Got a note from Tsavo this morning. It states that "yesterday at 12:45 the water started coming down the dry Voi River bed. It is very noisy now due to all the frogs. The two female hippos left Satao around 17:00 hour and one hour later the Father hippo and baby left for Aruba Dam. The waterhole is now empty with no animals and I can send the fundis out there to move the water inlet pipe to the middle of the pond". Thus it sounds like Tsavo is at last getting some much needed rain.

(The water pipe had been at the edge of the waterhole and all the huge bull elephants congregated around it for the whole day bathing. With the pipe moved to the center of the waterhole, hopefully it will make more room for the mama and baby elephants to use that waterhole). This particular waterhole is used almost exclusively by elephants and hippos. There is another waterhole which all the other herd animals use as well as the lions.

Another update today:

"And by the way we had no rain down here at Satao. All the water coming down the Voi River came down from the Hills of Wundani. And the Baby Hippo is still here. They really left it behind. Maybe because it is a male he wants his own Pond. "

(I am guessing this is the oldest baby who would be around 4 years old. There was a new baby born this year and I presume that one went with Mama and Papa. If this indeed the older baby, he is the one who with his mother chased all the lions away from Aruba Dam several years ago). It was great seeing this very interesting occurrence.