In the Mojave Desert of Southern California, the raven population has exploded, thanks to the easy sources of food and water that come with human development. Essentially, humans are subsidizing the ravens’ needs: Trash and roadkill are their food sources; irrigation, water runoff, and artificial lakes and ponds provide water; and buildings, power poles, and billboards provide nests and shelter.

Ravens are now considered an invasive species in the desert and as their population increases, so does their need for new food sources. This massive increase in ravens has decimated the desert tortoise population—now at risk of extinction. Unfortunately, the ravens are preying on baby and juvenile tortoises, whose shells are still too soft to provide protection from a hungry raven’s beak.

What can be done to save these important reptiles? Conservation biologist Tim Shields and engineer Frank Guercio have found an answer: the Techno-Tort.

Shields and Guercia work for Hardshell Labs, of Joshua Tree, California, and have designed and 3D-printed the Techno-Tort, a conservation technology device that looks like a real tortoise shell but contains something birds despise: methyl anthranilate, more commonly known as grape flavoring. When the raven’s beak pecks the Techno-Tort, an accelerometer triggers the device to release a quick burst of the chemical, deterring the raven from further destruction. Shields and Guercio call this “aversive training”—the idea is that if enough ravens peck at enough Techno-Torts, the ravens will stop preying on the real tortoises. Preliminary studies show that this method is working.

Watch the video to see the Techno-Tort in action and learn more about this important conservation effort.

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