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For Immediate Release, February 15, 2012

Contact: Peter Galvin, (707) 986-2600

Endangered Species Ringtones Downloaded More Than 500,000 Times

To Mark Historic Milestone, New Hawaiian Species Added to Free Download Site

TUCSON, Ariz.— The call of the wild is being heard more often now than ever. The Center for Biological Diversity’s free ringtones, featuring wildlife from around the world have been downloaded more than a half-million times, bringing the incredible growls, groans, hoots, chirps and trills of more than 100 species to cell phones across the planet.

“Whether it’s the howl of a Mexican gray wolf, the song of a beluga whale or the roar of a polar bear, these ringtones instantly connect people with wildlife, including species living at the edge of extinction,” Peter Galvin, the Center’s conservation director.

Calls from 113 species are available to download, including the jaguar, Pacific walrus, American pika, Florida panther, alligator, Gila monster, orca and more than 40 types of rare and endangered owls and birds. The calls have been downloaded about 515,000 times.

To celebrate the milestone, the Center just added 17 new species from Hawaii, including the scarlet honeycreeper, Hawaiian monk seal and Hawaiian hawk.

“Too often in this urban and digital age, we find ourselves separated from these amazing — and increasingly rare — animals that make the wild so rich,” Galvin said. “The ringtones become conversation-starters: Someone overhears one of the sounds and finds they’re suddenly talking with someone else about the plight of an endangered species. It’s a powerful tool that we hope sparks an interest in saving imperiled animals around the globe.”

Since the Center began offering the free ringtones in December 2006, they’ve steadily gained worldwide appeal, downloaded by people in more than 150 countries, including Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, France, Great Britain, India, Iran, Italy, Japan, Poland and the United States.

Some of the most popular downloads are the killer whale, gray wolf, beluga whale, barred owl, loon, bobcat and polar bear.

Each ringtone has its own spotlight page, including stats on each species’ habitat, range, population trends, threats and a few fun facts about its life in the wild. The site also allows users to listen to wildlife ringtones, send them directly to their phones with a simple click and download cell phone wallpapers for each of the featured species.

The ringtones site is also available in Spanish.

Praise for the Ringtones
Wireless Week: “Wireless ringtones and social consciousness. An unlikely pair? Not anymore.”

Curves magazine: “This assortment of natural sounds is in sharp contrast to the jarring jangle of most electronica and an educational reminder about the extinction crisis.”

CBS-13, Sacramento: “Change the ringtone on your cell phone, and help change the world.”

Seattle Post-Intelligencer: “So geeky, it's gotta be cool. Or at least close to cool.”

Tech Journal South: “The Center for Biological Diversity has discovered the power of reaching mobile content junkies with its message of saving endangered species.”

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The Center for Biological Diversity is a national, nonprofit conservation organization with more than 320,000 members and online activists dedicated to the protection of endangered species and wild places.


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