Onca Explorations | Wildlife Conservation Adventures - 82100 Mazatlán

CEO | Manager

Oscar is a local scientist, explorer, entrepreneur and conservationist. He earned his Bachelor of Science degree in Oceanography at the Universidad Autonoma de Baja California (UABC) in Ensenada studying the ecology and behavior of Pacific bottlenose dolphins off the coast of Baja and southern California. Later he earned a Master of Science degree in Marine Ecology at the Centro de Investigación Científica y Educación Superior de Ensenada (CICESE) assessing cetacean bycatch in the Gulf of California. After years of collaboration in several field research projects in Mexico and Canada studying from the smallest and most endangered cetacean in the world, the vaquita porpoise, to the largest animal that has ever existed on earth, the blue whale; he returned to Mazatlan, his birthplace, where he founded Onca Explorations, becoming the pioneer of the whale watching industry in Mazatlan and leader of the first long-term citizen science program for the monitoring of cetaceans and other marine megafauna in Sinaloa.

Research Technician / Guide

Saul is a young naturalist from Mexico City. He earned his Bachelor’s degree in Tourism from the Instituto de Ciencias Económico Administrativas in Pachuca, Hidalgo. Since the beginning of his academic career, Saul showed a deep interest in Ecotourism, and just after finishing his studies, he worked for several years guiding tours through the ancient pyramids of Teotihuacan, as well as other nature tours in the area. He then moved to Mazatlan, where he began his training as a naturalist guide, leading kayaking and hiking tours to the islands of Mazatlan, before joining our crew during our humpback whale season in the winter of 2009.

All of our staff members are carefully chosen for their enthusiasm and avid interest in wildlife conservation and Mexico´s natural history. They go through a great amount of training to ensure they are providing you with accurate, updated and interesting information about the species and ecosystems we visit, as well as an overall professional and safe experience. Check out our STAFF slideshow to meet some of our friends, volunteers, and guides, that have been with us thru all this time, all of them wonderful people that have made all our adventures possible. Many thanks to all of them!

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