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ILA FRANCE PORCHER
Ethologist, author, and wildlife artist
Shark Behaviour Specialist Advisor
SHARKS EDUCATIONAL INSTITUTE
As a wildlife artist I have observed a range of wild animals and made copious notes about them. Cognition, or thinking in animals, is shown when an individual must have thought about a situation and come to a conclusion, or decision, instead of using trial and error.
And every species, including sharks, has not only shown evidence of cognition, but was able to hold an idea in mind for long periods while working towards a goal. Such intentional behaviour by an animal, assuming
a future in the making and demonstrating learning from the past, suggests the presence of an over-seeing, self-serving awareness, or consciousness, that manipulates the mental concepts (thoughts), makes moment-to-moment decisions, and keeps its purposes in mind as it pursues its life.
After all, for an animal to survive in this world, it must be able to comprehend reality accurately enough to respond to it appropriately, or it will go straight into evolution’s garbage can. And no brain is simple, as anyone who has observed the actions of a spider will appreciate. My books reflect my approach of watching the actions and interactions of individuals, and showing how these actions reveal animals to be sentient, intelligent beings, pursuing lives that very much matter to them.
Ila has a rare talent. It is, I suspect, an artist's eye applied to writing:
the acuteness of detail; the consciousness of context and proportion. Her clarity of intent is stunning, and beautiful. Each word is a brush stroke consciously applied. As a wordsmith, I recognise and acknowledge rare mastery. And three chapters into a subject I am not especially interested in, I am waiting with a low, gnawing hunger for more. That alone tells me I have found something special. I have been lured to the doorstep of a Tolkein-esque world and primed, ready to meet an array of inhabitants I have barely imagined
yet know I will come to love.
--Allan Baddock, film maker, New Zealand
The Five Star Bears
Just Released:
Top Review:
A True Story that will Show You the Darkness of Canada's Crimes Against Earth
Like sharks being finned, the bears of North America cannot fill the lucrative Chinese market for their paws and internal organs, a market driven by high prices and rich customers without concern for sustainability. Yet they are being slaughtered, not only by poachers, but by Conservation officers and a variety of members of the hunting lobby.
As well as the fact that bears are not dangerous, this book addresses their appalling treatment through a very personal story into which my husband and I were caught up, trying defend fifteen bears fleeing forest fires who arrived in our part of Sunshine Valley, B.C.
The story also shows how easy it is for the hunting lobby to convince residents to report all bears seen so that they can be slaughtered. Thus the terrible danger of how authoritarian followers work their evil in ordinary communities is laid bare for all to see.
With forest fires more prolific each year, all wildlife fleeing fires in Canada are in peril, especially bears.
Few books possess the ability to blend the rawness of human emotion, the beauty of nature, and the piercing edge of social critique as deftly as *The Five Star Bears*. Set against the breathtaking yet volatile backdrop of Sunshine Valley, BC, Canada, this drama, rooted in a harrowing true story, is both a profound indictment of intolerance and a stirring tribute to the resilience of the human spirit.
A Heart-Wrenching Drama of Injustice
At its core, this book is a searing narrative of courage and cruelty. The artist and her husband, caught in a maelstrom of hostility, become the target of a community gripped by fear and blinded by prejudice. The story's villains—the residents of Sunshine Valley and their hunting-lobby accomplices—are chilling in their self-righteousness. Their actions, fuelled by ignorance and a disdain for both nature and individuality, cast a dark shadow over the beauty of the valley and the nobility of the animals. The shame they bring upon themselves and their community is palpable, underscoring the destructive power of mob mentality and narrow-minded beliefs.
A Literary Triumph
The writing in The Five Star Bears is nothing short of sublime. With meticulous attention to detail and a command of language that elevates every sentence to art, the author paints vivid images of the valley and the creatures within it. The prose flows with the urgency of the story while pausing at times to reflect, allowing the reader to savour the depth of emotion and meaning embedded in every scene.
Art That Speaks to the Soul
One of the most striking elements of this book is the inclusion of original painted bear portraits. These breathtaking artworks bring the animals to life, each with a distinct personality and soul. They are not merely illustrations but integral to the book’s message: a reminder of the individuality and intrinsic worth of every living being. The portraits serve as a poignant counterpoint to the brutality the bears face, making their plight all the more heart-wrenching.
A Brave Act of Advocacy
To write Five Star Bears is, in itself, an act of remarkable courage—a beacon of light piercing through the shadow of darkness that has engulfed this blighted land. The author confronts the perpetrators of the tragedy with unflinching honesty, refusing to shy away from exposing their actions. In doing so, this book stands as both a memorial to the bears and a rallying cry for change. It challenges us to reconsider our relationship with nature and to reject the fear and hatred that so often dictate human behaviour.
A Call for Coexistence
The Five Star Bears is more than a story—it is a plea for a better future. It urges us to embrace coexistence, to protect the wildlife that shares our planet, and to recognize the devastating consequences of hunting and environmental neglect. The book’s message is urgent, its implications far-reaching, and its emotional impact unforgettable.
The Five Star Bears is a masterpiece that deserves a place on every bookshelf. It is a testament to the power of art, the necessity of compassion, and the courage it takes to stand against injustice. Whether you are drawn to it for its stunning prose, its evocative illustrations, or its vital message, this book will leave an indelible mark on your heart.
My other books:
BIRDS ARE IMPOSSIBLE
The Supernatural Ways of the Fliers
The mystery of birds is described through accounts of a variety of individuals of many species. Not only do their remarkable actions and abilities show that they are conscious, but also that birds are a transcendent life-form very different from us. Though we have always considered ourselves to be superior, around the world birds fly beneath our gazes, build houses using local materials, talk, sing, dance, and love, even in regions that humans have been unable to conquer. Though often small, flying is not the only thing they do that defies human abilities. They see more colours, sharper and better than we do; they see light in more frequencies. They can see the magnetic field of the earth. Without training they exceed us in the powers of navigation. Their memories for countless tiny details are better than ours, and they communicate about everything of concern to them. Birds live at a faster rate than we do, as if they inhabit a heightened vibratory space beyond human imagination. . .
Outwitted by Chickens
The Bird Who Killed the Tiger
I have written before of the strange way that the reality we find as adults fails to correspond to what we were taught as we were growing up, and this book brings us face to face with that phenomenon again. Taken from eight years of detailed notes on the behaviour of the birds in the flock of junglefowl living in our garden, and of the birds living in wild flocks on the slopes of the mountain beside us, it presents an in-depth look at the true nature of this living ancestor of the domestic chicken.
One of the rescued birds actually is a domestic chicken and she is just as sensitive and intelligent as the wild race with which she integrates. We find that chickens are super-birds who should have received the media attention currently being given to crows and ravens, for they are just as intelligent if not more so. Indeed, during a life-time of studying wild animals, often as individuals, the one who stands out now, in my mind as the brightest creature, was a chicken.
The SPIRIT OF wILD DUCKS
This book provides a glimpse into the lives of the individuals of a flock of ducks that lived upon the river Yerre in France. Their story is complicated by the hunting season which devastated them, and the pollution of their river which caused them to fall ill every few weeks. Further complications for the hens is the homosexual behaviour of many of the drakes wherein part of the fun is to rape the other's mate, leaving their own mate alone and unprotected.
The accounts of the events in the lives of these bright birds are supplemented by a generous photo-documentation inserted into the text which transports you into their intimate company for a very touching experience.
This is the first such in-depth documentation of duck behaviour, and through the detailed accounts of the actions of the hens, drakes, and their offspring, you will understand much about their difficult lives. In knowing the cognitive abilities, social natures, the sensitivities, and the spirit of these unusual birds, you will never think about ducks in the same way again.
The True Nature of SharkS
This book is based on a seven year study of shark behaviour through underwater observation. When I first met reef sharks, I saw immediately that they are very different from the mammals and birds we are more familiar with, so launched an intensive study of their behaviour, their social structure, and their daily lives. These observations were supplemented with shorter periods watching wild tiger, bull, and lemon sharks, with the result that I was credited with finding a way to study sharks without killing them.
My study also revealed the first evidence of cognition in sharks, which was presented by Arthur A. Myrberg, at the Max Planck Institute in Germany in 2003. I have included the findings of other shark ethologists, to lay out a full-scale study of shark behaviour. Shark science has been very influenced by fisheries science, which has muddied the waters concerning their true natures. So this book is important in that it presents sharks as the ordinary, intelligent animals that they are. Decorated with plenty of illustrations and photographs, it will make the mysterious blue realm of sharks come alive for you.
The Shark sessions
My Sunset Rendezvous
This is the story of my ethological study of reef sharks. Isolated in Tahiti, I recognized immediately that shark behaviour was unlike that of other wild animals, so I launched a full scale study of the sharks using the local lagoon to try to understand them. Soon I could recognize 300 blackfin reef sharks on sight. There were 4 other species of sharks in the lagoon. When I contacted ethologists in the USA, I was able to present the first evidence that they are thinking instead of running on instinct, so a BBC film crew came to film them. But by then they were being massacred for the shark fin trade. I tried to get the news of their plight out of the country, only to learn that TV was not interested in conservation. So I wrote down their story in this dramatic book, so that the world would find out what they were like, and the strange and startling things that happened. For when shark finning came to those innocent islands, they and their community were lost. . .
Merlin: THe Mind
of a Sea Turtle
While the intelligent awareness and consciousness of our pets is increasingly accepted in our society, a strong prejudice lingers against the idea that animals considered "cold" and "low," such as fish, sharks, amphibians, and reptiles could be sentient. This book shows how mistaken this attitude is. The lives of sea turtles in the context of a society that hunts them are revealed in vivid words in this account of what happened to four sea turtles in Tahiti.
Their actions in different situations provide a revealing glimpse into their minds. They could plan ahead, cooperate against their own instincts, and use deceptive strategies. They remembered abuse and tried to avoid more suffering, and their behaviour was flexible according to the circumstances.
This evidence of their conscious approach to life provides another reason to insist on their protection.