Available Products –> Desert Tortoise Protection System
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Ravens are the number one predator of the desert tortoise. In the first seven to ten years of a desert tortoise’s life, its shell cannot hold up against the hammering of a raven’s beak. As raven populations have significantly increased, so has the threat of extinction to the desert tortoise. Developed in partnership with Hardshell Labs, the the Techno-Tort™ Training System (trademarked by Hardshell Labs) sprays ravens with a non-lethal deterrent when attacked. See the video at the bottom of the page. Click to view full tech sheet.
The decoy is a 3D printed realistic tortoise equipped with a nonlethal bird repellent spray system. The idea is to “train” ravens to leave desert tortoises unmolested. The system is silent until attacked, does not disturb the environment or forewarn predators, and operates for several months on a single battery. It can spray 15 times per fill.
The system has a rugged design, works in harsh environments, and can be set up for months without intervention. It works with a variety of repellents, interchangeable decoys (different size or species), and has a tunable attack sensitivity threshold. It records attacks without cameras.
Set-up is simple:
- Bury the base of the device in the environment, leaving the decoy portion exposed
- Turn the unit on (and back away!)
- The device monitors for attack
- Aerosol is released when triggered by an attack
- The unit auto-resets for next attack
- An SD card stores all attack data
Also offered is the Techno-Tort™ Monitoring System, a passive device for monitoring attack frequency. It records all attack data, without the spray.
Interested in acquiring either of these systems?
Email info@HardShellLabs.com or sales@crgrp.com.