’s herd gives Wendi a wide berth. When they see her on the horizon, they suddenly make themselves scarce. They clearly know that where Wendi goes, trouble follows.

Five-year-old Nusu, ex-orphan Nasalot’s firstborn, is becoming another controversial figure at Ithumba. He loves to antagonise other elephants and is always at loggerheads with many of the orphans, particularly Enkikwe, Mundusi, and Rapa. His little brother Noah, on the other hand, is so cheerful and friendly to everyone. 

The main event of the month fell on 29th October. The morning began as usual, with some ex-orphans and wild bulls joining the orphans for lucerne and water. All of the sudden, there was a commotion and the wild elephants scattered — giving us a full view of a newborn baby who had just been born to ex-orphan Melia. 

Poor Melia got such a fright when her son dropped to the ground that she ran away. Kitirua, Olare, Kinna, Wiva, Loijuk, and Wild One walked over to see the new baby. Melia just stood there helplessly, not quite sure what to do next, so Loijuk stepped in. She helped the baby to his feet and guided him over to Melia’s side. From there, Olare, Kitirua and Sities took over and stayed with Melia to make sure that the baby was safe. It was wonderful to see how Melia’s friends rallied around her. We named her baby Milo.

As the day wore on, Melia became more comfortable with her new role. The next morning, dependent orphans Malkia, Mteto, Maramoja, and Esampu got to interact with baby Milo. Melia gave them the opportunity as she was busy feeding on the lucerne supplements. Maramoja felt happy when Milo attempted to nurse from her and even propped her leg forward, just as mothers do to lower themselves so their babies can feed. These girls are fast learners and will make excellent mothers in the future.

Unfortunately, the drought continues to hold Tsavo in its grips. As we begin another month, we look hopefully towards the heavens, willing rain to fall.