Ila France Porcher:
Ila France Porcher is a self taught, published ethologist, who financed her studies by selling paintings and prints of the wildlife she observed. On moving to Tahiti, she focused on reef sharks, reconizing their intelligent and complex behaviour. She worked in concert with University scientists fascinated with her observations in the wild. For sixteen years, and following the precepts of cognitive ethology, she observed sharks underwater, identified each individual by markings, and recorded their actions.
Ila became a pioneer in the battle to protect sharks when hundreds she was studying, along with shark populations on island reefs throughout the country, were finned and left to die.
In 2010, she wrote down the story of her beloved lost sharks in “The Shark Sessions”.
More books about animal behaviour followed:
The True Nature of Sharks
Merlin, The Mind of a Sea Turtle
The Spirit of Wild Ducks
Outwitted by Chickens
The Bird Who Killed the Tiger
Each book focuses on a variety of individuals, and how their actions reveal intelligence and likely consciousness.
Ila has also published many articles on animal behaviour and intelligence over the years, and is a contributor to LiveScience, X-ray International Dive magazine, and Academia.
In 2018, Ila became The Shark Educational Institute’s shark behaviour specialist adviser, and a member of the board.
Website: “https://ilafranceporcher.wixsite.com/wildlifeart"