Costa Rican Biologists Are 3D Printing Fake Sea Turtle Eggs to Catch Poachers

In case you didn’t already know – sea turtles have it kind of rough.

In addition to fishing nets and increasing amounts of plastic in the oceans impacting mature turtles, more are coming under attack before they even leave the shell. A growing number of poachers are swiping sea turtle eggs from nests on beaches, and selling them locally as food products.

In particular, green and olive ridley sea turtles, which are classified as endangered species, have come under attack in Costa Rica. However, local biologists have devised a tool that would make Casey Jones proud.

In an effort to track down poachers, the group started 3D printing fake turtle eggs using a material called Ninja Flex. The material is able to combine the squishy feel of the eggs with the dimensions and color of a ping pong ball. The feel is especially important because poachers typically work at night. After they’re printed, the InvestEGGator is sliced in half and a small GPS tracker that works off of a cellular connection is placed in the middle of it. The two halves are then glued back together.

Once the InvestEGGator is grabbed, researchers can use cell towers and Google Maps to track how and where the eggs are being sold – which is typically through a local grocery store or by the poacher going door-to-door.

To help deter this activity, biologists work with local law enforcement to catch violators, and raise awareness within the local community about the challenges facing these turtles.

The simple design and cost-effective nature of the InvestEGGator offers the double benefit of being easy to produce and easier to employ around the world.