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Ila's love for Nature has no boundaries.
Originally from Canada, Ila is a freelance naturalist.
She looks after sick and injured wild animals for the island she lives
on, mostly seabirds, some turtles and terrestrial birds.
When she married a Frenchman and moved to Polynesia,
she began exploring the coral reefs and it was here that she met the reef
sharks, (particularly Carcharhinus melanopterus, the Blackfin
Reef Sharks). Fascinated by their evident intelligence, responsiveness,
and complex behaviour, she set out to discover what they are like as individuals,
and became familiar with the local population, swimming with favourites,
and keeping track of the events in their lives.
Having learned first hand that sharks are sensitive,
sentient creatures, severely wronged by human bias, she is writing about
them, to share with the public what they are like, and the serious threats
to their future through finning and overfishing.
Financing her lifestyle by
selling her paintings with the message that wild animals should be respected
and protected from exploitation and abuse, Ila has managed to save hundreds
of sick or dying creatures.
The paintings shown here are a very small selection
of some of her magnificent works.
This page is my humble Tribute to this
fantastic woman....."The
Shark Princess".
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