In order to attach it to the falcon the naturalists use a strap that crosses over the front of the bird which is attached to a transmitter on the bird's back. The straps are made of a very strong teflon ribbon. There are many different ways for attaching the transmitters to animals. For example, albatross transmitters are glued on and some are even implanted inside the birds. This process is painless and less distracting to the bird than a bulky transmitter that might interfere with the bird's habits.
Whales either have the transmitter implanted into their body or bolted onto their dorsal fin.
Once the skin grows over the transmitter, the bolts fall off. For turtles it is glued to their shell. The wolves and elephants have a collar around their necks and the seal's transmitters are glued directly to their fur. For the falcon the transmitter is placed only on the female birds, for the male falcons are too small for the transmitter. Scientists are still attempting to design a smaller transmitter.