Sea Turtle egg poaching is a big threat to the conservation of these endangered species. Poachers will wait until Sea Turtles lay their eggs on the beach until they grab as many as eggs they can to either sell them or consume them. There are continuous efforts to stop poaching in countries such as Costa Rica. 

In an effort to expose the poaching routes, or determine if they even exist, Helen Pheasy used fake Sea Turtle eggs equipped with a GPS unit to identify where Sea Turtle egg poachers went with the eggs, called InvestEGGators. 

They planted InvestEGGators into 101 Sea Turtle nests from Green and Olive Ridley Sea Turtles. Only 5 InvestEGGators came back with data that revealed local Poaching routes. 

The closest route was within a mile while the furthest route was 85 miles from the nesting site. Conservation organizations do not want to prosecute the poachers; however, they would like to use the data to target education and awareness programs to the towns that end up with the eggs. 

Poaching Sea Turtle eggs gives even fewer chances of the hatchlings making it to adulthood as only 1 or 2 individuals will survive to adulthood from the hundreds of eggs laid on a nest. 

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