Ravens are preying on juvenile desert tortoises, according to a recent study by biologists Tim Shields and Bill Boarman. The Mojave Desert in California, which boasts a world-record high temperature of 134 degrees Fahrenheit, is home to arid terrain dotted with brush, cacti, and Joshua trees, as well as animals such as bighorn sheep, coyotes, and jack rabbits. Water is scarce and many animals have adapted to survive on less than four inches of average annual rainfall, including the desert tortoise that can survive up to a year without fresh water by eating plants and reusing water stored in its bladder.
In a bid to save the threatened desert tortoise, Shields and his associates developed and deployed new wildlife conservation technologies. Their lifelike, 3D-printed replicas of juvenile desert tortoises, dubbed Techno-Torts, were set up in key habitat areas, and motion-activated cameras were aimed at them to gather information on how ravens approach and attack desert tortoises. The result was an astonishing study on the impact of raven predation on tortoises. Conducted by Fish and Wildlife biologist Kerry Holcomb, the study found that between birth and age 10, raven predation diminishes the number of juvenile tortoises by approximately 42 percent each year if any part of their core use area is within roughly 1,600 feet of an active raven nest and the local raven population consists of about six birds per square mile, a density that is frequently observed in the western Mojave.
Shields and his team are researching ways to use the technology to change the behavior of predatory ravens. They are testing “weaponized” Techno-Torts that, when attacked, emit a noxious, nonlethal spray that causes unpleasant sensations in the birds. Tortoises have lived in the Southwest for 20 million to 30 million years, but they are now in danger of extinction. The increase in the number of ravens in the Mojave Desert since the 1960s has been a major factor contributing to the decline in tortoise populations.
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