Elephant Calf Named Mkhaya

So sorry I’ve disappeared from ellie blog for a little bit. We’re under great duress here. I will try and connect to my ellie family as soon as possible but it will be sporadic right now. I thank everyone for all the links and posts. I read everything that all of you write. I drink it up like nourishment. There are so many lovely sweet videos. I particularly love the Don Still ones with the young ones playing so adorable. And I LOVE the new post with Kaia and Zuli playing and interacting. I can’t wait to explore all the “hot links” when I have time. Yay! Thank you, thank you to all!

Lana,
Thank you for the sweet description of Umngani, Msholo, and the kids. They sound like a happy family out for a lovely picnic together. I love the idea of Msholo serenading Umngami — and I believe it too. They sure are good friends. How sweet that little Kaia feels so safe around the big guy.

Thanks zoo blog monitor for telling me how to say Kaia. K-eye-Uh . Kaia is hard to say. I will just call her Mkhaya
Animal lover

Thanks zoo blog monitor for telling me how to say Kaia. K-eye-Uh

Thank you so much, blog monitor, for approving my posts.

Blog Monitor’s note: 🙂 Thanks for your patience!

Okay! That showed up but my posts that included YouTube videos didn’t so I guess I was breaking the rules somehow. I hope the blog monitor will allow them now. They are so precious. The 2007 one has Khosi, Kami, and Punga(who later moved to Arizona) playing “King of the Mountain.” The 2010 video is a huge pool party.

Blog Monitor’s note: I didn’t have access over the weekend…they are approved now. 🙂

I finally found 2 old-time YouTube videos — one from 2007 and one from 2010. Each is 12 minutes long and shows the kids at much younger ages. They were recorded by Don who was always very knowledgable and helpful in the blogs back then. Please read the notes below each one.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fHqARGd29Uk&t=9s

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V82kao5HdG8

Monitor, thank you for the info about the cam. Paula, it must have been fascinating to watch them renovate the elephant area, and that really interested me about the tram. Just the other day I saw a tram “in the corridor” between the two yards and I wondered if that was something new! Apparently it’s something old, that they have reopened with the baby-watching, since I don’t think I ever saw a tram there before. Just Keepers, VIP’s, and mule deer.

Northern California, I loved all the shares and especially the story about Kaia and Ingadze! I think Luti’s “bracelet” is probably one of the pedometers–they do this off and on with different ellies, to make sure they’re getting enough exercise. (There’s a really good elephant-info section here at San Diego Zoo Animals & Plants, you can search it by typing that and adding “elephants.” I’d put the link but it would hold up this post while they vetted it.) That was great about Gadze and Luti, Gadze is no pushover (literally?) even though he’s got a lovely disposition, as their “reconciliation” shows… I am so thankful that you have found a “lifeline” here, at a time when you need it so much. Yes, the Instagram stuff is a great addition–I only ever heard about it here, myself. I don’t know if you realize that there is a lot of good SDZSP video on YouTube. You have to scroll through the thumbnails/titles to find some of it but it’s worth the effort. San Diego has their own “channel,” and Trunk Talk/Pachyderm Playhouse channel has a bunch of older SD things (some are great, like the time Mabu was lying down so the calves could play with him! “Playing with Papa, Trunk Talk, YouTube” should get you there and access to some of the others), and although Don (D Still channel on YouTube) only uploaded a few videos, the ones with the baby elephants are beautiful and you may be interested in the others as well. I have “Kami at 16 days old” on my Cheer-me-up bookmarks! I don’t even know how many times I’ve watched it, the short version–he did a longer one that he’d edited the short one from.

Poppy, thanks for the tip about the Instagram “shortcut!” And you are so right about sharing–we ARE like a family, aren’t we? I think lately we’re actually sharing even more, mostly in the past we just did posts but now we’re discussing things, remembering things, it’s really great. Thank you so much to SDZSP for giving us this chance–it’s “brilliant” (as the Brits say) to be in touch with other people who love elephants. Hmm. Who “obsess” about elephants? We learn so much from the cam-viewing, the Keepers and Elephant Team and Monitor, and each other.

One last thing: the other day Kaia was trying to climb on that little wall that half-surrounds the fountain/”waterhole.” It was too funny and cute. She’s still way too small, of course. But she was trying so hard to make it work! She’d lift a foot as high as she could but could only get the edge of her heel on the rim. She would then try to lift her foot farther using her mouth and chin! She did this several times, alternating front feet (“maybe this leg is longer, it’s worth a try”) and not ready to quit. I think that was why Kami took her back to the dust-pile, to redirect her before she got too frustrated. It reminded me of Neepo trying to climb over his first log when he was tiny. It always amazes me how determined the babies are to learn things they need to know–for “little kids,” they have a surprisingly long attention span when they tackle a challenge.

Blog Monitor’s note: I hot-linked our Plants and Animals page for anyone who’d like to read the information we have there about elephants. And for those who’d like some YouTube fun, here are our channels: San Diego Zoo Safari Park; San Diego Zoo.

Jan, Lana, Poppy, Michelle and Paula, thank you so, so much for all the shares. Life has been incredibly challenging this past week with my daughter’s illness and you have all been a lifeline. I love the stories of all the ellies when small: Neepo, Kami, Khosi,the boys rolling down the grassy hill, etc. Each one was so precious and I could picture each event so clearly. I think it was Jan who said that it’s great to remember Kami, Nisa and Khosi (or in my case hear about them) when they were young and carefree since they are now being so grown up and responsible as babysitters. Though it was great to see Kami and Nisa “letting their trunks down” as they rolled in the mud with Kaia in one of the Instagram clips. If you haven’t checked that out, just Google search: San Diego Safari Park Instagram and then all these little clips and photos show up on one page that you can click on with sound and everything. You don’t need to join Instagram or anything. There are delightful clips of Kaia trumpeting and squealing, playing with her water dish, the mud bath clip I talked about, Zuli being born!, and so many touching and adorable photos and video clips. I watch them in the evening when it’s dark and you can’t see anything on the cam and I have a breather and relax.
I’m trying to remember some quick moments I’ve seen over the last few days. I loved seeing Neepo and Gadze hanging out with Kaia and Mama U the other day: Kaia was running up to Gadze and touching him and running under his legs near the “water hole” and he was being very careful and looked a little alarmed as he looked over at Mama U to see how she would react. She was fine and calm about the whole thing, so he relaxed and the two boys seemed to hang out with her and Kaia and the babysitters most of the afternoon. I think it was Kami who was unsure about Kaia and Gadze and came to check on things, but seemed satisfied after checking everything out and touching trunks with Gadze. Today, Zuli was doing some great “face-plants” into the grassy slope today kind of chewing on the grass. I also saw him on the “branch day” just wading into a pile of branches and having a grand old time strewing them about and shaking them. I loved the dust bath story, Lana–so, so adorable and sweet. Michelle, I was so happy to read about Zuli and Emanti playing head bash because Emanti is so sweet and dear to my heart. Lana, you asked about Luti and I haven’t seen him at all until earlier today when the ellie cam zoomed in on him separated in a side yard with a “bracelet” type thing around him front foot. I’m not sure of it was some sort of training device or what to calm him down. I saw Msholo outside near the enclosure kind of watching over him and seemed to be trying to keep him company. I could be totally projecting this but it did seem concerned and like he was trying to comfort him. Maybe he was doing some deep rumbling communication. Later, I think I did see Luti out in the upper yard with the other young males who were eating at some of the feed boxes. All seemed well and peaceful, but then I think Luti tried to drive Gadze away from one of the feed boxes and Gadze was startled and backed off at first but then engaged in some tussling with Luti and since his tusks are so much bigger, Luti backed away after a bit. Then it was sweet they touched foreheads and twined their trunks and Gadze seemed to gentle Luti down and they just stood there peacefully for a few minutes. I had to leave so I didn’t see what happened next.

Also, Jan and Lana thank you so much for tips on distinguishing Nisa vs Kami–it has really helped and made it so much richer to know who is who caring for the little ones.

The Wonderful Dust Bath – I’ll skip a couple of things that happened just before, because this is “long,” but Kami and Umngani and Kaia had already been dusting earlier, and Kami led Kaia back again while her mother was eating… Kaia was thrilled, she flopped down in the silky-looking dust and spread her legs out and buried her face in it and rolled around a bit and flung her trunk in the air the way they do when they’re happy. The cam pulled back and, right nearby at the other side of the dust pile, there were Nisa and Zuli, who was also “swimming” in the dust. Apparently the babysitters decided to encourage the babies to play together, Nisa urged Zuli over and Kaia was certainly willing to play. The big girls did a wonderful job of keeping things under control without spoiling the fun, inserting a trunk here and there to push, pull, or maneuver the babies (especially whenever Zuli started to get carried away). Kaia and Zuli were having a fabulous time, rolling all over in the dust, all over each other sometimes, wiggling around, waving their feet, and generally too excited to know what to do with themselves.

Then Kami decided to sit/semi-lie-down so that the babies could climb on her! But they’re really still too little for that, although they were ecstatic to have her down there at their level. They kept leaning against her, patting and touching her with their tiny trunks, and Kaia tried to drape herself over one of Kami’s big legs as if it were a log, then just cuddled a bit against her tummy for a few seconds. Kami realized they couldn’t “scale the mountain” and started to get up. Just as she was about halfway and in a particularly awkward position with her front legs braced and her hind legs stretched back–Kaia decided to go underneath her! She froze in that uncomfortable pose for several long seconds while the baby ambled to the other side to join Zuli.

At that point, NISA decided to lie down and see if they’d manage better with a smaller elephant. She flopped around and wiggled a bit, but the babies were just more interested in the dust, throwing themselves around in it and rolling some more and all. Nisa lay there a little while, but got up when she saw they weren’t really going to “act like they’re supposed to” and climb on her.

The babies continued to play, a bit too enthusiastically maybe; suddenly Umngani was there and I wonder if Kaia had squeaked or something–or if she was just checking-out the situation. Kaia came to her, and she reached out her trunk to pull her closer, and I thought she would take her away. But no. She let Kaia go and turned away and left. I think Kaia was surprised to be allowed to decide for herself whether to follow or go back to playing, her ears flared out for one flap, and then she was back in the fray! But I think the babies were finally getting tired by then, things got quiet as if they were just sort of cuddling in the shelter of the two babysitters (who were blocking most of the view). I lost a minute or two then because I had to switch batteries, and when I came back, Zuli was gone, Nisa and Kami were both with Umngani at the “waterhole” and food box, and Kaia was somewhere between the two girls, in deep shadows but I think probably lying down to recharge HER battery with a short nap after all the wild excitement.

Monitor, that would be great if you could find a link for us! Thank you for trying!

Michelle, that was so sweet to read about Emanti. And that Zuli is already trying to play “push-games!”

Poppy, I loved that about Neepo trying to copy what his mother was doing. I saw something like that on an old YouTube about a baby at another zoo–“A bouncing baby elephant” is the title–and she was trying to copy how her mother lifted a “toy” and held one foot off the ground at the same time; she was about a month old, I think… That’s amazing to me, too, that you were thinking the same as I was about Swazi being jealous of Umngani. Actually it’s not so far-fetched, I know the baby elephants at Sheldrick’s are sometimes jealous of each other, or of the attention the other one gets, though it’s not a common thing with them.

I’m still holding off on telling about the dust-bath in case someone else saw it and wants to be the one to share it, but if no one posts anything later, I’ll go ahead and post it because it’s such a happy story everybody will want to “hear” it. 🙂

Lana,

I missed the wonderful dust bath. Maybe someone got on Instagram.

Anyway, I’m just amazed that you have the same thoughts as I do about Swazi and Umngani — jealousy because Umngani is so beautiful. I’ve thought that for a long time but it seemed silly to imagine elephants having those kinds of feelings, but they really are so smart and sophisticated that it’s possible. Umngani is just all-around more popular than Swazi because she’s so sweet and nice to everyone.

I love the story about Neepo wanting to go in the pool, One of my first memories of Neepo is when he was tiny like Zuli and Kaia are now. His mom was at the training bars getting checked out. When she put a foot up on a bar, little Neepo put his tiny foot up there too. It was just so adorable. I guess the Keepers count on behaviors like that so the kids will be easier to train.

Blog Monitor’s note: Quite a long time ago, one of the keepers wrote a blog about the group of calves at that time and mentioned that after watching their mothers working with keepers, the youngsters would respond to the commands given to the moms! I’ll try to find it and if I’m successful, I’ll post a link here.

Poppy, that’s true about Swazi and Umngani–both about Swazi’s attitude (maybe she’s jealous, Umngani is such a beauty, or at least I think she’s a beautiful ele, not just her tusks but the way she holds her head and ears most of the time) and about the weaning of the calves. I remember poor little Mac, he was really shocked about the whole business and trying to sneak a sip, as you said! That’s interesting about Umngani and Ingadze–I didn’t start watching until a week or so after Neepo was born, so I missed the prelude. I do bet she explained it to him somehow, she’s an amazing mother.

That leads me to mention a couple of lovely moments this afternoon–both involving Umngani and her family.

Around noon Pacific time, Umngani and the boys and Kaia were all sort of dozing in the sun. They were standing in and around the “silky” dust pile–sometimes half asleep for everyone but Kaia who was absolutely conked-out lying motionless in the dust, half-shaded by her mother. Neepo was “cam-side” sort of shielding Umngani and Kaia so you couldn’t see them too well, and Ingadze was standing a little behind him. You could tell when they were dozing–Umngani herself and the boys–because they’d let their trunks “loose” and the ends would rest on the ground, curled under a little. In between dozes, Neepo and Ingadze would scoop up a little dust and toss it on one side and then the other, and then relax again. Once Gadze reached his trunk over to gently touch Neepo. It was so lovely and peaceful to see them all resting and content together.

Later Umngani, Kaia, and Ingadze were near the pool. Umngani was eating from a food-box, and Kaia was just dawdling around, not really doing much except weaving in and out of her mother’s legs off and on. In the background, the crows were coming and going from the shallows of the pool, fluttering as they took baths. (I’m not sure “flutter” works with something like crows, they’re so big; maybe “waving their wings around?”) Again, it was very peaceful to watch–ellies and crows just “taking it easy.”

I haven’t seen Luti lately. Does anyone know if they’re keeping him away some of the time, or if Umngani’s family is “protecting” her or what? It does seem to me that I’ve seen Neepo and, especially, Ingadze spending more time with her and Kaia than usual. But they are a “close” family, so maybe it’s just the times I happen to have tuned in.

Poppy, speaking about the boys being cute too, Neepo was priceless sometimes. This happened when he was about 3 or 4 months old. The Keepers had given the ellies a LOT of what I think were huge banana leaves, and he was “attacking” them as if they were alive. It was just too cute to see him racing and spinning and charging them with his ears all flared out to make himself look bigger in “battle.”

I can hardly wait for the pool parties. Yep, always one of the mothers there. I recall one time when Kami was in charge of Neepo and he was dying to get in the water with the older calves, and I’m sure Kami herself wanted to go in. There was no adult in attendance at the time. All the other calves were swimming and splashing around, even Khosi, but not Neepo and not poor Kami the babysitter. Neepo obeyed the letter of the law, but did everything except actually dive in; he walked in up to his knees, got his trunk wet, etc. Finally Umngani came into view on the cam and he went racing to her full-tilt, ears flared, probably making little cries. You could almost hear him saying, “Mommy, Mommy, can I go in the water now, can I, can I, huh?” He was SO excited. The answer was “yes,” and Umngani went into the water too. She played with him away from the others because they were so rowdy, and Khosi joined them after awhile.

Jan, I remember Nisa and her naps! I just tuned in to the cam a little while ago and saw all the stripped branches lying around, and the ellies plucking the last few leaves off some of them. It must have been quite a sight when the “trees” were all over the place earlier and the ellies loving every minute of it. (The Keepers have been doing a fantastic job with enrichment lately–new things, changes in the terrain, all that. The ellies must be delighted and we are all so happy to see how much thought and hard work goes into making their lives better.) I enjoyed hearing about Zuli’s “adventure” this morning, too.

Northern California, as Jan said, it’s more often Kami than Nisa with the babies. (Some of your ID markers helped me, too, Jan!) All the same it’s not easy to be sure, a lot of times! I do have another suggestion to help, although it’s only useful part of the time because it depends on camera angles, etc. Up until a calf is about a year old, it will fit (albeit tightly sometimes) under its mother’s stomach–where it shelters from heat, rain, cold, etc.–when she is standing. Kami is nearly adult size, not quite as tall as Khosi is, but the babies fit or almost fit. Nisa is enough shorter so that, if you see her close to the calf, you can tell it won’t fit under her. Old-time viewers may remember how Khosi, who was about Nisa’s current size back then, would try to make baby Nisa fit, gently of course, putting her leg over her but seeing it wouldn’t work so lifting her leg back again without having put her foot down. But she did keep trying, she sure wanted to “play Mommy.” So I usually look for that “measurement” when I can. As I said, sometimes impossible to be sure because of the camera-angle or sloping terrain or whatever. Even though Kami and Nisa are half-sisters, I’m still amazed at how very close the resemblance is, seeing them on the cam. I’m sure it’s perfectly clear who’s who “in person” as well as to people who are able to watch the cam more often than I am.

I did see the two babies gently playing together briefly yesterday afternoon–mostly just leaning against each other and stroking each other with their trunks. A couple of times Zuli was showing off (semi-head-stand with one hind foot in the air). He let Kaia shape the encounter with her tentative little trunk touching him, lying across his neck/back, etc., probably with the babysitter’s rumbled guidance. Kami–I think, I was concentrating on Zuli and Kaia, not on the babysitter, it was either Kami or Nisa and from the calm and competence, Kami has my vote–was right there ready to make sure Zuli didn’t get too enthusiastic, she sort of nudged one or the other with her trunk very softly from time to time. Eventually, needless to say, Zuli tried to climb on Kaia (baby ellies love to climb all over each other and the older ones sometimes lie down deliberately to let the babies play “climb-on” and I so hope we’ll see that soon, as Kaia gets a bit bigger and less apt to be damaged in a free-for-all). So that was when the game quietly ended, no doubt with a few words of caution from Kami. But Zuli stayed near for a little while before he decided to either explore or join his mother.

Oh my goodness, I missed Swazi chastising little Kaia! (I too, couldn’t think of another adult Ellie doing so). It broke my heart to read that, but I’m not surprised, as we all know, Swazi has been extremly territorial about her food. Nisa and Mac are allowed to get close to browse, and if they do get too close, Swazi will pick up her box and move. I’ve seen her move in more instances when Nisa tries to help herself, and I have seen her give Mac the “trunk nudge” rather than move. As best I can tell, this is not something Nisa or Mac have learned from her and in turn, treat others the same way. We know animals live in the moment, but there are things that they don’t forget, especially having been hungry once or abused. It only makes one wonder, what all Swazi has been through. It’s a possibly she lost her Mother early and had to fend for herself, and her poor eyesight is a result of something that happened to her in her earlier days in Swaziland. If only she could talk.

Hated that Kaia had to go through that, but may be a blessing she has learned early, that Swazi is one to keep a distance from, and later, it won’t escalate into something more serious. It could also serve as a reminder to Ndula, Mama U and the baby-sitters, to keep Kaia at a safe distance from Swazi.

It was sweet to walk down memory lane and reminisce about the calves. Khosi, and her back flips in the pool and Kami doing her tighrope walking across the logs. Remember Nisa? How she would be going full force and then just plop down in an instance and take a nap. I recall one day as her and Swazi walked across the hill, and they came to a hay pile, (there weren’t enrichment boxes back then) and Swazi began to eat and Nisa plopped down in the middle of it and took a nap. Swazi had to eat all around her, but Nisa was laying in the bulk of the hay, as if she did so to cushion herself in a soft mattress. or, just to be mischievous. Back then, Nisa as hoot!

This morning as the Ellies hung out in the east yard, waiting on the Keepers, closer to the passageway, near the barns, Ndula and Zuli were checking out the log pile for undiscovered browse. Ndula walked away to the left for the passageway and Zuli was left behind as he didn’t see her move. Then he realized he was alone and ran around the pile to the right to catch up. Mama U, Zaia, Kami and Nisa were there with there backs to him, and as he scurried to join them, Mama U spun around with her trunk ready to ward off danger, but when she saw it was Zuli, she relaxed, and Zuli about that time had that “ah-oh” look and slowed down and detoured around them to the left. He then went to Kaia and they gathered. It seems that Ndula is confident in Zuli being a distance from her when Zuli joins, Mama U, Zaia, and the baby sitters.

Nothern Cal, I see more of Kami being closer as the babysitter your refereing to. Though it may be just the times I’m catching them. Kami is taller than Nisa, as we know. As best I can tell, Nisa’s tusks are thinner, more out, as if growing outward and down. Kami’s tusks, are a little ticker more inward (that is closer to the trunk) and a tad more upward. Kami’s head is a little more pronunced, I think because of age, across the bridge of her trunk and eyes. If you go to the “Have you, “Herd” blog and look at the pictures you’ll be able to see the differences, maybe keep a mental picture as well, so when you see them, it helps you to know. who’s who. (However there are times I have to really think when I’m trying to decide on a moments notice. 😉 )

Northern California, I think it had to be Swazi, too. I think if it had been anyone else, Umngani would have reacted differently–not necessarily aggressively, she’s not an aggressive ele as a rule, but she would have moved in a protesting way. (I can vaguely remember a few times when Swazi did something that a calf’s mother didn’t approve–Ndlula or Umngani–and although the mothers didn’t actually interfere, you could see very clearly from their body language that they were NOT happy with the situation.) Yes, it’s Mac whom Swazi allows to “dine” near/with her; I think he’s probably very attuned to her moods after all these years and knows when he shouldn’t push his luck versus when it’s “safe” to be in her sphere. Particularly when there’s food involved!

You told us about Kaia’s happy afternoon so beautifully, I could picture it all–the babies running around, the mothers being patient and placid, Khosi telling Zuli to take-it-easy with the little girl when he got over-excited. I love it when I’ve seen the two mothers and their babies together, but often don’t seem to be tuning in at the right times and miss a lot of it, so it’s great to have someone tell what happened. Thank you for sharing!

Northern California, I saw that! I was as shocked as Kaia for a moment. (I THINK it was Swazi, not Luti? I wasn’t watching that closely.) I saw this same thing happen with Neepo when he was little, a long time ago now–only she hit him even harder, and Umngani and Khosi came running to him, and later his friend/half-brother Emanti came over and commiserated with him too. That time, I decided that maybe he’d come up on her “bad” side (they’ve always said she’s got a bit of a vision problem with one eye) or something, startled her so that she just acted on reflex. (In fact I think I mentioned something awhile ago about that without details.) I don’t think that happened this time but I wasn’t paying my complete attention before I saw the trunk swing and make contact… it’s all too likely that she did just “defend” her food.

It must have been wonderful to see the babies playing, I missed all that. But it would have made the follow-up with Swazi
even more painful to see.

Lana and Poppy, I just adore the images of Khosi when she was young doing backflips in the water (wow!) and Kami balancing like an acrobat across the logs (another wow!). Big smiles. I can’t wait to see the adventures that Zuli and Kaia get into. I feel such gratitude that I found the video cams and then the blog with all of you long time watchers who add so much with your memories and willingness to share. It has opened my world up and brought such a richness into my life. I also watch the polar bears who I adore but there is just such little information that the Keepers write about Kalluk, Chinook and Tatqiq (last Keeper notes was from Feb 2018!) and no polar bear blog writing community. Thank you so much to all of you, the Keepers who keep us posted with pics and info (and such good care of ellies) and to the wonderful volunteer video cam operators.

Lana, I don’t remember that bee incident way back then. I too would love to be able to access those old blog posts because there was so much interesting information in them.

I have a couple of fun memories of Khosi from the “olden days.” She was still a little kid but full of spunk. She loved doing backflips in the pool and she was so good at it. She loved to play with the water dribbling out of the round cement waterer. She somehow figured out that she could make the water spray up and around with her foot and then she would get some sort of rock or pebble to partially block the hole so that she wouldn’t have to just stand there. What a smart little girl! So cute too! She’s just way too grown up and responsible now. I’m glad I can remember her little kid antics.

East Coast, thank you for telling us about the Halloween “fun” and the babies playing. I did see the painted boxes, and I had a glimpse of what I thought was a pumpkin (probably the very last one) with one of the ellies down by the pool but the cam operator swept away to cover one of the babies instead, so ? I saw the streamers, too. 🙂 And all the wonderful leafy branches for everyone to feast upon.

Yeah, Khosi does have her trunk full with the little ones! I saw her trying to steer both of them to follow their mothers the other day and it was pretty amusing. She looked like she was trying to herd cats, as the expression goes. She kept nudging this one and corralling that one in an attempt to keep them together and headed in the same direction. She’ll think it’s “a cinch” when she only has one baby of her own to deal with!

Thanks, Monitor, for explaining the “protected contact”/positive reinforcement training. I’m aware of this but it’s great for the new people and I never mind reading it again, I’m always comforted by how much the Team loves and respects “our” ellies… By the way, do any of the old-time viewers remember the time the ellies had to be moved from one yard to the other at short notice due to a swarm of bees invading their area? I can’t recall what year it was, but I think Neepo was small and Qinisa hadn’t been born yet so probably sometime in early to mid 2012? Elephants are afraid of bees anyway, so they may not have needed much encouragement to “vacate the premises,” but it was still quite a deviation from the usual routine. I missed the action, only saw the aftermath and wondered what was going on. I’m not sure where I read the information–probably a blog posting?

Which reminds me–question for the Monitor: Is there any way to read the old blogs that used to be archived, or were they all deleted when the system changed over a couple of years ago? I tried a few of the links I had and only got the Error 404 message… I had links to blogs back as far as 2006 or so. There was a lot of very interesting material there, between the blogs and the comments, and it would also be a great resource for the newer viewers.

A couple of days ago I was lucky enough to see Kaia taking a dust-bath with her mother. Umngani was, of course, doing it in the traditional scoop-with-trunk-and-toss way. Kaia lay down on the pile–it was beautiful new dust, it looked all silky and clean–and began rolling and “swimming” in it. Absolutely pricelessly cute, and the cam operator zoomed in so it was all in close-up detail. (The bad news was that I thought I was getting pictures and, when I went to organize them–I only had ONE. I think it was due to my fingers–very unreliable–rather than something I can blame on the electronics. I was SO disappointed.) She was so adorable waving her little feet around in pure joy!

Hi East Coast! Thank you for great descriptions on Halloween ellie celebration. I’m so sorry I missed it! Yes, I’ve been seeing the little ones interacting too and dear Khosi with her “trunkful” sometimes. It seems like the moms and Khosi are gently trying to teach Zuli not to be too rough in his enthusiasm and treating Kaia like a feeding box to climb on. I’ve seen Kaia run over to him to initiate play too. It is so much fun watching them begin to really play and interact.

Love all your insights Lana re Swazi, “forced herds” and orphans in the wild and Jan your insights as well. Elephants truly are such amazing beings. My heart softens toward Swazi thinking of her starving and thirsty. I have a rescued feral cat who acts like that who was an emaciated, starving kitten when rescued. He is always afraid on a primal, behavioral level that the food is not going to be there anymore. Re droughts: I think I read there was another drought in Swaziland this year and and several elephants were rescued by some accredited zoos before they were culled. I guess the elephants were pretty emaciated, but all of the elephants that were transported and cared for during the long journey arrived safely in the US. My heart and prayers go out the the people and animals in Swaziland.
Sara, I’m hoping to see some pumpkin feasting too!

Sara D, our Ellies have had them in the past, and they did the same thing and seemed to really enjoy eating them. They may get some on Holloween, I beleive that’s when they got them last year. The Keepers were very creative with them too.

I like using a capital “K” for Keepers and always have. They are a special group of folks.

I have really enjoyed reading all the shares. I usually come back and read them twice as a lot of times I have missed something because I may read them at work and hurry through.

I have always thought Swazi was aloof. I have seen her run other Ellies from their browse and enrichment boxes. Even the youngsters. Shortly after Ndula had Zulie, she ran her off from hers. I thought, geesh, poor Ndula, just gave birth, probably tired and needed to rebuild her body from giving birth, and here comes Swazi, showing herself. However, as Lana mentioned, we don’t know what she’s been through before life in capitivety. I don’t think any animal or human forgets, if they’ve been through it, the times there wasn’t enough to eat or drink. Swazi may have had to bully her way to get something to eat, and she may have had to run others off to survive as well. I have notice when Nisa was young, how she would “manufacture” a hug from Swazi as well. It was always such a “awwww” moment for me knowing while Swazi was rather distant, Nisa was loving and affectionate and let her feelings show. And like you said Lana, while she does appear to be aloof, she is dedicated to her family as in the past I have seen her take up for her children.

I noticed Kaia rubbing her feet and legs too and saw what you shared about Mama U bringing her up to the barns and Msholo there as well. I couldn’t imagine what had her rubbing her feet and legs and it was obviously disstreesing her. I never thought about an “ant hill.”

I sometimes don’t want to tear myself away from the cam too, and then I forget something I wanted to post. This morning however, Mama U was acting funny, did anyone see her? She rested her head and stretched her trunk across Nisa’s back and acted if she wanted to climb on her a couple times. Then Nisa took Kaia for a walk, towards the pool area in the east yard. It sort of looked like Mama U was telling her to do so. Kami followed behind and then shortly Mama U. Next, Umngani laid down and Kaia acted thrilled like Mommie was ready to play! She played a few moments laying down and the rest of the kids gathered around. Ndula was in the west yard and I don’t know where Swazi was at this time. Hoping another Ellie fan saw Umngani this morning, as it would be interesting to read your shares, because maybe I had missed something in Elephant language? The laying and extending of Umngani trunk across Nisa’s back, and her picking up her front feet as if she were to climb on her, (I refrain from using the word, “mount” her, though it looked like an attempt) is something I had never seen a female adult Ellie do before.

I want to amend the word I used at the end of my last post when I said “gamekeeper” at the Wildlife Parks and Sanctuaries. I don’t like that word as it connotates big game hunting which I abhor. I should have said Keepers because I feel they are sacred Keepers in Africa as well as “our” ellie Keepers at San Diego Safari Park. The African Keepers are protecting the last of our wildlife herds and animals as well as the scientists studying them along with the San Diego Conservancy. I can’t even imagine what they go through every day with poaching and droughts, stressed herd interactions, etc. They are the fierce warriors and warrioresses and Guardians. I am so grateful to them and to the San Diego Conservancy and Safari Park. Thank you, thank you!

East Coast I love your description of the two mom’s conspiring for a play date between the two little ones and that there was success and Kaia and Zuli rolled in dirt/sand together! How exciting, I wish I had seen it. I hope it portends more fun interactions between the little ones soon!
Lana, Jan and Poppy, thank you for your heartbreaking insights on Emanti and Kami and our dear sweet Umngami taking them in. I can’t imagine having to watch all of that. I think I would have just been in such shock and absolutely heartbroken. When I read the past public relations blog, I just couldn’t imagine Swazi being the one to care for them. She is a tough one but as some of you have said, that’s probably what makes her the matriarch. I always just see her driving everyone away from feed boxes when she is tired of the one she’s on, but I did see her once pull Kaia underneath her to protect her when Luti was going after Umngami and there was alot of commotion and with several elephants around her. Not for the faint of heart as G+N said regarding watching “forced herds”. Though I could imagine that the gamekeepers in Africa see a lot more harrowing things than we do. Thank you to all you!

Lana, Thanks for helping explain the situation with her kids after Umoya died. Actually it wasn’t what you wrote that bothered me. That’s what the zoo and keepers said way back then. They must have assumed that Swazi would take over their care because that what the matriarch does in the wild. It really made me mad because I could see that Swazi wasn’t even being very nice to Kami and Emanti, the way Umngani was so sweet, comforing and affectionate to them.

I agree that Umngani is just way to sweet and loving to act as the matriarch. She’s just the very best mommy around.

I’m so glad that you remember Umngani’s little brood following her. It was cute but also really so sad that those 2 little kids had lost their wonderful mother.

I’m glad you can pinpoint the dates too. I really didn’t remember what year it was and I had forgotten that Neepo was just a baby and that Qinisa was born the following year. I must have been watching for a long time and didn’t realize it.

I just need to thank everyone who has posted here because I have learned so much from each of you. I’ve been watching for a long time but I seem to have missed a lot also. It’s great to hear other perspectives too,

Here’s a very firm memory from the past. Supposedly Swazi took care of Kami and Emanti after their mother died. She did not! Those poor little kids hung around with Umngani all the time for weeks or months. Khosi was also very loving and caring to them. I remember her hugging Kami a lot during that time. They were already pretty good friends anyway. Emanti got some hugs too. It was a very sad time for the herd and for us watchers. It sure was incredible to see Umngani with 5 little elephants parading along after her. I wish I had some photos from that time.

Wow, Gawa+Nusu, I just found the Safari Park Instagram page! A whole new world of ellie watching and adorable photos! I especially love that their is sound and on some of them we get to see the inside look at the ellies when they are with the Keepers. So. so special, thank you for pointing it out!

Jan, Emanti does seem as if he’s the “red-headed stepchild.” I don’t know how much of that is due to his lack of tusks, how much due to his own personality, how much due to the hierarchy among the “boys,” where he is least-dominant it seems. Obviously he can’t compete in the tusk-wrestling which puts him at a major disadvantage in the games they play as well as their thinking “well, he’s no challenge.” I do see Neepo and Ingadze play with him, however; I also note how often Kami reaches out to him even when she’s involved with other things like the babies. And he is such a gentle soul, I remember once when Neepo was in trouble with Swazi (she’d overreacted to being startled) and Emanti came over to comfort his friend; it was so touching. (That was a disturbing incident; only time I saw that happen and I’m sure it was pure reflex with Swazi, not “deliberate.”)

Did you or anyone else see what happened to Kaia this afternoon? She’s been obsessively trying to rub her legs with her other legs and feet–right front with left front and vice-versa, same with rear ones. This went on awhile, and I had to leave, but when I came back about an hour later, she was still doing it. I’m wondering if she got herself onto an anthill at some point (and stayed too long!) and got a lot of bites, or what might have occurred. Umngani came up to the barn with her just now, as if looking for help, and I did see someone in the background but the person didn’t do anything (perhaps knowing the cause or maybe not watching long enough to realize). One of the boys came to join them–Neepo, I would guess. Then Msholo came, and that little Kaia went hurrying after him when he left a minute later, with Umngani following. Msholo stopped and browsed below the “waterhole”/fountain, Kaia went back to her mother but then after some more “scratching” she went to the big smooth boulder they all like so much and rubbed one leg after the other against it for awhile. Back to her mother and after a minute or two she finally settled to nurse. Poor little thing must be worn out, if she’s itching!

Jan, about three years of “journal” and a couple with just notes, from Sept. 2011 to 2014. I do have screen prints for the last few years that are not in the “document.” Unfortunately I didn’t print it as I went along and it’s all on Word. There’s probably a couple of thousand pages altogether.

Love that image of Zuli “hamming it up” in the mud, Jan.

I’ve always felt that Emanti and Msholo have a rather special relationship; your post confirms this, at least to my mind. I have to go back many years to tell this story, but you’ll find it interesting, I have no doubt. It was in August of 2012, back in the days when I was able to keep an “SD Elephant Journal” with text and screen prints–how I wish I still could! Anyway, I’m going to refer to that so I keep the story straight (luckily I remembered it was in the section shortly before Qinisa’s birth so not hard to find it.) At this time it was about 8 or 9 months after Emanti and Kami were “orphaned.” Emanti was still a bit of a waif at the time, but starting to come out of his mourning period (and he did have one).

Emanti often hung around with Msholo, who was very, very patient with him and would even let him take food from his mouth the way his mother would have. (And remember, Emanti is not his son.) They were together at a big hay-puddle when Swazi and Mac joined them. I’ll quote some of the captions: “As Mac moves closer to his mother for a cuddle, little Emanti turns to Msholo for the same sort of comforting. I have often seen him wander away dejected if he’s around when Mac goes to Swazi to nurse, he just seems to droop and his ears wilt. He gets consoled by his sister Kami, and from Khosi of course, and I have seen Umngani hugging and caressing him more than once–particularly that time she was massaging his back and sides so long.”

“Beautiful picture of both calves being cuddled… Msholo was obliging and sympathetic, and Emanti so happy that he’s browsing as he stands there. It was wonderful to see this–both Msholo’s empathy and caring, and Emanti’s feeling so comfortable and cared-about.” They browsed together, all four, for awhile, then Mac got restless and drifted away. Swazi seemed to indicate that she was ready to leave, too. She trunk-kissed Msholo [goodbye], and Emanti reached up to trunk-kiss him too; I’ve often seen the calves do that, “share the affection,” they always want to be in on it if there’s love involved. [The journal entry is longer, but I’ll skip the speculations, etc.] “As Swazi leaves, Msholo gently nudges Emanti. He’s not pushing him away, though. After a minute or so, he does it again. It turns out to be a goodbye gesture, a sort of caress, before he leaves. I think maybe the first time he did it, Emanti may have made some little sound of protest, so he delayed. As [Msholo] leaves, [Emanti] reaches out with his trunk, either a farewell caress of his own or maybe (too sad) a last little poignant entreaty to stay with him,” even though he knows that Msholo has Big Bull business of his own to attend to. “Emanti turns back to his browse philosophically” and Msholo continues on his way. (I speculated that he might be on his way to find Umngani “who had been flirting with him lately.”)

Ever since then, I’ve seen how often Emanti is near Msholo, like a little shadow sometimes. The boys do hero-worship the big bulls, of course, but there always seemed to be an extra quality to Emanti’s attitude. I’m glad someone else has noted that there’s a particular bond between them. I haven’t been lucky enough to see the gentle sparring so I was thrilled to read that, Jan! 🙂 Maybe I’ll get lucky…

Kathey, I was delighted to hear that Kaia is rolling in the mud now–and so happy for you that you got to see the babies “for real,” not just on the cam. (The cam is great, but real-life has to be very exciting!)

I am happy to see that this pretty little girl finally has a name! Can you provide a pronunciation guide for it (and the nickname) please? I got to see both babies in person on Saturday. Kaia got very bold and trotted away from her mom, who followed within a minute. Kaia approached another elephant that flawed its ears then quieted down. Kaia stayed in the shade while mom stayed a few feet away. Yesterday while watching online at work, little Kaia was rolling in the mud with another elephant closely watched by mom. I am not sure if Zuli has done this yet. I really enjoy watching the opportunity to watch your different cams and see how the different animals behave throughout the day. thank you for all your hard work, everyone.

Blog Monitor’s note: Mkhaya: M (just a brief “m” sound)-KAI (“k/eye”)-uh. Kaia: K/EYE-uh.

We’re so in love with little Kaia! It is a delight to watch both her and Zuli as they explore and interact with their little corner of the world and families. And, Jan and Lana, if you aren’t following on the safari park’s feed on Instagram you’re missing out on some awesome videos. In a recent video of Kaia you even get to hear her little trumpet squeak—it’s so adorable! We’ve probably watched it 10 times already. Enjoy!

So happy that “Kaia” has her name at last.

It’s wonderful to see her exploring everything and gaining confidence all the time. Just now she was checking-out some of the logs and branches tree-trunks and things–I’ve always wondered if some of it is driftwood, very intriguing shapes!–getting side-tracked every time Umngani passed or paused near anything, moving her little trunk all over touching and smelling and stroking the textures and all. Lots of great enrichment and “scenery” lately for the ellies, the Team is doing a brilliant job of setting up things for the babies to investigate (and no doubt the adults and older calves are enjoying it all, too). And it’s really good to see that the herd is settling down a bit now that they’re adjusting to the changing relationships.

Loved the video, a real joy to watch.