Our Team

Mario Ricci (mario@northernivory.com) was born and raised in Montreal Quebec, Canada and has 30 years of experience afield. His appreciation for the outdoors stemmed from listening to his grandfather speak of his moose hunting excursions and of the rifles he once owned, which were later passed down to Mario. As a young boy Mario was introduced to the outdoors by his father who took him fly fishing for trout on the famous Ausable River in Lake Placid New York and bass and pike fishing in Montebello Quebec.

He was eventually introduced to the sport of small game hunting in Eastern Quebec. After his first hunt for partridge, woodcock and hare thus began his passion for the sport of hunting. At 18 years of age Mario began training his first gun dog, a Brittany Spaniel, which allowed him to partake in many great days of upland bird hunting.

He took his very first whitetail deer with a 30-30 Marlin and at that point he was hooked on big game hunting. Today Mario hunts small game with his son and enjoys waterfowl, deer, bear and moose hunting, and fishing, in all parts of North America. In the later part of his hunting career, he has guided several hunters on Moose hunts in Northern Quebec.

In the more recent years, introducing his son to fishing and hunting has sparked in him a desire to pass on the tradition and heritage to younger outdoorsmen and to participate in wildlife conservation programs. Thus began his venture with Safari Club International (SCI). Mario is currently the Vice President of the SCI – Montreal Chapter and believes in strongly in the protection and preservation of the outdoor heritage.

Spyridonas (Spiros) Pettas (spyros@northernivory.com)was born in Athens, Greece, raised in Montreal, Quebec, Canada and has 30 years of experience afield.  Spiros discovered his passion for the great outdoors as a young boy scout learning the skills of wilderness survival and wildlife education. Later he was introduced to the world of small game hunting in the eastern townships of Quebec, which awakened his spirit of an outdoorsman and hunter.

Spiros continues to be a devoted hunter of small and big game throughout North America. Since 1986 he has played an active role in the education of Canadian Firearms Safety Courses (non-restricted and restricted), Introduction to Hunting with Firearms and recently the crossbow/ bow and arrow Hunter Safety Course in Quebec.

Today Spiros is an active director of two hunting organizations in Quebec, Safari Club International (SCI) – Montreal Chapter and the Hellenic Hunting and Fishing Club Artemis Inc.. He strongly supports the principles and policies of organizations such as SCI in the promotion, education, support and protection of hunters’ rights, wildlife conservation and preservation.