Love marine mammals? Why not have a harbor seal announce your incoming calls?

We created this ringtone from a recording Joe Gaydos made of a harbor seal.

(Right-Click on the link -- or Control-Click on a mac.)

Technical Note: Firefox handles the download properly. Safari on the Mac downloads a useless file. We're way beyond our geek threshold in terms of why this might be happening.

Click here to listen to the ringtone before downloading. (Works in most browsers.) That's an MP3 you can also download for use as a ringtone on Android.

This ringtone works on iPhones. It MIGHT work on Android and other phones. If you're an Android user and want to test it for us, let us know if it works. And if you're an Android guru and can help us create the right kind of file and write the installation instructions, definitely get in touch.

Here's how to install the ringtone on your iPhone:

Download the file to your computer.
Drag it onto your iTunes icon in the dock. iTunes will put it in the "ringtones" area.
Sync your phone with your computer
Go to Settings > Sound and choose the ringtone as your default ring, or add it to particular contacts.
You can also use the ringtone as an alarm chime.

Unfortunately, we're not able to provide technical support for installing the ringtone. If you get stuck, try a Google search, as several websites have illustrated guides to adding ringtones to your phone.

Don't miss our killer whale ringtone.

Harbor seal info

Pacific harbor seals are the most common marine mammal in Puget Sound, and their populations are healthy.

Seals share a common ancestor with dogs and bears and have upper and lower arms and legs concealed within their skin. Only their hands and feet extend outside the body envelope.

Seals have large eyes to see in dark, deep water. They have long necks, which they can shoot out quickly to catch fish while swimming.

Seals can live in fresh or saltwater; they usually spend their entire lives in an area of about five miles.

Baby seals are born weighing about 25 pounds. They double their weight in the first month; their mother's milk is 40 percent fat. A mother leaves its pup after the first month to finish growing and fend for itself. Mothers do not teach pups to hunt; they learn on their own.

Seals dive for three minutes at a time typically, but they can stay under water as long as 30 minutes and dive as deep as 600 feet.

Unlike humans, harbor seals breathe out before diving. They use oxygen already in their blood and muscles while under water, and their heartbeat slows from about 100 beats per minute to 10.

In one breath a seal can exchange 90% of the air in its lungs. Humans can only change 20% of our air per breath.

A seal's whiskers help it hunt and navigate by sensing pressure waves from fish and underwater objects.

Seal-tissue tests reveal elevated levels of PCBs in animals tested in southern Puget Sound. In the north, seal blubber is contaminated with dioxins and furans from paper mills in the Straits of Georgia.