Its Animal Planet calling...

There's something special about choosing a ring tone. Cell phones are the latest human appendage so its the new natural behaviour to choose a ring tone that's an extension of your personality. The trouble with me is that if I changed my ring tone as much as my mind, I'd never know when my phone was ringing. You know the feeling, a cell phone starts to squawk and you look around, eyebrows furrowed waiting for the dim, deaf idiot whose phone is ringing to answer it.

Then you remember...you made Poker Face your ring tone as a reaction to the last troll you flirted with successfully! And then you launch, as far as the opening will allow, into your handbag. Zips screech, receipts fall, your hands cup as they scoop and release. You might even stop walking for a minute and rest your bag on any available surface while you look frantically for the light at the bottom of your bag. There it is! And the ringing stops. Sigh. Note to self...choose a ring tone that's more 'classic-you' then "right-now-you."

I think I may have found the solution to the above mentioned problem. Its the latest fad in evolution, you get a ring tone that sounds like the animal in you. Yip. Do you roar? Squawk? Whistle? The good news in that the National Zoological Gardens in Pretoria have launched a fundraising initiative with Dstv's Animal Planet channel to raise funds by selling animal sound ring tones and nature wallpapers. The cause? A new penguin enclosure.

So every time your boss calls, you get taken into the wild and can finally fit in that spiritual time in nature simply by answering your phone. It puts the bird back in Tweeting.

Dstv has supplied the sounds free of charge to the zoo as part of their "constructive, value driven fundraising initiative." Apparently animal sounds are very popular in Europe and both parties are hoping that the trend will catch on right here in South Africa. Finally, you can un-cage the animal in you.

Another way to get the Big 5 on your phone (not the Big 5 mind you), is to log onto www.hummba.com to download audio clips straight onto your mobile phone about places you are travelling to. You can also upload your clips onto hummba to share with the world or just your friends. So go on, get on the wild side of life with animal ring tones and hummba.com.