Pollution, climate change, habitat loss and diseases are a few factors that affect an animal’s quality of life. Conservationists fight to protect animal species with low population numbers that may be in danger of extinction.

Fahlo, a company that partners with nonprofits in hopes to aid in the fight to protect endangered species. Fahlo aims to give animals in danger of being poached, dying due to climate change or experiencing the reduction of their habitat the chance to rebound as a population.

Fahlo, previously named Wildlife Collections, changed its name to better reflect its goals, which were to “follow” (Fah-lo), or track, an animal in the wild. Fahlo supports 17 endangered species by giving the opportunity for a consumer to track the movements of an animal with the purchase of a bracelet.

Created in 2018 by Daniel Gunter and Carter Forbes, the company has taken the proceeds of the bracelets and donated over $3 million to various organizations holding missions to protect animal species and their populations. 

The bracelets range from $16.95-$20.00. When an individual obtains a bracelet, each animal charm on the bracelet corresponds with the animal in the wild that is being tracked, while the surrounding beads can be a variety of different color combinations.

In addition to the bracelets, Fahlo also sells stuffed toys that allow customers to track an animal. Their newest addition was the Ascent plush which tracks snow leopards.

Each bracelet and stuffed toy comes with a QR code. Once the QR code is scanned with the Fahlo app, the tracked animal pictured on the package will appear on the app with a name and location.

Brooke Schongalla, Salem sophomore, was gifted a polar bear Fahlo bracelet.

“I thought that this was cool because I get to track a real life animal on its journey, around its habitat,” said Schongalla.

Part of the tracking experience for the bracelet owner is frequent updates and information provided about the animal, including photos, videos, or a description of the animal shown in the Fahlo app. 

Fahlo shows its bracelet owners the distance the tracked animals move each day. The animals begin to be tracked when the monitor is first installed, the purchaser is able to follow one of the animals that Fahlo tracks.

In order to be tracked, a tag or motion sensor is placed on the animal’s body by its corresponding conservation organization. Some tags for the animals may be placed on fins if they live in water, or on tails if they live on land. 

Purchasers will see a delayed view of where the animal travels, but will not know the exact location at any one moment to protect the animal from potential poaching.

The tag is guaranteed to work for at least six months. In that time, if the tag falls off or the animal dies, then Fahlo will provide the consumer with another animal to track. However, if the tag falls off after a year, then Fahlo won’t provide them with a new animal to track.

On its app, Fahlo describes each of the sixteen animal’s conservation status. Four are critically endangered, signifying low population numbers and a high risk of going extinct. These happen to be wolves, dolphins, gorillas and sloths.

Other animals have a designation of either endangered, vulnerable, or near threatened. Sea turtles, whale sharks, elephants, penguins and giraffes are endangered indicating a high risk of extinction. Snow leopards, manatees, polar bears, sharks, lions and whales are vulnerable with decreasing population sizes and threats to their survival, while seals are the only near threatened species that Fahlo tracks.

Wolves are one of the most endangered animals in North America, specifically the red wolf species, which are most threatened by habitat loss. There are only about 17-19 red wolves left in the wild according to the Red World Recovery Program. The Scout Bracelet tracks these wolves on their journey. 

Tish Gailmard, an educational adviser for the Federal American Red Wolf program, works at Reflection Riding, a nature center in Chattanooga, Tennessee. “We, being the red wolf program, get a percentage of the profits, and then that money is kept by our program, and then that helps support red wolf recovery,” said Gailmard in a video communications platform conversation.

The North Carolina Department of Transportation wrote a grant to build wildlife overpasses to mitigate the risk for animals crossing a main road.

“The grant has been awarded, but there is a percentage of the money that has to be raised, and the red wolf program are donating money to that overpass. That money is coming from the sale of Fahlo bracelets,” said Gailmard.

Dolphins are another critically endangered species, mostly due to pollution and overfishing. Fahlo partners with the Florida International University Marine Mammal Ecology Lab to improve their survival.

Fahlo partners with the Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund in Rwanda to protect gorilla populations in Africa. About 1,000 mountain gorillas remain. 

Sloths are another critically endangered animal that Fahlo tracks. Each animal has a name for their Fahlo bracelet, and for sloths, this one is called the Wander Bracelet. The Sloth Conservation Foundation partners with Fahlo, and they are threatened by many factors, such as urbanization, tourism and habitat loss.

“I hope that [the animals that Fahlo donates their money to] will be preserved and they’ll be able to thrive in the wild. I feel like these programs make sure that their species don’t go extinct, so I think that’s nice,” said Schongalla.

In the hopes to expand their reach, Fahlo offers the opportunity to be a Brand Ambassador. Requirements include being at least 18 years old and having public social media accounts. The title offers benefits such as 10% of the commission and early access to new products. 

People can still help support endangered animals without purchasing a bracelet.

“[People] can donate to the red wolf recovery program. They can donate to a local nature center or zoo that has red wolves. They can write their congressman and their legislators, letting them know that red wolves are critically important to the environment, and we want to support the program and give financial assistance to the program,” said Gailmard.

In the Plymouth and Canton area, Fahlo bracelets are available at Genuine Toy Company on 550 Forest Avenue in Plymouth and Little Green Apple on 1731 North Canton Center Road in Canton.