Seagate is partnering with the World Wildlife Fund to protect pandas and their habitats in China’s western mountainous areas.
Under the partnership, Seagate and the WWF will monitor giant panda habitats in Shaanxi, Sichuan and Gansu provinces, using infrared cameras and Seagate Surveillance drives. The aim is to collect data and analyze it to help find factors threatening the animals’ well-being and then implement appropriate countermeasures.
“We are pleased to support the WWF in this important biological diversity protection project,” said Paul Qian, director of cloud and enterprise OEM business at Seagate in China.
100 infrared cameras, tied to Seagate SkyHawk surveillance HDDs
The project will use 100 infrared cameras. The technology is a fairly new approach in the monitoring of endangered species; the equipment is designed to work autonomously in the wild, under all kinds of weather conditions. Seagate’s SkyHawk surveillance HDDs are engineered for high-write workloads, operating around the clock.
“We welcome Seagate’s participation in panda conservation,” said Liu Xiaohai, executive director of programs for WWF China. “New partners bring new ideas and fresh perspectives to our work.”
1,864 wild pandas — up 17 percent over the last decade
Earlier this year, China announced the results of its fourth National Giant Panda Survey, which WWF supported with technical expertise. China now has an estimated 1,864 wild pandas, up 17 percent over the last decade. The government has established 67 panda nature reserves, a 27 percent increase since the last survey. Approximately 32 percent of pandas live outside those reserves, however, where they are threatened by major infrastructure projects that cause large-scale habitat loss for the animals.
The WWF works in 100 countries and is supported by close to 5 million members globally. WWF has been active in China since 1980, when it was invited by the government as the first NGO to work on nature-conservation projects. Seagate Chairman and CEO Steve Luczo also is a member of the WWF’s board of directors.
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