As any animal owner knows, it’s always a bit daunting if you have to travel long distances with a beloved pet. But it’s even more daunting when the critters you have to transport are large wild animals that require close monitoring while in transit. That was the challenge aircargo operator Cathay Cargo faced in September 2024.
Cathay was hired to safely transport giant pandas An An and Ke Ke 845 miles from Chengdu, China, to their new home at Hong Kong’s Ocean Park Zoo. To help ensure a safe journey for the pair, Cathay Cargo chose Descartes Systems Group’s Bluetooth Low Energy aircargo tracking solution to pinpoint their location and monitor their travel conditions.
The decision wasn’t much of a stretch for the carrier. Cathay Cargo has used Descartes’ Bluetooth Low Energy powered tags since 2021 as part of its Ultra Track cargo tracking service. The tags help the carrier monitor airport-to-airport shipments of high-value goods, such as electronics, perishables, and pharmaceuticals. The service is available in 29 airports across Cathay Cargo’s network, including the Chengdu airport, which is the closest major airport to the Dujiangyan Panda Center, where An An and Ke Ke spent the first five years of their lives.
END-TO-END SHIPMENT VISIBILITY
The tracking solution itself is designed to help airlines and ground handling agents provide customers with end-to-end shipment visibility. In the typical application, Descartes’ tags are affixed to unit load devices (ULDs) or pallets to provide real-time shipment status data that’s captured by its Bluetooth Low Energy readers, which are part of Descartes’ global internet of things (IoT) network. The system allows users to track shipments whether they’re in the air or on the ground, providing real-time information on the freight’s location as well as the ambient conditions, including temperature, air pressure, and exposure to shock, light, and humidity.
In this case, the tags were placed not on ULDs or pallets but along the perimeter of the panda’s “transit habitats,” large containers specifically designed to transport the pandas safely and comfortably. The tags monitored the conditions the pandas experienced during their journey, making it possible for the handlers to ensure, for example, that transit temperatures remained between 68 and 77 degrees Fahrenheit, the ideal temperature for pandas. In addition to the pilots and ground handling agents, that information was shared with a veterinarian and “panda nanny” from the Ocean Park Zoo, who accompanied An An and Ke Ke on the flight (and made sure they enjoyed in-flight bamboo service).
“All of this data was available to ensure that there was no jarring of the pandas during transit and that they were not exposed to any adverse conditions,” Scott Sangster, general manager, global logistics service providers at Descartes, told DC Velocity in an email.
A SAFE ARRIVAL
The pandas arrived safely at Hong Kong’s international airport on Sept. 26, 2024, making the project a success for all concerned.
“We’re excited that our technology played a role in the safe arrival of such a special shipment from Chengdu to Hong Kong,” said Frank Hung, vice president of sales and marketing at Descartes, in a release. “With our advanced IoT-based tracking capabilities, our customers are not only able to monitor the location of their shipments in real time, but also shipment conditions … which [took] on an even more important dimension for Cathay Cargo in this unique situation.”
