High-Tech Egg Helps Spy on Condor Parents.
Scientists have created a plastic, 3D-printed, sensor-laden "smart egg" to monitor the breeding success of endangered California condors. The egg was placed in a nest with a pair of condor parents, who were unaware that it was a fake egg. The smart egg tracked the nest temperature, egg-turning behaviors, and recorded ambient sound. The data collected will help the zoo replicate natural conditions in artificial incubators, which are key to the condor breeding efforts. The California condor is critically endangered, and the more closely the zoo can replicate natural conditions in the incubators, the more successful it will be in breeding the species.