Mobile Encyclopedia

Center for Biological Diversity Offers Free Endangered Wildlife Mobile Ringtones

Calling all cell phone users: Now you can personalize your ringtones with the mesmerizing calls of the Blue-throated Macaw, Beluga Whale, Boreal Owl, Mountain Yellow-legged Frog, Yosemite Toad or any one of 40 other endangered wildlife species, absolutely free.

(Photo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20061219/UNTU042 )

The endangered species advocates at the nonprofit Center for Biological Diversity are offering ringtones of the croaks, chirps and songs of dozens of rare and endangered animals from around the world. Featured are the authentic sounds of some of the world’s most threatened owls, tropical birds, frogs, toads and marine mammals. The free ringtones are easily downloaded from the Center’s Web site at http://rareearthtones.com.

“People really respond to the wildlife ringtones — the animal calls are fascinating, they personalize your phone, and they sound cool when it rings,” said Peter Galvin, the Center’s Conservation Director. “The best part is that they inspire people to understand and work to protect endangered wildlife.”

The ringtones allow cell phones to come alive with the haunting hoots of over two dozen rare owls from around the world, the sensational songs of tropical birds, the crazy croaks of more than a dozen imperiled amphibians, or the underwater orchestras of Orcas and Beluga Whales. The free Web site allows users to listen to ringtones, send them directly to their phones with one easy click, and download photos and fact sheets for each of the featured wildlife species. Users can also take action to save endangered species worldwide.

Species include the critically endangered Blakiston’s Fish Owl, of which only a few hundred owls remain in Russia, China and Japan, and the California Spotted Owl, which is rapidly vanishing from the forests of the Sierra Nevada and Southern California. There are also imperiled North American amphibians such as the Mountain Yellow-legged Frog, denizen of high elevation lakes in the Sierra Nevada and Southern California, and the Houston Toad, found only at a few locations in Texas.

The Center for Biological Diversity is a national science-based nonprofit organization that works to protect endangered species and wild places throughout the world. The Center has more than 25,000 members and 10 offices throughout the U.S., with headquarters in Tucson, Arizona.