As a child he was fascinated by wildlife – Siberian tigers, Congolese gorillas, orcas and great whites… majestic and powerful legends of the wild.
As an adult his passions remained the same, but were temporarily sidetracked by his work in the forests of western British Columbia, followed by a career in New York. It wasn’t until a face to face encounter with a great white shark in False Bay, South Africa that Ray Smith decided to set off to experience first hand some of the planet’s most untouched wilderness settings and follow his passion to protect wildlife species around the world.
So was born “Legends of the Wild” – a unique conservation expedition company, whose aim is to arrange unique life experiences through encounters with legendary wild animals in the most remote locales on the planet. Legends of the Wild voyages start where others turn back, taking clients deep into the rainforests of Panama or Amazonia or to the slopes of the Himalayas to witness and participate in vital research projects aimed at wildlife conservation.
Innovative and disruptive, Legends of the Wild is a pioneer in its field of exploration travel, with Ray and his team having spent years working with local scientists, indigenous peoples and logistics experts, to compose extreme wildlife adventures that are unique, respectful of the environment, and that fund critical wildlife scientific research projects.
In the words of Legends of the Wild founder, Ray Smith :
“We organize and arrange unique life experiences through encounters with legendary wild animals in the most remote locales on the planet. Our voyages start where others turn back.
We do this because we are excited by the notion of leaving the beaten path and heading into the wild. We do this because we still share a child’s excitement over the prospect of an encounter with a paramount predator in the unfamiliar murkiness of its natural environment, so far from the cocoon of our everyday lives. We do this because we have an insatiable curiosity and boundless respect for these legends of the wild.”
