Trap hunting has been studied, up to now, from the view points of subsistence ecology (Takeda, 1984; Iwamoto, 1990) and ethnozoology (Matsui, 1984). The present study is focused on the recognition of micro-habitats and trapping techniques. The studied here is of one general type, snare trapping for duikers, though the trap can be further divided into 3 sub-types, depending on the differences in the stamping plate (or bars) and in the position of releasing hook. The problem is that the way in which the trap is used depends on the local knowledge of the micro-habitat. The traps in each site were individually identified, 215 and 55 traps for the first and second research terms, respectively, using number tapes. Plural informants (2, 7 for the first and second terms) were taken independently to each trap site, and they were requested to evaluate the trap at each site. The recognition structure of the micro-habitat and trapping techniques were examined depending on the concordance and non-concordance of the evaluations of traps among informants.
Many individual differences were obtained regarding their recognition structure, while at the same time there was common knowledge. The variability arises from the different sets of ideas concerning micro-habitats and traps in each individual. As each component of the trap technique has a merit or demerit depending on the different view points on trapping, the component techniques adopted differed depending on such view points. Some of these view points are as follows. (1) The duration of trapping differs, (2) The trapping is composed of series of events (an animal lives in the forest, passes the path to the trap, steps on the snare, the stick springs, the cable fastens, the animal struggles, and is captured). There were differences in which part of this long process was emphasized. (3) The cautiousness of animals differed depending on whether the traps were near the village or far away. (4) The technique differed depending from whom it was learned.
The recognition of micro-habitat depends not solely on physical characteristics, but is grasped through the mediation of animals and humans. Some examples are “the path made by an elephant”, “the forest where man can walk easily”. This is the main cause for the variation in ideas. Thus the recognition of micro-habitat shows some variability on the one hand, and abstraction and organization on the other.