The turtle swam around. Greg was happy. The turtle dived down and bobbed up to the surface. It didn’t pay any attention to the camera on its back. The first big challenge was overcome.

Greg kept improving Crittercam. He got a lot of help from his team. They tested it on wild turtles in the Caribbean Sea in 1989.

Greg made harnesses to hold Crittercam in place on the turtles’ shells. A harness is a type of strap. Greg put the harnesses on when the turtles came ashore to lay eggs. The harnesses didn’t work on the first attempt. The turtles slipped out of them when they went underwater. Greg lost eight Crittercams before he made a harness that worked.

The first fish to wear Crittercam was a captive nurse shark. Greg watched the shark swim around its tank. He could tell that the camera was causing too much drag. So it was back to the drawing board. Crittercam got smaller and sleeker. It got better each time it was rebuilt.

Crittercam on a turtle