Inter-pack howling may sometimes go on for hours promoting speculation that the howling may function in territorial advertisement or maintenance, and may be a threat or warning. This howl, therefore, has much significance between packs, as well as within. The social howl is also used as a warning to wolves in nearby territories. Wolves will not, however, howl to initiate a chase and will be silent when actually hunting. Resting wolves will begin romping about with tails wagging while they sniff and press against each other. This social howl celebrates togetherness, pleasure, and friendship. This type of howl is one of sheer joy and is often heard as the pack gathers for a hunt. Additionally, wolves will sometimes howl after a chase to celebrate a successful hunt.īefore a hunt, a different kind of howl, the social howl, may serve to excite the pack members and bond them prior to setting out. When wolves return from a hunt, those who stayed behind will rush to greet them and howling may break out as well. In one instance, it was observed that after a mother wolf became separated from her young on one side of a river, she howled to guide her pups to a safe spot to cross.
If a wolf gets separated from the pack, howling soon begins. Because of its low pitch and long duration, howling is well-suited for transmission in forests and across tundra and can be carried several miles. As wolves range over vast areas to find food, they often become separated from one another. Howling seems to convey the location of individual wolves so they can reunite. This is a deep, loud, and guttural sound sometimes accompanied with a few barks. One of the most often used howls is a call which reassembles the pack, such as after a chase, or if a wolf has gotten lost. Some members, usually those who rank lowest in the pack hierarchy, however, may be discouraged, or “punished” for joining in a howling chorus. Once thing is certain, howling appears to be the glue that keeps the pack together and plays a role in the formation and/or the maintenance of strong bonds between other members of the pack.
While the functions of howling are not fully understood, several different types of howling have been identified, each used under different circumstances. Some wolves will run from any distance, panting and bright-eyed, to join in, uttering, as they near, fervent little wows, jaws wide, hardly able to wait to sing.” When it is started, they instantly seek contact with one another, troop together, fur to fur. Lois Crisler has said, “Like a community sing, a howl is a happy occasion. Once a wolf begins howling, other pack members often show a strong tendency to approach that animal and join in. It’s no surprise that we are captivated by the sound of a howl, for as the mysterious song fills the vast expanses we are somehow reminded of, and are reconnected to, the wondrous aspects of nature that we may have forgotten about. Howling is the type of vocal communication the wolf is most famous for (also in their vocal repertoire are whimpers, yips, growls, and barks).