AcTIVIST SPOTLIGHT

The Joyful Noise of Nature

The Center’s wildlife ringtone Web site is raising a global ruckus. After Rare Earthtones logged more than 200,000 downloads by users worldwide, the New York Times ran a story highlighting the experiences of Center supporters who’ve opened their ears and flipped open their cell phones to some very chatty endangered species.

Jon Slaght, a wildlife conservation graduate student at the University of Minnesota, chose the juvenile Blackiston’s fish owl as his ringtone. It’s a sound that’s close to his heart — -he braved minus-30-degree weather in the Russian Far East to record it himself. Jon described the owl’s call as “a really grating, unpleasant noise,” and though we prefer to think of it as distinctive, we think he’s earned the right to an opinion on this one. At least, he said, “it does get you to answer your phone.”

And thanks to Rare Earthtones, the most endangered subspecies of wolf in North America made a brief comeback — in the French Alps. Grace Matthews of Birmingham, England was startled to hear the haunting howls of a wolf close by while skiing in a snow-laden forest. Though it turned out to be nothing more than her newly downloaded Mexican gray wolf ringtone, she confessed, “It took me several long moments to realize I was being phoned, and not hunted!”

Read the New York Times story and then visit Rare Earthtones to download your own endangered species ringtone.

Want to share your story in our Activist Spotlight?
A sea change can begin with the howls and songs of endangered species — or maybe, it can begin with you. If you or someone you know has found a creative way to turn concern for the planet — and for endangered plants and animals — into change for the better, we'd like to share your story with the world. Send us your spotlight idea here.

And check out other activists we've honored here.