I created a design that is currently being used to track sea otter migration by GPS (chip designed by NASA). The design had to account for tension in particular bending points, electronic component dimensions, and size constraints based on anatomy of Otter flipper.
I delivered the design to Monterey Bay Aquarium, NASA, and USGS. This is an ongoing side project as hardware specs develop, though prototypes have already been implanted on otters successfully.
(left-to-right): previously used tag for visual tracking only, prototype (small) with chip, protoype (large) with chip.
I used Maya to implement and iterate on the design. If I were starting this project now (in 2019) I would use Houdini, exposing manipulators for iterating on tolerances and letting the final Boolean and smoothing happen automatically while keeping the original more easily editable.
I created a larger size in addition, for extra protection against the elements and more room for hardware. It was questionable weather the otters would tolerate the extra size and weight. Both sizes are currently implanted on otters and are under observation.
“In the future of wildlife tracking, sea otters have their own social network.”
https://www.usgs.gov/news/usgs-and-nasa-team-help-scientists-study-social-networks-wildlife
Credit: NASA 
Credit: USGS