We believe that Naleku is a matriarch-in-the-making. Only time will tell, but she exhibits all the qualities that make a great leader. After she has shepherded the orphans to a browsing spot, she and Larro like to check that the whole herd is there. They are particularly diligent about making sure that the slower walkers, such as Bondeni, Kindani, Kinyei, and Olorien, have found their way. Only once Larro and Naleku have accounted for everyone do they settle down to browse. 

Even though she is still very young, Larro is an excellent matriarch of the Nursery. Shukuru is much older, but she shows no inclination to be the leader and happily defers to Larro. Both girls have so much respect for each other, despite their age differences. This creates a lovely dynamic across the Nursery herd. While Mukkoka has his moments of bullishness, he is also a wonderful counterpart to Larro and helps her keep order among the orphans. 

Naboishu and Bondeni have emerged as two of our biggest troublemakers during the afternoon mud bath. Most days, Naboishu mischievously mock charges the visitors behind the rope cordon. While this results in him being exiled for the remainder of the mud bath, he never tires of this pastime — much to the exasperation of the Keepers! Bondeni has some tricks of his own, designed to maximize the attention he receives during the public visit. One of his favourite moves is to charge up and down the cordoned area, intentionally bumping people as he goes and basking in all the admiration. 

Olorien and Kindani can be rather volatile. One moment, they are incredibly sweet and caring; the next, they bully their friends for no reason. Unsurprisingly, they often butt heads with each other. During a midday browsing session, they began to quarrel over what must have been a very special branch. Neither was interested in sharing it or leaving it for the other to enjoy. They kept biting their end of the branch and pulling against each other, creating a tug-of-war match. This carried on for several minutes, until they both seemed to get tired. Kindani noticed that Olorien had let down her guard and quickly tugged at the branch, which caused Olorien to fall forward and release her end. As Olorien tried to get up, Kindani ran off with the branch, clearly very chuffed with herself. In the moment, these incidents feel like a big deal to the orphans, but they are soon forgotten.

Rama is doing so well, and the Keepers are so proud of his growth in confidence. He has even been wrestling with Naboishu and Mukkoka, which he enjoys enormously. He stands his ground against naughty orphans such as Olorien, and she seems to now know that she cannot push her luck with him anymore. 

Roho and Kinyei are good friends. He seems to understand that Kinyei is younger and smaller than him, so he is always gentle with her and doesn’t push her like he does with the stronger bulls. He has also become very close with Esoit, and they now spend most of their time together. While they love energetic bouts of play, they also gravitate towards Shukuru’s peaceful presence. One day, Roho and Esoit settled on either side of Shukuru to browse and helped themselves to greens directly from her mouth. Sweet Shukuru, who never takes issue with anyone, was more than happy to share. The Keepers often wonder if all this attention has helped to improve Shukuru’s health. 

Overall, Maxwell had a wonderful September, filled with plenty of lovely interactions with his elephant friends. Early in the month, however, he woke up in a towering mood. He was stomping around his stockade and kicking up his back feet, all signs that he was marking his territory. As he sensed the orphans and Keepers heading out towards the forest, he became even more upset and charged the wall that separated his top stockade from the bottom one. Maxwell can have his mood swings, but this was on a whole other level. The Keepers wondered if an unseen animal in the forest — perhaps even a wild rhino — had agitated him. They eventually managed to calm Max down by giving him some of his favourite greens and lucerne pellets. After enjoying a feast, he took a morning nap and woke up in a much better mood. 

We had a very funny incident mid-month, which perfectly illustrates the oft-chaotic nature of baby elephants. Soon after emerging from their bedrooms, Bondeni joined Naboishu in trumpeting at a group of warthogs. The bulls sent the frightened warthogs running towards the forest, where they disturbed a herd of impala. The impala scattered in the direction of Naboishu and Bondeni, who made a hasty U-turn and let off a chorus of alarmed yells. They caused such a commotion that Mukkoka and Larro came running over help, which in turn caused the entire herd to panic. One thing is for sure: No day is dull when baby elephants are involved!

Dry seasons are challenging for all creatures, but especially for elephants. We rescued two calves this month, and while their stories remain to be told, we are hopeful that they will make full recoveries from the circumstances that left them orphaned. On the 31st of August, we received a new rescue from West Pokot. We named her Kerrio, after her rescue location close to the Kerio Valley. She arrived with severe mobility issues but made a marked recovery over the course of the month. By the end of September, Kerrio was fit enough to join the rest of the herd on short excursions into the forest.