Victor Rueda

Victor spent his early childhood in Puerto Ayora, Galápagos, an ideal place to grow up surrounded by nature. His family settled on the islands in 1905, making their living as farmers and fishermen. When he was six years old, Victor enjoyed identifying fish at the local fish market using an old marine life guidebook. Those daily experiences sparked an early interest in the natural world and inspired his pursuit of the life sciences. Although he later moved to mainland Ecuador for his education, he returned to the islands whenever possible and never ceased to admire the beauty of his home.

He completed his higher education in mainland Ecuador, returning regularly to the islands during academic breaks. Victor earned a degree in Ecosystem Engineering from Ikiam Amazon Regional University in the Ecuadorian Amazon.

His professional experience includes work in landscape ecology, palm phenology and macrofungi research. In the Galápagos, he volunteered with the Charles Darwin Foundation, mapping invasive species using remote sensing and GIS technologies. He also collaborated with the University of Washington on Galápagos penguin monitoring projects, focusing on the ecology and conservation of this iconic species.

In 2017, he obtained his naturalist guide license from the Galápagos National Park. Since then, he has worked as a naturalist, sharing his scientific background and personal connection to the islands with visitors while encouraging a deeper understanding of conservation and natural resource stewardship. During his free time, he enjoys creating scientific illustrations of plants and marine life.