Americas - Decoy Sea Turtle Eggs!

February is a month where birding slips into the doldrums before migration slowly gathers pace in March reaching its peak late April and early May. At this time of year my attentions are diverted elsewhere and I would like to share a very worthwhile project that is gaining pace in the tropics with Paso Pacifico and my good friend Helen Pheasey.

(photo by Paso Pacifico)

Helen is undertaking a project to protect turtles that are threatened with extinction by human activities in the form of poaching. Turtles have to come to shore every year to nest, its eggs and meat are highly sought after by poachers.

Paso Pacifico have developed a decoy turtle egg that is fitted with a GPS transmitter. These eggs will be placed in turtle nests in areas where poaching is rife. The aim is to track the movements of the eggs assisting law enforcement agencies to identify the movements of the poachers and their supply routes. The locations where the decoy eggs are to be placed will remain Top Secret!!

Each eggs costs £35 and 100 eggs are required to provide a complete sample set enabling law enforcement to concentrate their limited resources to combat illegal egg trafficking. I have included a short video which explains the process in detail (This can also be found on the banner at the bottom of my blog):-

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MOVek45DV6o

The banner at the bottom of my blog (pic above) has a link to the fundraising appeal. Thank you for taking the time to read / watch the video and I am sure Helen would be very grateful for any assistance you can give to her project.

Who knows where this kind of research will lead maybe decoy bird eggs to catch bird egg collectors!!