Brown trout

The brown trout is the king of mountain water courses. It can be found in the smallest streams right up to big rivers like the Durance. Its skin colour varies according to sex, age and habitat, but is usually glossy, silvery and dotted with orangey-red spots. It can lay between 1,000 and 2,500 eggs. This carnivore spends its time in two places: its hunting position, when it waits for the current to carry something edible towards it, and its resting position, sheltered from the current. It usually grows to around 25 to 40 cm and can live for twenty or so years.