Ecotourism centered on animal species: the marmot genus as a model [L'écotourisme axé sur les espèces animales: la marmotte comme modèle].

Résumé

The aim of environmental education is to link scientific knowledge from hard sciences (i.e. earth, and zoological disciplines) with emotional attitudes towards the environment. Both biophilia and deep ecology suggest that animals, and among them vertebrates are most important in building positive experiences and emotions towards the natural environment. However in temperate zones, not many vertebrates are diurnal and available for educational purpose in the wild. Here the marmot genus, and particularly the alpine marmot is proposed as a model for animals related environmental education. In fact marmots are among the few mammals that can be easily observed during the day. The result of a simple questionnaire is presented.