Transient Killer Whale

Love Killer Whales? Why not have a Killer Whale announce your incoming calls?

We created this ringtone from a recording made by The Whale Museum, thanks to the help of researcher Kari Koski.  

Download the ringtone for iPhone.

(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:

1. Download the file to your computer.
2. Drag it onto your iTunes icon in the dock. iTunes will put it in the "ringtones" area.
3. Sync your phone with your computer
4. Go to Settings > Sound and choose the ringtone as your default ring, or add it to particular contacts. 
5. 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 harbor seal ringtone.

Photo courtesy S. Buckley.

In the Salish Sea, some transient killer whales seem to be killing sea lions for no particular reason. Joe Gaydos provided background for a Kitsap Sun piece by Christopher Dunagan discussing the four sea lions apparently killed by blunt trauma from orcas in a single month.

A 2005 publication by Gaydos discussed five harbor seal pups found decapitated by killer whales, but not eaten.

The article discusses possible causes of this "surplus predation" and reinforces the importance of quick reporting of stranded and dead marine mammals, because the faster the animals can be recovered, the more we can learn from them.

Kitsap Sun: http://pugetsoundblogs.com/waterways/2010/05/14/transient-orcas-may-be-l...

Photo: Stranding Network volunteer Maria Webster standing by one of the dead Steller sea lions on North Beach of Orcas just before SeaDoc necropsied it. Credit: Joe Gaydos.