Jan 28, 2007 5:43 pm US/Central
Download Rare Animal Sounds For Your Cell
by Jason DeRusha
Minneapolis (WCCO) ―
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The Center for Biological Diversity puts all sorts of animal ringtones online, including diverse toads, owls and even an orca whale.
Do you want a unique cell phone ringtone but don't want to pay, and don't want to simply choose between the Black Eyed Peas' "My Humps" and Chamillionaire's "Ridin'"?
What if you could hear the sound of an endangered species coming from your phone? Now its possible, free of charge, all thanks to the work of a local scientist.
When you call University of Minnesota
student Jon Slaght's phone, he hears the song of the extremely rare and endangered Blakiston's fish owl.
"I say its like a banshee in my pocket," said Slaght, a student at the University of Minnesota, who admits that his tone will probably not ever crack the top 40 animal noises that will reach human ears. "It's sort of a big deal. It's not a very well-known species."
Last winter Slaght, who is currently working on his doctorate, caught the owl on tape during a research trip to Central Russia.
His first thought wasn't that the sound he captured on tape would someday make a perfect ringtone for someone in his network. But an international group dedicated to endangered species found out about his recording and put it on their Web site.
The
Center for Biological Diversity puts all sorts of animal ringtones online, including diverse toads, owls and even an orca whale. Their goal is to get people to think about animals in danger of disappearing.
"Well, some are actually pretty neat sounds, others are a little odd. I think it's better than stuff a lot of people have on their ringtones," said Slaght.
The ringtones are free, so if you've been dying to hear the Fringe-backed fire-eye, head over to
their collection and browse away.
(© MMVII, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
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