Featured image: A mother Masai giraffe with her baby | Photo by Martha Mutiso Nzisa

Kenya’s naturalist on a path to create and capture wild connections

by Rupi Mangat

Growing up in a rural village in eastern Kenya, Martha Mutiso was surrounded by nature. To begin with, her homestead was set in a stunning landscape lined by the Yatta Plateau, which is the world’s longest lava flow, stretching 290 kilometres long. 

“We were always playing outside,” she says. “There was no television or the internet like today, so we had no distractions. The world around us was about the insects, birds, small mammals, trees and I loved it.”

“I was interacting with researchers and scientists at the museum and learning more and more about dudus (Kiswahili for insects), trees, birds and everything else. It was exciting.”

Learning to shoot wildlife

At about this time, Martha also became interested in photography teaching herself to shoot like a pro.

The ‘Wild Moms’ photography exhibition features a collection of her best images with the oldest taken in 2012 of a waterbuck and her foal in the Maasai Mara National Reserve that is famed for its wildlife, especially the black-maned lions and the annual migration of a million-plus wildebeest trekking into the Mara from the neighbouring Serengeti from August to October in search of fresh pasture.

The images capture tender moments of Africa’s magnificent wildlife – a cheetah with her cubs, African wild dogs with her pups (a species nearly wiped out by the end of the 20th century because it was considered vermin by early settlers); birds with chicks at the nest; a giraffe and her foal…it’s a big list. Luckily there is a coffee-table photobook published of the ‘Wild Moms’ on sale.

A woman of many talents, Martha designs jewellery, each item with a wild animal, has also taken to writing and storytelling, including shooting short wildlife films that are educational and at the same time interesting.

Storytelling to showcase Kenya’s natural wonders

Her latest venture is her nature-based company, Ecoescapades, which uses storytelling, with films, photos, immersive soundscapes, and articles that showcase the natural wonders of the world.

“Ecoescapades is a definition of my life that has everything to do with nature. It’s about conservation, tourism and storytelling,” Mutiso says. There’s more to just looking at wildlife in protected areas. It’s about looking at the holistic picture, engaging with communities that live close to the animals and learning about what research is telling us about the latest threats and opportunities in wildlife conservation.”

Expanding her efforts to birding

A keen birder, Mutiso has more than 1,000 species on her bird list in Kenya, has published a children’s colouring book about vultures, one of her favourite birds because they keep the savannahs clean and hence stop the stench from rotting carcasses and the spread of diseases such as anthrax. Unfortunately, all species of vultures have declined by more than 90 per cent in Africa since the start of the millennium. She even dressed up as one to raise awareness about the raptor during a local International Vulture Day celebration. 

Her love for birding has led her to Tanzania, Uganda, Egypt, Zimbabwe where she was on a panel during the Pan African Ornithology Conference, Thailand, Georgia, and other countries as part of a study or research team. Currently she is a Fellow on Nature, Environment and Wildlife Filming (NEWF) based in South Africa.

Martha’s work in progress: With NEWF: Producing a film on the fascinating life of spiders, and our co-existence and relation with them. 

Martha’s advice: Do not be afraid of travel, get out of your comfort zone. Travelling solo with small women groups is a great way to explore and enjoy new places.

For photography: Martha uses a Nikon D3200 camera. It has two lenses. The 18-35mm for insects and plants at close range, and 55- 300m for its zoom that allows for birds and other wildlife photography without getting too close to the animal, allowing for natural expressions without stressing it.

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