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In the pre-dawn hours of a mid-September morning, biologist, photographer and environmental advocate Nigella Hillgarth woke up in a tent surrounded by acacia trees in the African Savanna.
Hillgarth, a La Jolla resident, is as at-home in Kenya as by the ocean. She retired to La Jolla in 2018, after having living there from 2002 to 2014, when she was executive director of Birch Aquarium at Scripps Institution of Oceanography. She also holds a remote post as an affiliate professor and research scientist at the University of Washington.
Hillgarth spends a great deal of time traveling, with her international trips encompassing both business and pleasure.
Her recent African adventure was a photographic safari with a small group. “First light appears as I drink a cup of coffee and pack my cameras for the day,” Hillgarth said. “Early morning is my favorite part of the day, before it gets too hot and many animals are out and light for photography is good.”
They camped in the Southern Masai Mara, and were off by 6 a.m. most mornings, looking for lions, leopards and other animals.
“For a biologist like myself, African animals are fascinating. There are still so many large wild animals living free in their natural habitat, and living and interacting in the same way they have for thousands, if not millions of years,” Hillgarth said. “As a photographer, it is a great place to go to get wonderful shots and the light can be amazing.”
An image captured by Nigella Hillgarth while in the Masai Mara of Africa.
(Provided by Nigella Hillgarth)
She said that the groups take photos until the heat of the day, when they retire back to camp, venturing out again in the evenings for a few more hours.
Despite being retired, Hillgarth still strives to connect people to the natural world, and lets others know what can be done to protect it in the face of habitat loss, pollution and the shifting climate. She combines her photography and science background to develop shows, which help teach the public about environmental issues.
Although she had been to East Africa before, Hillgarth’s current venture is her first visit to Kenya. In January, she will travel to Antarctica, South Georgia and the Falkland Islands, departing from the southern tip of Argentina.
“This will be my fifth trip to Antarctica and I can’t wait to go back,” she said. “Antarctica is full of color and sound and life.” She described the sunsets as “the best I have ever seen,” the penguins as “delightful” and the icebergs and glaciers as “incredible.”
In late July, Hillgarth will travel to the Arctic, to Svalbard, the Greenland Sea and Iceland. The following October she will visit the Seychelles in East Africa.
Before returning to La Jolla from Kenya, she plans to take a trip to Ireland for a few days. There, she will visit friends and stay at a small cottage she has there, in Tipperary on Lough Derg, near Nenagh, next to where she was born and grew up.
Hillgarth’s hometown nurtured her love of animals and nature during her upbringing.
So much so that when Hillgarth was 5, she went around her house saying “I am an animal lover, I am an animal lover” over and over again, and “I really haven’t changed,” she said.
An Oxford University graduate, she received her master’s degree in zoology and doctoral degree in animal behavior. She specialized in the behavior and physiology of pheasants, and conducted research in Britain, India and Thailand.
She later became the executive director of the Tracy Aviary, the nation’s largest bird park, in Salt Lake, Utah, then the president and CIO of the New England Aquarium in Boston, before landing at Birch Aquarium.
Of all the places Hillgarth has traveled, she is always happy to come back home.
“What is not to like about La Jolla? It has so much history for the area, and great institutions such as Scripps Institution of Oceanography, UC San Diego, the Salk Institute and several others,” she said, and praised the friendly people, great atmosphere, restaurants and stores, and the fantastic weather.
“And of course, the ocean is simply wonderful,” Hillgarth said. “What better place is there to retire?”
Hillgarth’s work can be seen at nhillgarthphotography.com.
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