Rokka and Manda have now spent the better part of a year in Voi, after graduating here in February. Both have found their place among the herd, although the old friends remain very close to one another.
The elephants were very peaceful in their stockades in the early morning. Most stood around with their friends while, watched closely by Emoli, Ngilai knelt down to dig his sharp tusks into the ground. We opened the doors and the orphans padded down the path to the feeding area. Keeping an eye on her adopted baby as they browsed on lucerne, Tagwa stood so close to Juni that her head was behind Juni’s ear. Godoma browsed with her favourite baby, Baraka, while Mbegu was with Rokka, Dabida and Busara. Rokka and Dabida were competing for the matriarch’s attention, pushing each other away in turn while both allowing Busara to remain.
After spending the morning searching for browse on a dry Msinga Hill, the orphans sprinted down to the milk feeding area in the afternoon. As there was no mud bathing due to the cloudy weather, the peace was broken only by Ngilai and Lasayen sparring against each other. Rorogoi – an ex-orphan who returned to the dependent herd at the beginning of last month – stood quietly with Tamiyoi under the shade of the baobab tree.
On a wonderful morning at the Voi stockades, the orphans charged down the path for their morning milk feed and gathered around the pile of supplementary lucerne. Kilulu, Lemeki and Tamiyoi clustered around Lasayen, kissing the older bull and trundling along behind him all over the terraces. Mbegu massaged her backside against the famous rock – when Kilulu joined her, she wandered over to the water trough.
Led by Tagwa, Juni, Manda and Rokka, the herd set out from the stockades for their daily browsing adventures. They spread out, searching over the dry terrain of the hill for green browse. The afternoon milk feeding was followed by a brief mud bathing session. Itinyi splashed around in the middle of the muddy pool while Epiya, Juni and Ashanti paddled along the edges. Afterwards, the herd rolled around on the pile of earth, covering themselves with beautiful red ochre.
After filling their bellies with range cubes and lucerne, the herd headed out in single file to the browsing grounds led by Tamiyoi and Rokka. After browsing for several hours in small groups, Emoli and Hildana played the pushing game. The older bull, in the role of teacher, was gentle with his young friend (who was delighted by the attention). Ngilai and Ndotto clashed heads in a tough wrestling match before catching up with the herd as they moved towards the water hole.
We sent Thamana and Losoito down for the afternoon milk feed in the first group. As Thamana sprinted off in the lead towards the vehicle filled with bottles of milk, Losoito brought up the rear, trumpeted repeatedly in a warning to the others not to drink her milk! While the others wallowed in the mud bath, Ndotto – ever a reluctant swimmer - stood happily in the shade of a large Commiphora tree. As the sun dipped in the sky, we whistled - and the herd ambled back to the safety of the stockades for the night.
As some of the herd rolled around on the pile of dry soil and others scooped up pellets from the feeding trough,
Lasayen and Ngilai enjoyed an early morning wrestling match, pushing each other all over the terraces. Lemeki, Losoito and Tagwa led the way out to the browsing fields followed by Godoma and Tamiyoi with Ndotto and Murit bringing up the rear. The orphans spread out over the side of Msinga Hill to browse.
After another milk feed in the afternoon, the orphans drank from the water trough and played in and around the mud wallow. Kilulu, Kenderi and Rokka paddled while spraying trunkfuls of water along their backs as Lemeki trunk touched a Keeper affectionately. Seri relaxed in a cool wet puddle next to the pool and Ushindi found a small hole that was perfect for soil bathing. Tagwa, Tamiyoi and Godoma massaged their big bottoms against the baobab tree. As usual, the herd soon headed back out to the bush and ambled back to the stockades in a long line flanked by their Keepers.
We opened their doors soon after dawn and groups of excited orphans sprinted down the path, gulped down bottles of milk and strolled on to the feeding trough and lucerne area. Feisty Epiya emptied her bottles in seconds and tried (unsuccessfully) to grab Busara’s bottle. When a Keeper intervened, she flounced away with trunk aloft.
After filling their bellies, the orphans wandered out to browse over Msinga Hill. Former-now-current orphan Rorogoi led Emoli away from the others, as if tempted to return to the wild with her friend. An hour later, the two elephants padded back to join the herd as they ambled along in groups, plucking up pieces of browse.
The afternoon was remarkable because Ndotto had a mud bath! As the sun was shining, almost the whole herd clambered into the water while Ndotto continued to drink from the water trough. Some rubbed their bodies along the edge as others wallowed in the middle, flapping their ears and twirling their trunks. Moments later, Ndotto climbed slowly into the water and lay down. Excited to see the older bull, Itinyi showed off by sliding in and out of the water on his haunches.
The dependent orphans emerged from their stockades for the morning milk, pellet and lucerne feed. They played all over the terraces before leaving for another day of exploring the bush. After browsing for a time, Thamana, Ngilai and Lasayen played the pushing game. In between clashing heads and twisting around, they chased each other over the hill.
In the afternoon, we gathered the herd and sent them down in groups for a milk feed. The younger ones went first followed by the older milk-dependent elephants and then Murit, Rorogoi, Mbegu, Ndotto, Lasayen and Ngilai (who have been weaned off milk). Mud bathing was followed by dust bathing. Rokka, Manda and Epiya rolled around on the mound of dry soil. As Ushindi lay relaxing, naughty Hildana clambered on top of her. She stood up quickly and shoved the young bull away. Meanwhile, Mbegu, Pika Pika, Godoma, and Dabida scratched their bodies against the baobab and creamy peacock trees.
At first light, the orphans emerged from their stockades and ran down the path to the terrace area. Ashanti, Hildana, Dabida, Epiya, Pika Pika, Tamiyoi and Godoma stood side by side to gulp down their milk and then lined up at the pellet trough where they were soon joined up by their friends. The last to meander out of his room, Lasayen jogged down the path to join the herd.
Rokka, followed by Tagwa, Tamiyoi and Emoli, led the herd out for their daily browsing adventures. Pika Pika and Kenderi played in the erosion gulley, digging into the ground with their growing tusks, while Mbegu, Busara and Juni stood quietly in the shade of a tree.
In the afternoon, the orphans wallowed in the mud bath and rolled around on the mound of dry soil. Tamiyoi, Rorogoi and Murit rubbed their backsides against the baobab tree in turns before joining their friends for a dust bath. After squirting soil all over herself, Lemeki challenged Itinyi to a contest of strength. When Losoito saw her adopted mother sparring with the bull, she padded over to see if Lemeki was in trouble. Taking advantage of the situation, Itinyi climbed onto Losoito’s back. Trumpeting, Lemeki chased him away - and Losoito and Lemeki walked off together to browse.
The dependent orphans played games after the morning milk feed and range cubes session. With Baraka standing patiently next to her waiting his turn, Godoma massaged herself against the famous rock. Itinyi kept challenging Manda to spar with him. At first Manda turned his back but, eventually, he gave in and the two bulls clashed heads and tiny tusks. Kilulu obligingly lay on the ground and invited Ashanti and Epiya to play on him. The two girls climbed on top of their friend, leaning on front legs and waving trunks.
The herd spent the morning browsing over Msinga Hill. The older elephants walked all the way to the top in search of green browse as the younger ones remained near the bottom with Mbegu and Godoma. After browsing for hours, Lemeki rubbed herself against a large boulder and then played the pushing game with Hildana.
When the orphans visited the baobab tree mud wallow in the afternoon, they found a wild bull in the water. The teenager climbed out and several members of the dependent herd took his place. Mbegu, Ndotto and Lasayen then sparred with the wild bull — the four elephants played together for a long time. As the herd gathered in preparation for leaving, a herd of wild elephants wandered in to take their place. Kilulu had the confidence to hang back so he could welcome them to the water trough.
On a wonderful calm morning, most of the herd lined up at the feeding trough while Mbegu stood tall as she drank from the water trough and Godoma, Tamiyoi and Tagwa enjoyed a soothing dust bath. Tamiyoi posed next to the famous rock as Emoli took on both Thamana and Itinyi in pushing games.
The sun shone bright as the orphaned elephants under the leadership of Ndotto and Murit browsed all over Msinga Hill. The younger ones kept their heads down while the older ones reached up high to pull down tasty branches from acacia trees.
In the afternoon, the herd returned to the stockades for the milk feed and mud bath. Kilulu rolled around in the water hole while Ngilai stood behind him making large splashes and an excited Akina kept kicking the muddy water with her front feet. Tamiyoi squatted on the terrace wall, resting on her haunches while somehow lifting up her hind legs. Rorogoi scratched herself against the twin trees – when she ambled away, Mbegu took her place. The rest of the browsing day was good and peaceful.
The elephants spread out as usual in the area in the front of the stockades, either lining up at the trough or around the pile of lucerne. A laidback Mbegu scooped up range cubes while leaning against the water trough. Noticing that Ashanti was struggling to bend over to eat cubes with her mouth (as her trunk is too short), the matriarch remained close to the little girl, ensuring that the rest of the herd left her in peace.
Led by Pika Pika, the herd headed out to spend the morning browsing over Msinga Hill. Towards noon, Itinyi and Kenderi played a wrestling match. When little Losoito ambled over to watch the young bulls, Itinyi brought the game to an end so he could play mount Losoito. Seconds later, Lemeki and Rokka saw him off and gathered around Losoito protectively.
In the afternoon, we sent the milk-dependent orphans down the hill in small groups. They emptied their bottles, thought about trying to pinch an extra one from the pick-up, and trundled on to the baobab tree mud wallow. Here they encountered a herd of wild elephants and mingled with them around the water trough. Before leaving the area, a wild female had to rescue her baby from Emoli and Thamana who had shepherded the little girl a few metres away from the cluster of elephants.
The orphans spread out over the terraces this morning after enjoying another milk feed, range cubes and lucerne. All stood quietly in small groups except for Epiya who rolled around playfully on a dusty patch of ground, waving her stout legs in the air. Itinyi insisted on lying on her stomach, pinning her down and spoiling her fun. Trumpeting in annoyance, Epiya wriggled out from underneath him, clambered to her feet, walked a few steps and sprinted away – she was not in the mood for being mounted by Itinyi!
The herd soon headed out to spend the morning browsing happily over Msinga Hill. As the day became hotter, many took shelter in the shade of trees. Godoma, Baraka and Akina gathered under a large baobab - and Murit and Ngilai under another tree.
In the afternoon, the orphans ambled down as usual to the mud wallow. Juni and Itinyi massaged their rumps against the boulders next to the creamy peacock tree while Lemeki and Thamana lay relaxing on the mound of soft red earth. Lasayen splashed around in the water, stretching out his trunk to Ndotto in an (unsuccessful) attempt to persuade his friend to join him in the pool. Ndotto remained on the edge, flapping his large ears to keep himself cool.
After the morning milk feed, the dependent orphans hung around in front of the stockades, playing and bonding before moving out for their daily bush walk. Best friends Lasayen and Murit tested each other’s strength while Thamana trunk touched Lemeki. Standing contentedly between her old friend and new baby, Lemeki trunk hugged Thamana first and then little Losoito.
The herd set out to explore the bush, shepherded by several Keepers. After browsing for two hours, Hildana, Kilulu and Kenderi played a wonderful wrestling match. Itinyi chased after Losoito who cleverly found refuge with Mbegu. Lemeki sprawled on the soft grass, inviting her friends to play on her. To her surprise, everyone was too busy browsing and so she lay there on her own, twirling her trunk.
It was so hot in the afternoon that even Ndotto plunged into the mud bath. Some of the orphans rubbed up against each other in the middle while others rubbed their faces and trunks along the edge. Godoma squatted on her haunches with Baraka and Manda paddling next to her. After the mud bath, Mbegu and Pika Pika stood guard around Busara as she played in a small hole, before catching up with the herd as they ambled back out to browse.
The orphaned elephants ran out of their stockades when the gates were swung open this morning. They drank their milk in groups and waited patiently while the Keepers filled up the trough with range cubes. When naughty Pika Pika tried to chase Dabida away from the trough, Mbegu immediately intervened – she stood between the two elephants, preventing the greedy girl from pushing the smaller boy. The matriarch also made sure that Ashanti was left in peace to eat lots of pellets using just her mouth rather than her damaged trunk.
After browsing over Msinga Hill during the morning, the herd visited the mud bath in the afternoon. Many cooled off in the muddy water on another sunny day. Pika Pika and Thamana slapped the water with their trunks while standing next to the submerged bodies of Ashanti and Kenderi. An excited Ushindi remained in the water, charging around and kicking water with her front feet when the others clambered out for a dust bath. Her boisterous playing attracted the attention of Itinyi, Kenderi and Busara who got back into the water. Itinyi and Ushindi happily made enormous splashes while Kenderi and Busara rubbed their faces on the edge. Eventually, the four elephants climbed out of the pool and jogged off to catch up with the herd.
After the morning milk feed, the herd ate range cubes and lucerne and then settled down to play. As Manda and Itinyi stood with trunks draped on each other, Lemeki strolled over to join them. She challenged Itinyi to spar with her while pulling Manda’s tail to send him away. Lemeki and Itinyi played the pushing game and Manda walked away to find another friend. Losoito, meanwhile, was lying on the mound of red soil and Thamana was spraying himself with dust as he stood behind her. When Lemeki noticed Losoito, she broke off the game and walked over to look after her little sister.
In the afternoon, Thamana led the herd into the mud bath. He drank his milk, padded down the hill and headed straight for the pool, not even stopping off to drink from the water trough. He plunged in and his friends followed. As several wallowed, Itinyi and Ushindi played a water sparring match, tumbling around together in the mud. Kilulu, Seri and Hildana massaged their bottoms against the boulders next to the pool before joining their friends for a herd dust bath. Some lay down as others hosed themselves. In the early evening, we led an especially red ochre-covered herd of elephants back to the stockades for the night.
After squashing up at the trough to eat range cubes in the early morning, the big boys began sparring on the terraces. Ndotto teamed up with his friend Lasayen, Murit was with Ngilai, and Emoli with Thamana. The three couples clashed heads and tusks, chased each other around, and pushed together again. The older females stood with the younger members of the herd, enjoying a peaceful time - until Ngilai tried to climb onto Lemeki’s back.
The land is drying out and there is less and less green browse for the herd. After arriving at the browsing grounds this morning, Ashanti and Ushindi stood close with heads touching and trunks hanging down but entwined. Godoma and Baraka stood in the shade of a tree while Epiya and Tamiyoi clambered to the top of the hill in search of tasty greens.
In the afternoon, almost the whole herd swam in the wallow and then climbed out for a dust bath, leaving Ndotto and Lasayen sitting on their haunches with trunks twirling beside each other in the water. Squatting on the mound of soil, Dabida invited Baraka to play the pushing game. The younger boy did his best to drive against Dabida while he sat securely without budging. Dusting done, the herd ambled back out to search for browse in a straggly line.
After the morning feed, Tagwa and Tamiyoi led the orphans out to browse in the surrounding bush. They ambled around quietly for the morning, keeping their heads down as they searched for tasty shoots and grasses to eat. Ndotto and Lasayen walked side by side around the foot of the hill, heading in the direction of the baobab tree water hole.
In the afternoon, the milk van arrived and we sent the orphans down in groups for another feed. Almost all of them sprinted down the slope in anticipation of delicious milk. Today, Manda got there first followed by Rokka, Dabida and a rumbling Losoito. They emptied their bottles and ran on down to the water hole.
Ngilai, Ndotto and Mbegu gathered around the water trough, exploring it with their trunks for a long time as if they could smell the scent of a visiting predator. Most of the other orphans got wet in the wallow, rubbing up against each other in the cooling water. Busara stretched out her trunk to Tamiyoi, who was standing on the edge, inviting her into the mud bath. After his swim, seeing Busara massaging herself against Tagwa’s body, Baraka decided to copy her. He walked over to Godoma and scratched himself in the same way against his adopted mother. We whistled to the herd - and they meandered out to the bush on their way back to the stockades.
In the early morning, the elephants emerged from their stockades and settled down at the range cubes trough and around the pile of lucerne. They played for a short time on the terraces before Tagwa and Juni led the herd out to browse on the eastern side of Msinga Hill.
The orphans spread out over the hill, climbing up to the top as the lower slopes were dry with very little browse. Pika Pika, Emoli and Thamana wandered over the summit while Mbegu remained near the bottom with Ashanti and Busara.
In the afternoon, the dependent orphans were good timekeepers and, led by Kilulu, came down the hill a few minutes before milk feeding time. After emptying her bottle, Epiya pivoted in an (unsuccessful) attempt to grab Kilulu’s milk but dashed away when the young bull turned to face her.
On a cool and cloudy day, the herd spent time around the mud bath but did not get wet or even drink much from the water trough. As most stood quietly in groups with ears flapping, Emoli and Tagwa played several rounds of the pushing game.
The orphans were in playful moods this morning – after filling their bellies, several rolled around on the mound of red earth while others hosed themselves with soil dust. Ngilai and Lasayen engaged in a wonderful play fighting game. The herd then headed out to the field in single file, spreading out to browse for several hours over a dry Msinga Hill.
In the afternoon, as the weather was cloudy and cool, the orphans did not choose to get into the mud bath. Kilulu and Tagwa scratched themselves against the creamy peacock tree. When Ushindi gave Ashanti a huge trunk hug along her back, the little girl darted away, suspicious of the older girl’s motive. Itinyi challenged Kenderi to spar with him and play mounted her when she turned down the invitation.
Later in the afternoon, the orphans ambled back to the stockades. On their way, Ndotto and Rorogoi sprinted away to join a herd of wild elephants browsing on the northern side of Msinga Hill. The older bull and former ex-orphan spent the night out.
After spending the night out with Rorogoi, Ndotto returned home to the stockades in the early morning. When the orphans emerged from their rooms soon after dawn, they found the big bull waiting for them under the tree near the entrance. Ex-orphan Rorogoi was not with him. We assumed that Rorogoi had met up with her ex-orphan herd and decided to resume her wild life. Our herd, including Ndotto, lined up at the feeding trough before padding over to the pile of lucerne. Little Seri was trunk kissing Ngilai and he was trunk hugging her back in appreciation.
Later, the orphans headed out to the browsing grounds as the sun shone brightly in a clear sky. They wandered far afield in the morning before visiting the mud bath in the afternoon. Our reluctant swimmer had another dip today - Ndotto only gets wet when he is really hot! He wallowed contentedly in the midst of the herd as they rolled up against each other in the muddy water. With Tagwa standing between them in her role of referee, Ushindi and Juni pushed each other around on the edge of the wallow. Ushindi stayed in the water after the others climbed out, charging around full of excitement in the shallows. While Ndotto rubbed his bottoms on the boulders in the wallow, Lasayen did the same thing against the peacock tree.
After cooling off, the orphans covered themselves in red dust, either by hosing themselves or by lying down on the soil. Busara was so busy carefully squirting soil over her back and sides that she was left behind when the herd wandered away and had to run to catch up with her friends.
The dependent orphans spread out over the stockade compound to play in the early morning. Godoma massaged herself against the two trees near the entrance. When she ambled away, Mbegu took her place for a wonderful rub against the same trees. Tamiyoi took advantage of Mbegu’s absence to trunk hug and entwine trunks with Busara. Ndotto was first to arrive at the pile of red earth, enjoying the fresh soft soil by tossing trunkfuls into the sky and then lying down on his back with legs aloft.
On another hot afternoon, the elephants had a lot of fun in and around the mud bath. After a group wallow, they either rubbed their bodies against the trees or dust bathed. Thamana leant against the baobab tree while Ndotto covered himself in dry red soil. Mbegu squatted on her haunches as she guarded Juni, Ashanti and Dabida while they lay playing on the dust hill. Meanwhile, lying on the mound of soil, Kilulu anchored her head on Mbegu’s rump.
The dependent orphans left the stockades for their usual browsing adventures in the early morning, manoeuvring their way over the rocky Msinga Hill to the arid open plains overlooking the baobab water trough where they settled down to browse. Itinyi approached Thamana several times in the hope of a wrestling match but Thamana just turned his back and kept his head down. A disappointed Itinyi then shoved Kenderi who responded immediately and the two elephants began sparring.
In the afternoon, as the orphans waited for the milk truck to arrive with the Keepers at the bottom of the hill, Mbegu was spending time with favourite baby Busara, embracing and trunk hugging her. Ashanti snuck away from the herd before the truck arrived but turned back on realising that no one was following her.
After drinking their milk, the orphans rushed down to the water trough to quench their thirst and on to the mud wallow to cool off. Ashanti splashed around in the middle with trunk swaying before rubbing her backside against the boulders on the edge and then sparring with Itinyi inside the wallow. Akina submerged her body in the water while Kenderi, Godoma and Murit stood making splashes with their enormous feet next to her. As Itinyi crawled out of the wallow, Kenderi clambered on top of him affectionately. Busara and Mbegu stood close at the water trough.
On another wonderful morning, the orphans enjoyed their range cubes and lucerne outside the stockades. Ngilai was doing his party trick of moving back and forth between the pile of lucerne and the feeding trough with a stash of lucerne carefully tucked between trunk and tusk. Kenderi tried to sneak under his head to pinch the lucerne but she was too short to reach it.
Losoito, Lemeki, Tamiyoi, Thamana and Rokka led the way out from the stockades on the herd’s daily bush adventures. Rokka was trying her hardest to be in front of the others, even going round the rocks on Msinga Hill rather than walking on the usual elephant track in her attempt to overtake. We thought that she was also avoiding feisty orphans like Thamana, Hildana and Juni.
In the afternoon, the orphans padded down the hill for another milk feed and visit to the mud wallow. Lasayen and Murit enjoyed a water wrestling match as Baraka scratched his backside on the rocks and Tamiyoi massaged hers against the baobab tree. On their way out to browse, the herd had to make a detour around Kenderi and Itinyi who were embroiled in a heated sparring match.
We carried out a rescue today of a baby elephant who had been attacked by lions. In the early morning, we received a call from Voi Wildlife Lodge reporting that a one-year-old male elephant had been attacked by lions and was struggling to walk. We drove to the area to assess the situation, finding a young baby lying on the ground. We called our Kaluku Field Headquarters, who consulted with KWS and were advised to dispatch the helicopter to the scene.
Given the severity of his injuries, the calf would not survive in the wild. SWT and KWS personnel carried out the rescue, loading the injured baby onto the chopper which airlifted him to the Nairobi Nursery. His injuries are grave, but he has the best chance of survival there.
During the rescue mission, we were surprised to find a familiar face among the injured-baby’s herd: ex-orphan Naipoki! We were delighted to see Naipoki — once a vulnerable orphan, now a happy, healthy elephant living wild. She and other members of her herd had spent the previous night around the calf, protecting him from another attack. Interestingly, all the elephants remained calm during the calf’s rescue, as if they knew that he was getting help that could save his life. Perhaps Naipoki, who was rescued from a well 14 years ago, communicated that message to the rest of the herd.
This morning, swinging her trunk and flapping her ears, Mbegu stood with Busara, Dabida and Juni around the pile of lucerne as Ndotto picked up branches opposite her. Losoito was having an early morning dust bath and was soon joined by Lemeki and Thamana. Ashanti stood on the edge of the small stockade mud wallow, dipping her trunk in the water while contemplating a paddle.
The orphans set off to the bush - Rokka, Manda and Losoito led the herd followed by Lemeki and Tamiyoi with Ndotto ambling along at the end of the line. After the afternoon milk feed, the orphans visited the mud wallow. Epiya balanced her foreleg on the trough while she drank and then rubbed her ear against Lemeki who was fussing over little Losoito as she stood near the trough. Emoli massaged himself against the rocks in the wallow but Thamana and Murit opted instead for a dust bath. As the two bulls were hosing themselves with dry soil, Lemeki and Losoito wandered over to join them. The two girls rubbed their faces against the ground and then their sides and finally lay down on their backs.
In the morning, the dependent orphans gathered in front of the stockades in preparation for leaving for the daily bush walk. Losoito, Lemeki and Ushindi were having an early morning dust bath while Godoma stretched up his trunk to browse on acacia branches over the fence. Hildana, Akina and Dabida joined the dust bathing party with Hildana standing tall on top of the mound of fresh red soil.
Keen to get going, old friends Rokka and Manda led the herd out to Msinga Hill. The orphans spread out in search of browse (which has become scarce). They wandered in a relaxed way as they had already fed on lucerne and range cubes at the stockades. Mbegu was looking after Dabida and Busara, Godoma was with Baraka, and Pika Pika was with Seri. Murit and Lasayen walked a short distance away from the herd before returning later in the morning.
On a cloudy afternoon, the elephants opted for dust baths and massages rather than wallows. After a peaceful hour around the mud bath, they meandered back to Msinga Hill for a final browse of the day. Rorogoi has not been seen since she left her old herd a week ago.
After the morning feed, the orphaned elephants hung out and played in the area in front of the stockades. Kenderi massaged her itchy bottoms on one of the stockade terraces. When Itinyi ambled over to stand casually behind her, she strolled off, not wanting to risk being play mounted by her cheeky friend. Meanwhile, mischievous Lemeki was using her tusks and mouth to dig a large hole in the pile of soft soil, to the surprise of onlookers Hildana and Losoito.
The orphans spent the morning browsing over the dry yellow grasslands before visiting the baobab tree mud wallow in the afternoon. Ngilai slapped his body down along the edge, waving his trunk as he relaxed in the water, while Kilulu balanced his rump on the edge of the water trough. As Lasayen was squatting in the mud, Murit challenged him to a sparring match. Invitation accepted, a seated Lasayen pushed heads happily with a standing Murit. Water and dust bathing done, the herd walked back to the stockades.
On another wonderful morning, the orphaned elephants were busy feeding on lucerne grass and range cubes outside the stockades. Standing tall on one of the rocks, Ngilai extended his trunk as he challenged Itinyi to a wrestling match. The younger bull sensibly turned away from the older stronger bull. Instead, he enjoyed a lengthy sparring contest with best friend Kenderi. In the past, Itinyi has been somewhat subordinate to some of the big boys but he has found comfort and confidence in his friendship with Kenderi.
The herd headed out to the field, browsing in the direction of the baobab tree mud wallow. The sun was shining today and many chose to swim. Lasayen knelt on his hind legs and slid into the water in an amazing manner with little Seri watching on from the sidelines. Young Busara began climbing into the water trough for a dip but we shepherded her away to the wallow instead. She complied without complaint and padded into the muddy water to join Pika Pika. When Ushindi flung herself down on the mound of soil, Dabida toddled over and carefully climbed on top of her. Unprepared to be used as an enormous cushion, Ushindi stood up and Dabida toppled off.
The sun was shining again this morning in a cloudless sky. As he walked from the water trough to the lucerne area, Ngilai stopped off next to the terrace wall. Losoito went for an early morning dust bath and was soon joined by nanny Lemeki and her old bestie Thamana. Kilulu tried to get Kenderi to play the sparring game but Kenderi was busy picking up tasty pieces of lucerne.
Tamiyoi, followed closely by Rokka, Manda and Pika Pika, led the herd out to browse. They spread out over Msinga Hill, searching for edible shoots and branches. In the afternoon, the elephants gathered around a large tree as they waited for the milk truck to arrive.
We sent Rokka, Manda, Losoito, Ashanti and Busara down first to the feeding area. The groups of orphans sprinted down the slope, trunks aloft, drank their milk and continued on to the wallow. A few stopped off at the water trough to drink while others like Ashanti and Akina made a beeline for the cooling mud bath. Ngilai and Lasayen made enormous splashes in the wallow while Tagwa and Tamiyoi massaged their backsides against the baobab tree. Later in the day, the herd browsed deep in the woods to the south of the pool.
This morning, the orphans were pushing and scrambling over range cubes at the feeding trough. Much to the others’ annoyance, Ndotto had come up with a clever plan. He collected a pile of pellets in a corner of the trough and blocked his friends from getting to them. Soon, the trough was empty except for Ndotto’s little pile in the corner and no one could reach them! To our surprise, Pika Pika then came up with an even more clever plan. She climbed into the water trough — from where she could reach the pellets! Obviously, Ndotto was not happy about this, but he graciously decided to share his spoils with Pika Pika.
Meanwhile, Lemeki was enjoying a soothing dust bath with adopted baby Losoito. Shortly after, Pika Pika and Busara joined them on the mound of soil. Busara clambered on top of Thamana who was lying on the dust and wiggled around on his belly. Some minutes later, Mbegu and Ashanti also joined the dust bathing party.
Milk bottles emptied, the orphans plunged into the baobab mud wallow in the afternoon. As Lasayen swam next to them, Ngilai and Godoma were being playful in the water. They pushed bodies and splashed each other and then Ngilai lay on top of Godoma. Hildana scratched herself on the creamy peacock tree while Kilulu showed off by squatting on the wall of the water trough. Minutes later Itinyi was pulling the same stunt, moving her large behind as she perched on the trough. Leaving Lasayen and Murit behind (as they were busy wrestling), the herd ambled out for a final browse of the day.
Ex-orphan Rorogoi came back again this morning! She was waiting for her old herd when the orphans padded out of their shared stockades soon after dawn. There was lots of rumbling as Rorogoi greeted her old friends and lined up at the feeding trough with them. When Busara lay down on the ground next to the pile of lucerne, naughty Hildana stepped onto her back. She trumpeted and Ushindi dashed over to rescue her. Hildana then pranced over to the mound of dry soil where he found an older playmate — Emoli. He climbed onto the bull’s back and was sent flying when Emoli stood up. Glancing around, Hildana found a third target — Thamana! When he climbed onto his back, Thamana tried but did not have the strength to throw him off, so he trumpeted and Emoli came to the rescue!
In the afternoon, most of the herd cooled off in the mud wallow and then had a dust bath. After their swim, Akina crawled out of the wallow and ran around in circles in an excited mood trumpeting while Itinyi and Kenderi played several rounds of the pushing game. Emoli and friends were doing elephant yoga stretches on the mound of dry soil. Close by, Busara was happily sandwiched between Pika Pika and Mbegu while Tamiyoi, Manda and Rokka were having fun lying next to each other. That evening, when we whistled, the herd of dependent orphans — and also Rorogoi — meandered back to the safety and comfort of the stockades.