THE ECOLOGY HOUSEKEEPER
Mercy Waithira, wildlife and ecology officer
most of her work focuses on a plan to create a 20,000-acre extension zone for an overspill of black rhinos, Mercy Waithira confesses her true love is birds. For the documentary, a film crew shadowed her attempts to help Masasai ostriches Cedric and Koki successfully hatch a clutch of eggs.
“Populations have been declining for some time,” she laments, “mainly because the unborn chicks are vulnerable to predators.”
In the programme, Cedric and Koki’s clutch falls victim to a clan of hyenas, leading Mercy and her team to offer a helping hand. “Intervention is a last resort,” insists the conservationist, who led efforts to sedate and capture the birds, placing them in a predator-free boma to breed, “but it’s necessary in a situation like this when the numbers are too low.”
Making the decision to step in might have been easy, but catching the super sprinters was another matter. “Chasing a big bird is quite hilarious,” giggles Mercy. “You can’t outrun them. It took us several days.” Fortunately, the team’s efforts paid off, with seven new arrivals of a bird Mercy affectionately compares to dinosaurs. “Nothing about them makes sense,” she laughs.
Another bird close to her heart is the crowned crane, an endangered avian species that also has a starring role in the show. “They are beautiful – how they look, how they walk, how they dance,” says Mercy. “They are one of those things the creator must have taken good time to work on.”
But, aside from protecting birds, Mercy says the greatest reward of her job is simply marvelling at the resilience of nature. “When we started working on the rhino extension zone, I never thought we would be able to do it,” she confesses. “But watching the land spring back was like zero to 100. Every time you restore an area, the species will return.”
‘Chasing a big bird is quite hilarious. You can’t outrun them. It took us several days’