The Nature Of Wolves
Communication

Expressions: Wolves communicate through a variety of howls, yips, squeals, growls and barks. Howls are most often a high pitched bark, followed by a short howl. No one can truly know what their language means, but we can make certain probable interpretations. Wolves howl to: attract a mate. rally the pack for a hunt and communicate strategy or position during the hunt. to frighten prey out of hiding. to announce an intruder. to alarm the pack. to express distress or lonesomeness. just for fun after play or excitement. In his book "Trail Of The Wolf:, R.D. Lawrence suggests many packs just like to participate in sing-a-longs. Lois Crisler in "Arctic Wild" believes wolves love a good howl and that there are many different types of emotional and vocal variations of a howl. There are happy howls, mournful howls, angry howls, soulful howls and so on. In his research, Fred Harrington found that larger wolves express themselves with deeper howls than smaller or younger wolves. But when adults were off hunting, pups left behind often produced short deep growls, presumably to help protect themselves against other packs. Wolf howls can be heard up to 10 miles away in ideal weather conditions. Two to three wolves can howl together sounding like 20 wolves or more. They can howl standing, seated and even lying down. Contrary to popular belief, wolves do not howl at the moon. Although it does make for a beautiful picturesque image. Young wolves howl the least during the night hours. Once again this is most probably for safety reasons.