Scientists use 3D-printed shells to ward off ravens and aim to save desert tortoises

[Oxalis]

Scientists use 3D-printed shells to ward off ravens and aim to save desert tortoises

The decoy shells are booby-trapped to teach ravens a lesson which some believe will help turn around an ongoing decline of desert tortoises.

www.vvdailypress.com

 

[Yvonne G]

Wow!

 

[Tom]

Scientists use 3D-printed shells to ward off ravens and aim to save desert tortoises

The decoy shells are booby-trapped to teach ravens a lesson which some believe will help turn around an ongoing decline of desert tortoises.

www.vvdailypress.com

This guy came the the California Hawking Club field meet in 2018 and explained the whole process to us in a one hour presentation. I hadn't heard anything new since then, so I'm glad it is still going.

Here is some info not included in the article:
1. The fake torts are printed at a high end 3D printing business.
2. They are then painted by an artist to match wild tortoises, and they look amazingly real in person.
3. He then had a special effects team design the pneumatic switch triggered "explosion" when the bird sticks its beak under the tortoise to flip it.
4. Wanna know what the "bird repellent" is? Artificial grape flavor. None of us falconers had any idea, but for some reason grape flavor that we all ate growing up in popsicles or other sugary fake foods is positively revolting to birds. It does no harm but they are absolutely disgusted by it.
5. The idea here is that there is no way to go out and kill all the ravens. There are simply too many, too spread out, and they reproduce too fast. So the best way to stop this tort eating behavior is to TEACH the ravens that baby tortoises are scary and disgusting. They get punishment instead of a reward when they mess with baby desert torts. This takes advantage of ravens propensity to teach each other and learn from each other. Have that thing pop in the face a few of them, and those ones will teach the others to avoid tortoises as a food source.