Visitors to the Chiba Zoological Park can now do more than just admire the animals from afar. They can-with the right kinds of cellphones-download some cool rare animal videos and sounds.

Two zoo keepers came up with the idea, based on cellphone ring tones.

Masahiko Iba, 35, who looks after the sea lions, and Yoshiaki Kiyota, 40, who takes care of the giraffes, thought the idea might bring in more visitors to the zoo.

It has.

Since September, when the signs started going up, couples and families have been flocking to the zoo to hunt down the 20 or so downloads.

All they have to do is to look for signs with special codes, called ``QR (quick response) codes,'' which are installed in front of the animals' cages. Then, if visitors use their cellphones to take a photo of the codes, they can download the data onto their phones. So far, the technology only works with certain types of cellphones.

The free images include videos of a kangaroo's baby and the inside of an elephant's mouth, while the sound clips include reindeer braying.

The downloads, the first of their kind in Japan, have attracted attention from other zoos throughout the country. The zoo has even gotten calls from people involved in information technology businesses in China.

Iba and Kiyota said they were surprised by the warm reception the downloads have been getting.

They got the idea in July, after hearing about the free ring tones that cellphone users can set and reset on their phones.

They did a mock-up download in August with an elephant trumpeting, and their co-workers loved it.

Most of them, anyway. Some thought it was silly to have downloads of common scenes when zoo visitors could just look at the animals right in front of them.

So the pair decided to include only rare scenes, such as those that only zoo employees might see or hear.

The new service was right on the money, too, requiring only about 15,000 yen to produce the signs that show the QR codes.

``Though the new service is currently available for only certain types of mobile phones, the service makes sense as a way to bring in visitors under these tough economic times,'' Kiyota said.

The zoo is operated by the Chiba city government.(IHT/Asahi: January 4,2005)