Glynn Hobbs - imageweaver

The Common Genet (which is far from common) is the only Genet present in Europe and occurs in the Iberian Peninsula, Italy and France. Just over a year ago, I was invited by a friend to set up my 'DSLR Camera Trap' and record the nocturnal wildlife that was living in his forest. He had been using 'trail cams' to record video footage, but whilst the image quality was ok, what we both wanted, was to record higher quality, colour images of his night time visitors.  Approaching septuagenarian years, I had lost my enthusiasm for camping out at 'silly' o'clock, in all weathers, so had built my first camera trap a few years ago. It allows me to set up my DSLR cameras and flashes in waterproof housings, which are triggered by 'Camtraptions' trigger systems. These remotely fire the camera and flashes, when my 'target' appears. It is not just the discomfort of spending nights in the forest that forced me down this route, but also the fact that our wil...

The Coypu was introduced from South America into France, back in the 19th century by the fur trade. As a result of escaped animals and subsequent later (1930's) mass releases ( when the fur trade declined ), the Coypu is now considered both an 'alien' species and a 'pest' throughout France! Having the unfortunate appearance of a very large rat, it has not ingratiated itself with the human population. Size varies, but an adult is typically 50-60 cms long, with an additional tail of 30-40cms. Average weight is around 10kgs! When one adds the fact that its burrows can cause damage to river banks, and its fondness of surrounding vegatation, upsets farmers, we have an ideal recipe for a human desire to kill it. Of course, like many 'alien' invaders ( usually introduced by man ), there can also be implications for the resident wildlife. In this instance, it is the Coypu's diet of plants ( they are herbivores ), that can be argued, potentially destroys nesting...