Wade Davis (anthropologist)
Edmund Wade Davis CM (born December 14, 1953) is a Canadian cultural anthropologist, ethnobotanist, photographer, and writer. He is a professor at the University of British Columbia, where he holds the BC Leadership Chair in Cultures and Ecosystems at Risk.
Davis was born in West Vancouver, British Columbia. He studied anthropology and biology and earned a Ph.D. in ethnobotany from Harvard University. In 1974, at age 20, he walked the Darién Gap with English writer Sebastian Snow.
As a scientist and explorer, Davis spent three years in the Amazon and the Andes, working as a plant hunter with the Harvard Botanical Museum. He lived among many indigenous groups in Latin America, collecting thousands of plant specimens and learning about their traditional uses. He also did ethnographic fieldwork in northern Canada. His work and photographs have been shown in many books and magazines.
Davis became famous for his research in Haiti on folk beliefs around zombies. He wrote Passage of Darkness (1988) and The Serpent and the Rainbow (1985), the latter becoming a best seller. The Serpent and the Rainbow was later made into a Wes Craven film. Davis has written many other books, including Penan: Voice for the Borneo Rain Forest (1990), Nomads of the Dawn (1995), One River (1996) — which was nominated for the Governor General’s Award for nonfiction — Shadows in the Sun (1998), and many more. His books have been translated into 14 languages.
In addition to writing, Davis is a prolific photographer. His work has appeared in National Geographic and other major outlets, and his photographs have been exhibited around the world. He helped curate The Lost Amazon exhibition and published Light at the Edge of the World (2001). He created and hosted the TV series Light at the Edge of the World, which aired in many countries, and he appeared in the IMAX film Grand Canyon Adventure: River at Risk (2008). He also contributed to several documentary projects on the environment.
Davis held the title Explorer-in-Residence with the National Geographic Society from 2000 to 2013. In 2012 his book Into the Silence: The Great War, Mallory and the Conquest of Everest won the Baillie Gifford Prize for nonfiction. His Everest-related work led to a 2022 exhibition in Santa Ana, California, Ascent to Glory, created with the Royal Geographical Society.
He has been honored as a fellow by several organizations, including the Linnean Society, the Explorer’s Club, the Royal Geographical Society, and the Royal Canadian Geographical Society. Davis has served on numerous boards, helped found the David Suzuki Foundation, and has worked with the Amazon Conservation Association.
On the personal side, Davis is married to Gail Percy, and they have two adult daughters, Tara and Raina. In 2018 he was granted Colombian citizenship.
Note: Davis’s zombie research has sparked debate and ethical questions, particularly about exhuming remains and how zombie powder was analyzed. Some scientists questioned the methods and the interpretation of tetrodotoxin findings, while others defended different viewpoints.
This page was last edited on 3 February 2026, at 19:10 (CET).