Samsung Animal Edition battery charger alerts to endangered species, but does it help protect them?

Species have been going extinct for millennia, with larger events occurring periodically. We find ourselves living in one such epoch, though it mostly goes unnoticed because these events don't happen overnight. However research quickly points out the trend, and it's one we'd rather avoid.

To do so there are endangered species acts and restrictions of other sorts to help preserve the wildlife we have left. Individuals can get involved, both physically and financially, and Samsung is releasing a new line of battery chargers to get a few specific creatures to the public attention.

The batteries come in two sizes -- 8,400mAh and 11,300mAh. There's also four different animals to choose from, letting the customer pick the Lesser Panda, Giant Panda, Fennec Fox or Golden Monkey. Each is pictured prominently on it respective battery.

"The Animal Edition Battery Packs will have a clear power level display and will be able to charge two devices at the same time. Additionally, the interactive ‘Charge the Life’ mobile application, which is available on Google Play and Samsung Galaxy Apps, will display the featured animal becoming more animated as charging levels increase" Samsung announces.

That announcement also points customers to the IUCN Red List which it calls a "widely recognized as the most comprehensive, objective global approach for evaluating the conservation status of plant and animal species".

All of that is great -- these creatures, and many others, deserve the attention. However, Samsung lacks in one thing, as there is absolutely no mention of any proceeds going to helping with the protection of these species. That's standard practice with many specialty items of this nature, and perhaps it's an oversight in the announcement. We've reached out to Samsung for comment and will update you when we get a response. Pricing and availability were also not included.