Lions, Tigers and Team Building

Smith didn’t realize he could turn his passion into a business, however, until his late teens, when he was taking care of panthers while working as a guide in the Everglades.

During a film shoot there, Smith was asked to take a live panther in a cage to a corporate event. He did, only to hear complaints about how sad the panther looked behind the bars. So Smith and his wife trained the cat to be leashed—and the next event was a hit.

"We added plants, lighting, a restored Land Rover and a waterfall. Before you knew it, companies were flocking to us," he says.

Over the next 15 years, the couple transformed ballrooms into jungles and rainforests for more than 850 events, including the Republican Governors Convention in 2000. "Twenty-eight governors visited Florida and wanted to go to the Everglades. It was a security nightmare, so we brought the Everglades to them."

After the couple had their first child, Smith continued traveling for business while his wife stayed home, but it quickly got old. "I thought, ‘This isn’t worth it. We need to figure out how to continue doing what we love while staying together as a family,’" he says.

They were in Africa when they sketched a design for a private reserve on a paper napkin. Within days of their return, construction began, and Ngala was born.

"The inspiration for the name came from a lion we owned, who unfortunately passed away during construction," Smith says.

Last year, a worldwide pharmaceutical firm came to Ngala. It was a tough crowd to please, says meeting planner Richelle Nelsen. "This was a group of people who have been there, done that."
The group had dinner with a leopard and giraffe before their team-building exercise: a drum café. "A group of drummers came through and gave each person a drum. Within a half an hour they were playing music together," Nelsen says.

Now in its eighth year of business, the company has 20 full-time employees and a couple hundred others they call in for events. Each animal handler is trained by Smith.

"The animals are showcased in settings they are used to. The surroundings even have the animal’s scent. While we don’t use cages, there are protective barriers even guests sometimes can’t see."

The protection is for the animals, too; a lemon from a mixed drink can kill a parrot, he says.
Because of its exotic animals, Ngala has permits from state and federal governments, and is regulated by five government agencies. Smith is also a member of an advisory committee to the state Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission on issues dealing with captive exotic animals.

"Ngala is internationally unique. Our preserve draws people to Naples, where they spend their money and stimulate the local economy," says Smith. He estimates he helps Florida secure $150 million in tourism per year since his clients stay an average of three to five days in the Naples area. The cost of an Ngala experience differs, but Smith says it is competitive with a themed event at a major resort.

He uses some of the money from corporate retreats to present educational programs for children.
"I love to get their attention with our animals and then ask them what they want to be," Smith says. "When they tell me a garbage man or doctor or lawyer, I say ‘great.’ But I also remind them there are a million jobs that haven’t been invented yet, and I’m living proof."