Méthode indiciaire et prise photographique. le cas du suivi de la loutre

Abstract

How can one monitor the movements of a species such as the otter, which is difficult to observe in its natural habitat? We investigated two approaches used in Limousin (Central France). The first is based on observations by a large number of field naturalists who explore river and stream surroundings for otter traces. The second uses a camera trap placed in an otter tunnel passing under a motorway. In both cases the knowledge obtained rests on two kinds of "life traces": traces left by this elusive animal and pictures taken by the camera trap. In the first situation information on the otter is reconstructed from life traces collected in the field by trained observers. In the second, the use of camera traps developed by a small group of actors provides pictures of this animal seldom encountered in nature by the naturalists. Although the two approaches do not mobilize the same energy, meaning or involvement with nature, knowledge on the otter benefits from, and is furthered by the combination of these two monitoring methods. © NSS Dialogues, EDP Sciences 2006.