Drought Tactics -- Ours and Theirs

Like all of northern Kenya, Lewa is experiencing drought conditions  -- very hot and very, very dry.  Meteorologists are saying that “better than average” rain is coming. But, in the meantime, elephant are struggling to find enough food.  

We are hoping that the supplemental feeding
will help Stilton's calf to survive

We are particularly concerned about two new babies of first time mothers in the Cheese family – a little girl named Emmental, born to Mozzarella in March, and Stilton’s baby boy who is only two months old.  Due to the lack of nutritious food, Stilton has very little milk.  It is heartbreaking to watch her tiny, new calf trying to suckle and giving up after only a few moments.  

As the saying goes, drastic times call for drastic measures.

Camembert stuffs her "snack" in between
her trunk and her tusks

So . . . .  at our feeding station that the Cheeses visit on a regular basis, we have upped our game and rather than using the usual cut grass with a bit of molasses, we are putting out high quality hay along with lots of tasty, sugary molasses.  From time to time, we are also supplementing their diet with lucerne which has a very high nutritional content.  We are hopeful that this additional food will help these precious little elephant survive.

Camembert often takes more than her
fair share

On a lighter note, it has been extremely entertaining to watch different elephants’ techniques for ensuring that they get their fair share (or, in some cases, much more than their fair share) of the treats.

Havarti has adopted her mother's
technique for storing food

Camembert, for example, has developed a clever method of stuffing as much hay or lucerne as possible between her trunk and her tusks.  She stores that bunch away for later and then, as quickly as possible, eats what is on the ground.  On one occasion, she actually stuffed both of her tusks, grabbed a big mouthful, took another big bail of molasses hay in her trunk and then walked far away from the others in hopes of eating undisturbed.  Camembert’s daughter, Havarti, has just recently started to copy her mother’s technique.

Asparagus grabs some food and runs as
quickly as possible away from the group

Asparagus’s strategy is to get in early, grab a big bunch and then run as quickly as possible away from the group – hoping to go unnoticed.  So far, he has been quite successful.  The other day, Mozzarella decided not to take any chances; she grabbed a bundle of lucerne and carried it all the way across the river so that no one could steal her breakfast.

From time to time, Camembert comes to the car to say "hello"

It has taken many, many years to slowly earn the trust of these elephant.  They still remain completely wild and make contact with us when and if they chose -- and always on their own terms.  But, as any friend would do, Camembert sometimes comes over to the car just to say “hello.” 

Despite this, I was utterly amazed the other day when Celery decided that she could not wait for us to off load the hay that was on top of the car.  So, she walked right up and helped herself!

Celery was too impatient to wait for us to off load the hay
and molasses, so, much to our surprise, she helped herself!

Changes and Surprises

Elephant never cease to amaze.  There is almost always something new, interesting, exciting, and sometimes confusing, going on.

Recently, there have been some changes in appearances, the most obvious being the result of broken tusks.  The very distinctive Artichoke has broken one of her long,

Artichoke's new look

straight tusks; so altered is her appearance that it took a few minutes to realize that it was actually her.  I would equate this change to having someone you know, who has long, dark hair, suddenly appearing with short, blonde hair – it would take a minute or two to recognize her. 

Heron and Rose have somehow managed to break both of their tusks which, in Heron’s case, has resulted in a marked change of appearance. Fortunately, the distinctive cut at the bottom of her left ear makes

Heron before she broke her tusks - note the distinctive
cut in her left ear which makes her easy to identify

her readily identifiable – even without her tusks.  

Heron with her two broken tusks

There also have been some wonderful surprises.  First, the Artist family – which had only been sighted once in July of 2005 -- returned to Lewa.  I actually had begun to doubt my records and, on several occasions, have double-checked that these elephant were not actually part of another family.  Then, a few months ago, they suddenly reappeared at our feeding station!  It took a while to figure out who there were, but I was very excited when I realized that they truly were the Artists – with several new additions.  The family remained on Lewa for several days and then, once again, left for parts unknown.

Shortly thereafter, we had another remarkable reappearance.   Fusilli, one of two big females in the Pasta family, disappeared in 2010.  The family, headed by the matriarch Ziti, continued to visit Lewa from time to time, but Fusilli and her calves were never

Fusilli, casually grazing at the top of
the driveway after having been missing for 5 years

with them.   Because her calves were also missing, I knew there was a chance that she was still alive; but, as the years passed, I became increasingly doubtful that we would ever see her again.  Then, one day in March of this year, we were stunned to find her casually grazing at the top of our driveway.  Her 2005 male calf, Linguine, was still with her as was Cannelloni, her 2009 female calf.  We had seen her mated in January of 2010 and were happy to find that she had a healthy three-year-old calf, whom we dubbed Manicotti.

Finally, Julia, who was the matriarch of the Oscar family, reappeared for a short visit after disappearing back in 2009.  The Oscar family has been seen coming and going during that period but never with Julia.  She suddenly returned one day with a whole new family!  They only stayed for two days and, as far as we know, have not returned.

There is one thing for certain with elephant – nothing is for certain!

We're Back

Sorry for having gone quiet for several months, but I am now back and promise to be faithful with more stories about the day to day lives of Lewa’s elephant.   Needless to say, much has happened over the past few months – some happy and some sad.

To begin with, I recently saw Alabama and was quite concerned to find her all alone -- except for one large bull.  This most certainly meant that she had lost her little baby girl.  Her two older daughters are weaned and, thus, technically old enough to survive on their own, but it is unusual for young females not to remain with their mother.  This carried on for several days, and I began to fear the worst; however, a few days later, I was relieved to see California and Mississippi reunited with their mother.  It is likely that Alabama was mating with the bull since the loss of her calf would have brought her into estrus.  Time will tell.

We also have been witnessing unusual behavior within the Cheese and Vegetable families -- the two families that I know best.  The Cheeses, who used to appear in my “neighborhood” on almost a daily basis, now seem to spend the majority of their time above Lewa in the Ngare Ndare forest.  In fact, they were absent for such a long time that I became very worried.  Fortunately, I have recently seen them and all is fine. 

Despite their limited time on Lewa, there have been some remarkable events with the Cheese family.  On 6 March, Mozzarella gave birth to a baby girl just below our house!  Much to my surprise, however, her family was not there to celebrate the new arrival.  There was none of the trumpeting and excitement that usually accompanies the birth of a baby elephant.  In fact, the rest of the Cheeses were nowhere to be seen, and Mozzarella remained around the house for quite some time – all alone except for her new calf whom we have named Emmental.  I suppose she stayed because she knew that she was safe and that food and water were readily available -- but why she was not

Mozzarella is comfortable coming right up to the car for food

with her family remains a mystery.  As my concern for Mozzarella and her baby grew, I made the decision to bring down additional food especially for her.  Each time we drove down to the feeding station, she would come running to the car!

Although she was very excited to see us, she patiently waited a few metres away while we off loaded the hay and molasses.  Once we were safely back in the car, she did not hesitate to come right over and enjoy her feast.  This carried on for several weeks with one or two feedings each day.   She would wander a bit in the hills to graze, but she made sure to stay close enough that she could always here the car as it approached.

Finally, one day, I was relieved to see Camembert walking toward the station.  Although I did not see her reunite with Mozzarella – something I would have loved to witness – Mozzarella and her baby were not seen again for quite some time, and I assumed that they had left with Camembert.  Several weeks then went by without any sighting of the Cheese family or Mozzarella.

Then, just the other day, Camembert reappeared at the feeding station.  Although there was nothing there for them to eat, the family waited patiently – secure in the

Camembert and her family wait patiently while we put out
the grass and molasses

assumption that food would arrive.  Not wanting to disappoint, we quickly loaded the car with grass and molasses and hurried down to the station.  When she heard a vehicle approaching, Camembert began to leave; but, as soon as I called to her, she turned around and came over to the car.  Per usual, she waited calmly just far enough away that it was safe for us to get out of the car and off load “dinner".

Once we were back in the car, Camembert brought her family right over and began to devour the grass that was smothered in the sweet molasses that they love.  Even little Gorgonzola is now old enough to grab mouthfuls. 

Little Gorgonzola is now old enough to
enjoy the sweet molasses

To me, this is one of the most amazing and wonderful experiences ever.  To be standing in the presence of these incredible, massive and majestic animals (who could destroy me with one swipe of a trunk) and know that they trust me enough to stand a few metres away and wait while I put out the food is an experience that defies description. 

However, my delight was cut short when I realized that Mozzarella was not with the family.  The very next day, however, much to my surprise and relief, Mozzarella did reappear -- with the Vegetable family!  What she is thinking I do not know, but she has remained with them since that day.  In addition, Celery and the two boys recently have been traveling with the Cheeses.  

This is not entirely new behavior.  These two families have spent a great deal of time together over the years, particularly when Garbanza, the deceased matriarch of the Vegetable family (who bore a striking resemblance to Camembert), was still alive.  And, in fact, they still come together from time to time.  Carrot also goes back and forth between families.  I suspect that these two families are related which would help to explain this behavior.  To prove this assumption, I collected DNA samples on both Camembert and Garbanza years ago and hope to be able to get it analyzed one day soon.  I will let you know the outcome. 

Next time, more updates on life with Lewa’s amazing and fascinating elephant.