Our naturalist guides are professional biologists who are recognized as the top of their field in each of their respective locales. Our expedition guides and outfitters offer unparalleled expertise and experience in the regions we traverse.

RAY SMITH

Ray Smith started Legends of the Wild to both satisfy his own curiosity and passion for encounters with legendary animals in remote locales and to create an additional source of funding for scientific field research aimed at wildlife conservation. Ray, born in northern Canada, worked in the forests of western British Columbia, then pursued a career in New York before setting off to experience first hand some of the planet’s most untouched wilderness settings.

Tashi Ghale

Tashi Ghale is a field biologist and citizen-scientist with Global Primate Network (GPN). GPN endeavors to protect wildlife through people-participation by developing and promoting local citizen-scientists through training and skill development programs. Tashi today manages 30 different camera traps in the Annapurna area, across a dozen sites located along mountain ridges, at elevations ranging from 3,800 to 5,500 meters. Tashi’s snow leopard camera trap research is widely recognized as being amongst the most prolific in its field today.

RICK MORALES

Rick Morales, our expedition outfitter and guide in Panama, served as a naturalist guide for over twelve years, for Panama’s premiere tour operator before starting Jungle Treks, his own expedition company. In 2011 Rick set out and became the first person to hike the entire Trans Panama Trail across the breadth of Panama, from the Colombian border to Costa Rica. Rick is more versed and experienced in Darien expeditions than anyone else in this business today.

RICARDO MORENO

Ricardo Moreno, who has a M.S. in Wildlife Conservation and Management, has over 15 years of experience working with wildcats– primarily jaguars, pumas and ocelots – in Panama and Costa Rica. Ricardo pioneered the use of camera traps in Panama as a means of surveying the jaguar population. He is passionate about establishing a harmony between the human and jaguar populations and recognizing that the greatest prospect for success will be through education, has given over 1,300 talks and seminars to communities located in jaguar habitats. 

CONSTANCE SMITH

Constance Smith has been passionate about wildlife and the outdoors since the youngest age. A love for serious adventures has led her to discover Mongolia on horseback, sail the Amazon river, camp in the below freezing Canadian winter, and many more voyages… A seasoned digital marketer, Constance is proud to be a part of the Legends of the Wild team, partnering with her father to develop the business and grow its international client base, in their effort to seam the boundaries between tourism and conservation, to have a real impact on wildlife preservation.