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The Wolf Howl
Communication between Human & Wolf
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With eyes closed and head tilted upward, the Wolf sends forth its timeless haunting song. On quiet nights, a single howl can be heard for over 50 square miles. Howling serves as long-distance communication, reuniting pack members that have separated to hunt. These lingering calls also help Wolves to define their territory. Neighboring packs chorus back and forth throughtout the night, announcing their presence and proclaiming their land. Human listerners remain profoundly mystified by these ancient cries.
Back in 1959, researchers working in Algonquin Park discovered that wolves answer humans when we imitate their howls. Since then, groups of more than a thousand people have been gathering together in Algonquin Park each summer for public wolf howls. Wolves use a number of different howls. One of the most often used is a call to reassemble when the pack has become scattered. This howl is a deep, loud, and guttural sound often with a few barks. After a long chase the pack is often widely scattered and needs to reassemble. Wolves don't howl during a hunt. A howl of sheer joy is often heard as a pack gathers or just before the pack sets out on a hunt. This social howl celebrates togetherness, pleasure, and friendship. It makes the wolves get up from their resting spots or gather near the den. They will romp about with much tail wagging, sniffing, pawing, hugging, and pressing against each other. Finally the wolves will howl together. The social or group howl is also used as a warning to wolves in neighbouring territories. It announces the pack's territory and warns other packs to stay away. This howl is most often heard during the mating season or while the pack is at the den or resting sites. The last major type of howl is one of loneliness. This is a rising and falling sound with a long slide at the end. This howl is heard mostly during the mating season when a wolf is looking for a possible mate. The wolf howl has become an important tool for studying wolves. The wolves tendancy to respond to a howl made by a human has allowed scientists to reliably locate wolves in the summer to determine the age, sex, individual identity, and other important information about the howling wolf. As a result of a fifteen-year study in Minnesota researchers were able to determine not only where in the territory the wolf was located but also which individual wolf was howling. The researcher found that just over half (54%) never responded to the howl but remained silent and often left the area. The rest not only stayed in the area but answered back. A few times one or two of the individuals from the pack actually approached within 50 metres of the researchers. It was also found that wolves were far more likely to respond during the mating season or when the pups had left the den and were occupying the resting sites. Adults were much more likely to answer when pups were present, or when they were at a fresh kill, or when the pack was large. Lone wolves never answered unless they were the top (alpha ranking) wolf in the pack. Wolves responding to a howl from an unknown wolf are warning the intruder that they will hold their territory. This explains why wolves howl when they have a mate, pups, or a source of food to defend. Since the top-ranking wolves have nothing to fear, they are the only lone wolves to howl back and to approach a strange wolf. Those lone wolves who travel outside their home territory remain silent because meeting with strange wolves almost always leads to a fight. Such fights often prove fatal to the stranger. |
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Education, Preservation, and Protection of Endangered Species,
and keeping our members informed about those subjects,
with our main concentration on the Wolf.
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