Teen wildlife tracker visits Miami to share her love of nature in kids’ book

Elvia Gómez Troya didn’t spend her summers on the phone or at a movie theater with friends.

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She spent her summer in Sumatra tracking tigers and elephants, then in Benin working on a scientific bird-tagging project. Finally, she ended her summer in Miami to share her journey as a young environmental conservationist with young South Floridians.

Fourteen-year-old Gómez Troya travelled to Miami from her hometown of Navarra, Spain, to speak about her book, “Things That Blow My Mind About Animals,” which she wrote when she was 11 and was recently translated into English.

She wants children to discover the importance of the environment early, the way she did when she was younger. Whether it’s nature or sports, “you don’t need to be an adult to make your dreams possible,” she told WLRN, a message that she recently shared with audiences at the Phillip and Patricia Frost Museum of Science and the Miami Children’s Museum.

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“ You don’t have to go so far away to see many beautiful things,” Gómez Troya said. “I feel connected to nature. It’s like a superpower because it’s like you can talk with nature with your soul.”

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Gómez Troya said she hopes that people will look for small moments of joy in nature in their own neighborhoods after reading her debut book.

Known as Elvia “la rastreadora” or “the tracker” online, she has over 50,000 followers on Instagram and posts her journey tracking animals around the world with her parents. Her father, Fernando Gómez, is a professional wildlife tracker, and with her family, she has been able to track reindeer in Finland and jackals in Bulgaria.

As a nature enthusiast, Gómez Troya visited parks like Biscayne National Park, where she took the oath to become a citizen reef ranger. She also visited Everglades National Park, where she said she saw a lot of gators despite it being very dry.

Gómez Troya, who is just starting high school, said she is working on translating her second book into English. It’s a science-fiction story in which the main character has a power that connects her to nature.

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This report was produced by Miami Herald news partner WLRN Public Media.