NAME: _____________________
Mrs. DiTuri/Mrs. Loughran
What's in a Howl?
by Fred H. Harrington
Professor of Ethology
Mount Saint Vincent University, Nova Scotia
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/wolves/howl.html
Ask anyone about wolf vocalizations and the howl invariably springs to mind. Even though wolves bark, woof,
whine, whimper, yelp, growl, snarl and moan a lot more often than they howl, it is howling that defines the wolf,
and fascinates us. So why do wolves howl?
The center of a wolf's universe is its pack, and howling is the glue that keeps the pack together. Some have
speculated that howling strengthens the social bonds between packmates; the pack that howls together, stays
together. That may be so, but chorus howls can also end with nasty quarrels between packmates. Some
members, usually the lowest-ranking, may actually be "punished" for joining in the chorus. Whether howling
together actually strengthens social bonds, or just reaffirms them, is unknown.
We do know, however, that howling keeps packmates together, physically. Because wolves range over vast areas
to find food, they are often separated from one another. Of all their calls, howling is the only one that works over
great distances. Its low pitch and long duration are well suited for transmission in forest and across tundra, and
unique features of each individual's howl allow wolves to identify each other. Howling is a long distance contact
and reunion call; separate a wolf from its pack, and very soon it will begin howling, and howling, and howling...
When a wolf howls, not only can its packmates hear it, but so can any other wolf within range. These other wolves
may be members of hostile adjacent packs that are competitors for territory and prey. Howl too close to these
strangers, and they may seek you out, chase you, and kill you. In northern Minnesota, where wolves are
protected from humans, the primary cause of death for adult wolves is being killed by wolves from other packs. So
howling has its costs (running into the opposition) as well as its benefits (getting back with the pack).
Consequently, wolves are careful about where and when they howl, and to whom they howl.
For example, a wolf that is separated from its pack may return to an abandoned summer rendezvous site and
howl for hours, even in response to a stranger nearby. It was accustomed to howling at that site and probably
feels relatively confident and secure there. But that same wolf, away from the old home site, will be much more
reserved, and if a stranger howls nearby, it may silently and quickly retreat. Younger wolves, however, act
differently.
The “Pup” Howl:
Indiscriminate howling is usually not a dangerous proposition for young pups, since they tend to be stuck at a
rendezvous site that is relatively far from the neighbors, who likely have pups of their own to raise. More
importantly, replying to an adult that howls often leads to a meal, since packmates returning with food frequently
howl as they near the home site. But as summer gives way to fall, the benefits of indiscriminate howling decrease.
Once pups start to travel with the pack, they begin to enter less secure surroundings. Their neighbors are also
traveling more. Distant howls may belong to strangers, so the risks of howling increase. Besides, by now they
have had ample time to learn the voices of their own packmates and are able to discriminate friend from foe. By
six months of age, pups have become as selective as adult wolves about where, when and to whom they howl.
There is one member of the pack who will tend to howl more boldly: the alpha male. The alpha male is the
dominant male of the pack, and father of the pups. He is most likely to howl to, and even approach, a stranger—
often with confrontation on his mind. One sign of this aggressiveness can be heard in his voice; his howls become
lower-pitched and coarser in tone as he approaches a stranger. Lowering the pitch of a vocalization is a nearly
universal sign of increasing aggressiveness in mammals, and in wolves it can sound quite impressive.
A Confrontational Howl:
This behavior points to the second main purpose of howling: helping to maintain spacing between rival packs.
When one pack howls, others nearby may reply. Very quickly, all the wolves know each other's location. By
advertising their presence, packs can keep their neighbors at bay and avoid accidentally running into them.
But the use of howling in spacing is fraught with difficulties. If one pack howls, all its neighbors (within range, of
course) now know its location. What if they choose to keep quiet, sneak up, and attack the howlers? Deliberate
attacks by one pack on another have been seen, so there are costs to advertising your location. These risks have
to be balanced with benefits. An example of this trade-off is sometimes seen during winter, when packs are
traveling nomadically within (or even outside) their territories. A pack sitting on a fresh prey kill is very likely to
stake its claim and howl, particularly if a stranger howls nearby. As time passes and the kill is consumed, the
wolves become less invested in the site and are less likely to reply. Eventually, they may respond to a stranger's
howling by silently moving away.
When two packs do meet, their relative size usually decides the outcome. Thus small packs are often quite
reluctant to howl and draw attention to themselves, whereas large packs howl readily. But packs can fib to one
another about their size.
When animals compete, they often engage in behaviors designed to exaggerate their size. Wolves stand tall,
raise their hackles, ears and tails, and produce low, menacing howls, all to convince their opponent that a retreat
from this "big, bad wolf" is the best option. Thus most confrontations involve a lot of bluff and very little bloodshed.
Similarly, packs that are able to exaggerate their numbers are more likely to keep their neighbors at bay. The
structure of a pack or chorus howl is well suited to this kind of deception.
A Chorus Howl:
Rather than using howls with a single pure tone, wolves howling in a chorus use wavering or modulated howls.
The rapid changes in pitch make it difficult to follow one individual's howls if several others are howling
simultaneously. In addition, as the sound travels through the environment, trees, ridges, rock cliffs and valleys
reflect and scatter it. As a result, competing packs hear a very complex mix of both direct sound and echoes. If
the howls are modulated rapidly enough, two wolves may sound like four or more. Indeed, during the Civil War,
General Ulysses S. Grant reported hearing what he took to be a pack of "not more than 20 wolves" while
traveling. A short time later he reached the pair of wolves that had been making all the noise! This phenomenon,
called the Beau Geste Effect, may introduce enough uncertainty to make size estimates not only unreliable, but
potentially lethal, if a pack underestimates the size of its rival and approaches.
So wolves howl to find their companions and keep their neighbors at bay. Popular imagination has long held that
they also howl at the moon, but there is no evidence that this is so. Wolves may be more active on moonlit nights,
when they can see better, or we may hear them more often on such nights, because we feel more comfortable
tramping about in the light of a full moon, but a wolf howling at the moon would be wasting its breath.
Type of Howl
Description
The Lonesome Howl
This howl can be classified as
"lonesome" or a "lone" howl.
The Pup Howl
This example of pup howling
comes from a three-month-old
pup that has just heard an
adult howling near the
den site.
A Confrontational Howl
An alpha male howls after
approaching a stranger who
had howled close to the
rendezvous site.
This is a chorus of wolves,
Made up of at least two adults
and two yearlings.
A Chorus Howl
Characteristics
Length? Pitch?
Questions from: What’s in a Howl?
DIRECTIONS:
After a close reading of the article What’s in a Howl, answer the questions below.
In order to help you understand wolf howls, the author first:
a. Asks a question, than makes a connection with the audience.
b. Gives you an example, then makes a connection with the audience
c. Gives you a definition then supports it with an example
d. Makes a connection with the audience, then asks a question.
Based on the article, what is the definition of coarser in paragraph eight?
a. composed of relatively large parts or particles
b. lacking in fineness or delicacy of texture, structure3.
c. harsh; grating.
d. lacking delicacy, taste, or refinement; unpolished
e. of inferior or faulty quality; common; base.
All of these writing techniques are used by the author EXCEPT:
a. Using a metaphor or other figurative language
b. Asking questions to engage the reader
c. Using an interesting anecdote
d. Citing credible sources to support their claims.
In the Chorus Howl paragraph, what does the word “modulated” probably mean?
a.
b.
c.
d.
To adjust or adapt to a certain proportion; regulate or temper.
To change or vary the pitch, intensity, or tone of one's voice or a musical instrument.
To vary the frequency, amplitude, phase, or other characteristic of electromagnetic waves.
To vary electron velocity in an electron beam.
All of these statements are facts EXCEPT:
a. Wolves howl to find their companions.
b. Wolves howl to keep their enemies away.
c. When a mammal lowers its voice, it’s a sign of aggression.
d. The primary cause of death for adult wolves is being killed by humans
The tone of this passage can be described as:
a. Entertaining/Humorous
b. Irritated/Sarcastic
c. Educational/Informational
d. Persuasive/Convincing