Wolves

What's in a Howl?

by Fred H. Harrington
Professor of Ethology
Mount Saint Vincent University, Nova Scotia

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...

For the following examples of howling, you can "read" the sound spectrograph as you listen to the howls. For each spectrograph, the pitch of the sound is displayed on the vertical axis, so howls low in pitch are nearer the bottom, and howls high in pitch will be found toward the top. Time is represented along the horizontal axis, going from left to right, just as you are now reading this text. A howl that is unmodulated in pitch would appear as a straight line across the screen. Most howls show some degree of modulation, so they look like rolling hills or steep ridges leading to or falling away from plateaus. In addition to its so-called fundamental, or lowest frequency, most howls have harmonics, which appear as higher and higher bands of sound that run parallel to the fundamental on the sonagram.

You'll need one of the free software plugins -- HYPERLINK "http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/novatech.html" \l "realaudio" RealPlayer or HYPERLINK "http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/novatech.html" \l "quicktime" QuickTime to be able to view the sonagram clips of wolf howls below. If you already have the software, choose an appropriate connection speed (RealVideo) or the file size (QuickTime, AVI) to view a clip.



A "Lonesome" Howl

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The series of adult howls heard here can be classified as "lonesome" or "lone" howls. Variation in their structure likely indicates who is howling, and the frequency modulations, particularly the sudden changes in pitch, make the howls much easier to locate. 

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.

Pups, especially those under four months of age, love to howl and will usually reply to any howling they hear, even that of total strangers. This is understandable, since pups haven't yet learned how to identify their older packmates.

A Pup Howl

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The above example of pup howling comes from a three-month-old pup that has just heard an adult howling near the den site. Notice how its howls are shorter in duration and higher in pitch, a consequence of its small overall size and lung capacity. The howls do have the same modulated structure as the adult lonesome howl, and serve the same role as contact calls.

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 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

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In the above example, an alpha male howls after approaching a stranger who had howled close to the rendezvous site. The long, low-pitched and coarse howls seem designed to scare off the intruder without the need for a face-to-face confrontation.

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

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This is a chorus of wolves, made up of at least two adults and two yearlings. Listen to the way this chorus changes. It begins with a single howl, which is relatively simple in structure. After a second or two, a second wolf joins, followed by one or two more before the rest of the pack follows virtually en masse. This accelerating start makes it possible to pick out the first three or four individuals but, after that, too many begin howling at once to count them. Besides, usually only three have howled before the first wolf is ready to howl again, so is the fourth wolf howl in the chorus wolf number four howling for the first time, or wolf number one howling for the second time? Once the whole pack is howling, the sound becomes more and more modulated, changing pitch rapidly in what seems to be chaotic disorder. This continues until the chorus winds down a minute or so later.

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. 

Photos: (1) © J. McDonald/Visuals Unlimited; (2) © R. Lindholm/Visuals Unlimited; (3) © R. Lindholm/Visuals Unlimited; (4) Animals Animals/© Peter Weimann.

The wolf is a large member of the canine family. It is not known for sure just when the divergence occurred that split the ancestors of our domestic dog, C. familiaris, from the grey wolf, C. lupis, but it us thought to have occurred about four million years ago

(see wolf HYPERLINK "http://www.wolfcountry.net/information/WolfOrigins.shtml" origins section for more information).

HYPERLINK "http://www.wolfcountry.org" Early man was probably followed by a wolf like creature that scavenged on the remains of his kills. In time, the creature sacrificed his freedom in exchange for those remnants. The dog, for so the creature turned out to be, was not the only one to gain from the exchange. In time the dog learned how to help the man in his hunting, guarding the herds of other animals that the man domesticated, was sometimes used as a beast of burden and, at times, even protected man from other animals.

The Wolf has developed the capacity to survive in the most inhospitable of climates. The wolves in the high arctic endure several winter months of perpetual darkness. Even in February when sun returns to the north, temperatures of -40°C and bitter winds are common. Other wolves are at home in the desert and the dampness of a humid Gulf Coast swamp.

Grooming

Wolves have been known to wash mud from there coats in rivers and streams, wolves depend on thier thick coats in winter, so it is not surprising that they spend part of thier leisure time in grooming behavior. It is also likely that the grooming of other pack members helps reinforce the social bonds the tie the pack together. Two wolves will lick each others coats, nibbling gently with thier teeth to remove foreign matter. Reciprocal grooming is especially common during courtship. Injured wolves are intensely groomed by other pack members, providing both physical and mental comfort.

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Wolves love to play, shouldering one another, bumping bodies together, flopping tails over each other's backs, and leaping up placing forepaws around other' necks. Play especially in pups, develops strength and hunting skills, and aids in establishing pack communication and hierarchy. The intention to play is often signaled by the gesture well known to dog owners of dropping the front quarters into a crouch position, with smiling face and wagging tail. Adult wolves stage mock fights, play chase, and leap on each other. The ambushing of unwary pack members is a favorite game.

Sense of smell

The sense of smell in the wolf is highly developed, as would be expected in an animal possessing numerous scent glands. The distance at which any scent can be detected is governed by atmospheric conditions but, even under the most favorable conditions , 1.75 miles denotes a particularly keen sense of smell. The wolves usually travel until they encounter the scent of some prey species ahead of them. They then move directly toward their prey in an effort to capture it.

HEARING

Next to smell, the sense of hearing is the most acute of the wolf's senses. Wolves can hear as far as six miles away in the forest and ten miles in the open. Wolves can hear well up to a frequency of 25 khz. Some researchers believe that the actual maximum frequency detected by wolves is actually much higher, perhaps up to 80 khz (the upper auditory limits for humans is 20 khz), also according to some naturalist wolves' hearing is greater than that of the dog.

SIGHT

Wolves also have keen eye sight and are quick to detect the slightest movement of anything in front of them. Being major predators, thier eyes are on the front of there heads, and they have probably a little less than 180-degree vision, unlike their prey species, which can see over 300 degrees of a circle.

TASTE

Investigation of taste are made difficult by the fact that the influence of smell often plays a major role in the way a food "tastes." It is known that canines possess taste receptors for the four taste categories: salty, bitter, sweet, and acidic. Felines on the other hand, do not respond to sweetness. The sweetness receptivity would be adaptive use to wolves, as sweet berries and other fruits do play a minor role in their diet.

Pack Structure       HYPERLINK "http://www.wolfcountry.net/information/" \l "main" back to top

Wolves live in family groups called packs. A pack is usually made up of a male parent, a female parent, their pups and a few other adult wolves who are the older brothers and sisters. The pack works together to hunt for food and to take care of the pups.

Some members stay with the pack for life. Wolves can run up to 40 miles an hour and can easily cover 50 miles a day. It is highly likely that at one time or another the land your home is on was once the home of a wolf pack

{greatest natural range of any mammal except humans}

HYPERLINK "http://www.wolfcountry.net/" INCLUDEPICTURE "http://www.wolfcountry.net/images/wc_logo_0011.gif" \* MERGEFORMATINET The Wolf Pack

( HYPERLINK "http://www.wolfcountry.net/" main page)

HYPERLINK "http://www.wolfcountry.org" Few Mammals anywhere are aware - and as loyal to - their group as the wolf. Unlike coyotes and foxes, the wolf usually exists for its pack. The rare exception is the proverbial "lone wolf" - the runt, the outsider, ostracized from the pack. This wolf may wander ten kilometers (six miles) or 1000 kilometers (600 miles), passing cautiously through the domains of other packs, If it is very lucky and finds a mate, and if there is enough territory available for them, they might be able to start a new pack of their own.

For most wolves, however, their identity begins and ends as part of a cohesive, eight to, fifteen-member pack. The hierarchy of the pack is known to all and reinforced by favors, rituals, nips, and fights.

(above right) photograph © HYPERLINK "http://www.wolfcountry.org" Richard E. Flauto Wildlife Foundation

Each pack has a leading, dominate pair, The top male, called the alpha male,who submits to no one and to whom all the other males defer. Likewise, a top alpha female,to whom all other females must submit (The subservient members are usually direct descendants of the Alpha parents).

Contrary to popular belief a female can lead the pack, in one study of 5 packs almost 50% were lead by a female wolf

Next in rank to the alphas are the beta male and beta female. For each gender, every wolf has a rank or place in line where they must submit to anyone higher than they are, but can bully or dominate the wolves lower in rank. At the bottom there is an omega male and omega female.


These wolves have no one under them and may be harassed to the point where they disperse, or leave the pack.

 HYPERLINK "http://www.wolfcountry.org" Within the pack, wolves will constantly demonstrate their rank. When two wolves in the pack meet, the higher-ranking one will show aggression and confidence by raising its tail, putting its ears forward, lifting its lips in a snarl, and making itself look as big and threatening as possible.

(left) photograph © HYPERLINK "http://www.wolfcountry.org" Richard E. Flauto Wildlife Foundation 

The hackles, the fur along the top of its back, will go up automatically when a wolf is threatening a lower-ranking one. The subordinate, or lower-ranking wolf, tries to make itself look small and non-threatening. Its tail will be tucked under its belly, ears laid back flat, and it will roll over and submit to the higher-ranking wolf, licking its muzzle and "letting it know that it's boss." In almost all cases, this ritual substitutes for actual fighting. If wolves often fought and hurt each other, they might be too injured to be able to hunt and survive.

HYPERLINK "http://www.wolfcountry.org" The Alpha Wolf may show friendly dominance by closing its teeth on a subordinate's muzzle in a ritual bite. The bite does not draw blood and is, indeed as much a sign of affection as of benign discipline that status of each of the participants.

(left photograph © HYPERLINK "http://www.wolfcountry.org" Richard E. Flauto Wildlife Foundation)

Wolves will defend there territory, they work as a pack to harass larger animals like bears, although a pack of 12 were once known to kill a grizzly bear, most times if the animal runs away the wolves will not attack.

Animals the wolf may come in contact with are:

Coyotes - They will avoid wolves most times. but when encounters occur they are aggressive.

Grizzly bears - Are known to eat wolf pups, wolves will chase away bears from the den area.

Cougars - Although rare in nature, the cougar being a lone hunter is at a disadvantage in a fight with a wolf pack.

Foxes - Foxes have been observed stealing from wolf kills, wolves have been know to steal fox dens, wolves have been known to kill foxes, though it is rare, more often than not they ignore these tiny predators, the exceptions is in the arctic region where wolves will usually kill a fox on sight.

Ravens - One of the most fascinating relationships between animals is the one that seems to exist between wolves and raven. The raven, scavenger of food of all types, will often follow wolf packs in hopes of morsels of food. and wolves have learned to watch for circling ravens as a sign of possible food below.

Tigers - Wolves and tigers once co-existed in India, tigers would prey on wolves. In a modern setting of a safari park in ontario, when a tiger got loose and entered the wolf compound, the 130 pound alpha male wolf attacked the 500 pound cat immediately before workers gained control of the situation.

Dogs - Although wolves are physiologically capable of breeding with dogs, such crossed usually happen in captive situations, trappers tales of wild wolves mating with dogs is usually a campfire myth. Most encounters between wild wolves and dogs are aggressive in nature, it is only natural a dog would be a trespasser in a wolf's territory, small yapping dogs may be attacked as nuisances.

Communication

Body Postures 

Wolves use body language (the way the present themselves) to communicate, this way another wolf will know exactly what they are thinking. For example when a kill is made the two alpha wolves eat first, a lower ranking wolf will come in lowering it body, ears laid back.
It is, in effect asking for permission to feed.

Here are some other examples of Body postures:

Tail held high and standing tall, represents a more dominate wolf, shows all others his rank in the pack.

Tail down or between the legs, lowered body, pawing at higher the ranking wolf, shows a subordinate wolf.

Ears straight up and bare their teeth shows anger.

Rolling on the back also shows submission.

Squinting the eyes and ears pulled back shows a wolf is suspicious.

Flattening the ears against the head shows fear.

Dancing around and putting the front of its body down, while leaving the back part up in the air shows a playful wolf.

HYPERLINK "http://www.searchingwolf.com" 
Wolves love to play, shouldering one another, bumping bodies together, flopping tails over each other's backs, and leaping up placing forepaws around other' necks. Play especially in pups, develops strength and hunting skills, and aids in establishing pack communication and hierarchy.

Photograph (above right) from HYPERLINK "http://www.searchingwolf.com" The Searching Wolf

The intention to play is often signaled by the gesture well known to dog owners of dropping the front quarters into a crouch position, with smiling face and wagging tail. Adult wolves stage mock fights, play chase, and leap on each other. The ambushing of unwary pack members is a favorite game.

Communication through Scent

HYPERLINK "http://www.wolfcountry.org" Wolves have a very good sense of smell Research shows wolves have been able to detect their pray at distances of up to 1.75 miles (3 kilometers), which they also use to communicate. Wolves mark their territory with urine and faeces. This is called scent marking. When "outside" wolves smell this, they know that an area is already occupied. Of course, their sense of smell also tells them when food or enemies are near.

(Above photograph © HYPERLINK "http://www.wolfcountry.org" Richard E. Flauto Wildlife Foundation)

Communication through Sound - the wolf howl

Have you ever heard a wolf howl? That is one of the ways wolves communicate with their voices. Wolves don't howl at the moon. They will howl any time of the day but are most often heard in the evening because that is when the pack is most active. They howl to find other pack members, to let "outside" wolves know where their territory is, or to get the pack excited and ready to hunt. 

Sometimes, it seems as if they howl just for fun. Wolves also bark to warn other pack members of danger or to challenge an enemy. They often growl in dominance disputes or other kinds of "fights." They make a squeaking noise to call the pups, and the pups' mother will whimper to calm them down.

A howl may range from half-second in duration to about eleven seconds. Communal howls often begin with a few sharp barks by a few pack members, followed by a low howl that builds to a louder group howl.

Wolves seldom stay on the same note while howling, but rather shift pitch to achieve almost harmonic effect.

Pups are born completely blind and deaf (but have a keen sense if smell), depending on the their mother and other members of the pack. The whole pack takes care and raises the pups (non-breeding females produce milk and males compete to baby sit).

 HYPERLINK "http://www.wolfcountry.org" Usually four to six pups are born together. This is called a litter, and the pups in a litter are called litter mates. Pups are born inside a den. A den is sometimes a small cave or a hole dug out of the ground. 

(left) Picture from The © HYPERLINK "http://www.wolfcountry.org/" Richard E. Flauto Wildlife Foundation 

The den must be big enough for the mother and her pups. It shelters them from the weather and protects the pups from other animals that may want to hurt them. Packs sometimes use the same den year after year. At other times, they make or find a new den each year.

Pups grow inside their mother for about 63 days before being born. At birth they weigh only one pound, and their eyes are closed. Pups grow quickly. About 12 to 15 days after they are born, they open their eyes. By two weeks of age, the pups can walk, and about a week after that, they may come out of the den for the first time. At first, they live only on milk from their mother.

Stages of Development

10 - 13 days: the eyes open

3 weeks: the milk teeth appear, they start to explore the den

4 - 5 weeks: short trips outside the den, begin to eat meat

6 weeks: moving up to a mile from the den (with adult wolf)

6 - 8 weeks: pups are weaned, traveling to rendezvous site.

12 weeks: begin to travel with the pack on hunts (with adult wolves)

15 - 28 weeks: milk teeth are replaced

7 - 8 months: begin to hunt with the pack

The Early Years

HYPERLINK "http://www.wolfcountry.org" In a few weeks (4-5 weeks), the pups start eating meat. This is brought to them in the stomachs of the adult wolves. The pups lick around the mouth of the adult, and the food comes back up into the adult's mouth. This sounds terrible to us, but wolf pups love it!

All the wolves in a pack help take care of the pups. When the pups are very small, other pack members bring food to the mother so she does not have to leave the den. When the pups are a little bigger, pack members "take turns" bringing them food, playing with them and even "baby sitting." Once the pups are about eight weeks old, they leave the den and start using "rendezvous sites." These are meeting places where the wolves gather to sleep, play and just "hang out." Until the pups are old enough to go with the adults, (when pups are six months old, they look almost like adult wolves. Around this time, they start hunting with the rest of the pack) they stay at the rendezvous site. Often, one of the adult wolves stays with the pups to watch over them. 

 HYPERLINK "http://www.wolfcountry.org" Wolf pups love to play. They chase each other and roll around the way dog puppies do. Many of their games appear to be a sort of practice for the things they will do as adult wolves. Pups have been observed playing with "toys" like bones, feathers or the skins of dead animals. They "kill" the toys over and over again and carry them around as "trophies." As they get bigger, they begin to hunt small animals, like rabbits. This is all good practice for the day they join the pack for their first real hunt for large animals.

Wolves as Hunters

Wolves kill and eat other animals for food. Depending on where they live, wolves live mainly on the meat from such animals as deer, moose, elk or bison. They also eat beavers, rabbits and even mice. They do not eat humans. Wolves are not a threat to humans!


(There is no documented account of a healthy wolf ever attacking a human.)

Wolves are very shy around people and try to avoid them in the wild.

Wolves kill only to eat - to survive. Because wolves usually hunt for large animals, (although wolves are opportunistic and will eat smaller prey) they work together to catch their prey. Wolves will eat a healthy, strong animal if they can catch it.(Wolves need an average of three to ten pounds of meat each day).

(right)Photograph from HYPERLINK "http://www.clipart.com" clipart.com

Hunting is not always successful, so their bodies are designed to feast (eat a lot)or famine (eat nothing). Wolves can eat as much as 22 pounds of meat at a time and then may not eat again for many days.

Wolves require from one to three quarts of water per day, depending on the size of the animal, the climate, and the moisture content of the prey.

When hunting in winter the wolf will conserve energy when ever possible, by following the same trail as the prey animal, staying upwind, and staying out of sight of the prey as long as possible. When it is time to strike the wolf will start wagging their tails with excitement. Some times when young pups are with the hunt they may dash after the prey in the excitement and spoil the hunt.

Wolf Hunting Tactics

Wolves are primarily nocturnal animals that avoid the heat of day. They generally commence hunting at dusk.

Wolves detect prey by three primary means, sent (most common), tracking, and chance encounters.

After prey is detected, wolves may split up to search through brush, travel on ridge tops searching for the prey below, or test herds looking for signs of weakness.

It has long been recognized that wolves often take advantage of wear members of the herd. In 1804, Captain Clark of the famed Lewis and Clark expedition wrote that prairie wolves followed buffalo and fed "on those that are killed by accident or those that are too pore or fat to keep up with the ganges."

Later researchers reinforced the image of the wolf as a predator of the very young, the very old, the weak, of the diseased. Aldolph Murie, in the Wolves of Mount McKinley,wrote: "Many bands seem to be chased, given a trial, and if no advantage is gained or weak animals discovered, the wolves travel on to chase other bands until an advantage can be seized."

Lois Crisler notes in Arctic wild, "In all our time in the arctic, the only healthy caribou we saw or found killed were fawns with big herds." She observed that adult caribou killed had "hoof disease, or lung tapeworm, or nostril-cloging ... botflies." In a 1980 study in northeast Alberta, T. Fuller and L.B. Kieth found that "wolves killed disproportionately more young, old and probably debilitated moose (Ales alces), as well as more female calves."

In fact, the only animal that habitually preys upon prime mature animals is man.

Although it does not prey only on the weak and the ill, the wolf is opportunistic, and it is inevitably the disadvantaged that are the easiest to catch.

The Selection

Weakened animals may show thier condition to predators through body stance, uncoordinated movements, the smell of wounds or infection, or some other tangible signal. The reading and evaluation of these signals comprises what Barry Lopez has poetically termed "the conversation of death."

Once a weak individual is selected by a pack, wolves will usually travel upwind. By traveling upwind, the sent of any prey will be carried to them. They will follow the air currents directly to the game. Or, they may follow the sent trail left by a game animal's foot tracks and body odors.

The Chase

Just before the chase wolves prefer to make there final approach downwind so there body sent is not carried to the prey species, alerting it to their presence

Prey that runs is usually chased. Prey that stands its ground may be able to bluff off its pursuers. Moose and Elk often take to deep water or swift rivers and await departure of the pursuing wolves, But more often than not the wolves wait. While the majority of the pack rests, one or two members test the prey for signs of fatigue.

Usually the chases are short, but L. David Mech has stated that "One wolf I know of chased a deer for 13 miles."

David Gray described one such encounter in Canada's high Arctic in the muskoxen of Polar Bear Pass:"the wolves approached to within a hundred meters of the herd ... one wolf lay down as two others circled the milling herd."

Contrary to popular belief, most prey chased by wolves actually gets away. In one study, only three percent of the moose that were tested ended up being killed. The percentage of prey that is killed is called the "predation efficiency," and in spite the wolf's prowess as a hunter, the majority of his prey escapes.

The Attack

When the attack comes, the prey is usually seized by either the nose or the rump. Rarely, if ever, does a wolf hamstring a prey animal. This is one of the oldest and most pervasive false beliefs held about wolves. As late as 1980, the Aubon Society Field Guide to North American Mammals stated that the wolf kills "by slashing tendons in the hind legs.", this is pure myth. The actual death of the prey is usually caused by massive blood loss, shock, or both. Sometimes with smaller prey a neck bite will snap a backbone.

The Alpha wolf will eat first, Wolves usually begin to feed on the rump, if it was exposed during the chase, or else on the internal organs. The muscle and flesh is the last portion of the prey that is eaten, in contras with human habits. Having stong jaws alows the wolf to crush bones to get to the soft marrow, it also helps the wolf eat most of its prey leaving very little waste at the killing site.

Another myth is that packs are required to bring down large prey; several observers have seen single wolves catch and kill elk and moose. The first wolf to return to Sweden after the extermination of its wolf population regularly brought down large moose by itself.

There is evidence that wolves have some knowledge of proper prey management. L. David Mech found one pack in Minnesota that varied its killing by hunting in a different part of its territory each year, allowing prey numbers elsewhere to recover, aiding the long-term survival of the pack.

The Wolf today - Conflicts and Compromise

Today the wolf is starting to come back, but as its population increases so does the conflicts with humans.

There is a great emotional debate about wolf control, some want the wolf destroyed, while others think wolves should never be killed, the answer may be somewhere in the middle of these positions. 

Ranchers and Farmers worry that wolves will eat their livestock - cows, sheep, pigs . Today in the areas where farmers and ranchers come into conflict with wolves, there is some killing of problem wolves by the federal government.

Today there is a strong anti-wolf lobby, Some judges and political leaders in these areas are feeling pressure to side with this lobby.

According to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, "wolf predation of live-stock; sheep, poultry, and cattle does occur, but it is uncommon enough behavior in the species as a whole to be called aberrant"

To save the wolf there may have to be a few problem wolves destroyed to save the species as a whole, there must be agreement from both the wolf conservationist and the ranchers and farmers, the alternative will be the return to the days of wolf bounty hunting. In the United States and Canada wolves are for the most part protected from unrestricted hunting, but in others countries such as Russia, and parts of eastern Europe wolf bounties are still paid. More and more wolves and man come into conflict with each other, in poor rural areas of russia for example hunting of deer and other wild game has increased causing competition between man and wolf. With less game to hunt wolves look for other food sources such as domestic sheep and cattle.

Modern reindeer husbandry also conflicts with healthy wolf populations. Consequently, populations of wolves are low in central Beringia. For example, in 1989 the number of wolves on the Seward Peninsula was estimated at only 50 to 150 individuals. In Chukotka recent decades have seen an official policy of shooting wolves from helicopters to protect reindeer herds, but there seems to be a shift away from this policy. It is said that in olden times wolves and people worked out a balance, with wolves taking what they needed from the herds, and Chukchis hunting only individual wolves that had become wasteful killers. Is it possible that such balances as these can be reestablished, not only in reindeer husbandry but all human endeavors, so that the song of the wolf will always be heard in Beringia?

Conclusão

Is the cry of the wolf a mournful farewell? or does it announce his return. Will we grant him a place to live? and in turn give ourselves something more valuable? We all must work together to ensure that the songs of the wolves will always be heard in all the wild places of our earth.

Communication through Sound: The wolf howl

One of the ways wolves communicate is with their voices. There is no sound that I know that compares with the beauty and strength of a howling wolf. There are many theories as to why a wolf howls. Wolves can howl at any time of the day not just at a full moon. Although it is believed that a pack may be more active during the full moon because of the additional light. Howling serves many purposes but no one knows all of the reasons a wolf howls. A single wolf howling can sound like 3 or more wolves howling. Howls can change in length and seldom a wolf stays on the same note while howling, this gives the howl a harmonic effect also called "shift pitch". A group howl usually starts with a few sharp barks, followed by a low howl that gets louder as the other wolves join in. Wolves also bark to warn other pack members of danger or to challenge an enemy. They often growl in dominance disputes or other kinds of "fights." They make a squeaking noise to call the pups, and the pups' mother will whimper to calm them down. A howl may range from half-second in duration to about eleven seconds. Depending on the weather conditions the howl of a wolf can be heard up to 10 miles away.

Some other reasons a wolf may howl:

To notify other pack members of their location.

To inform other packs of where they are and their own territory.

For the attraction of a mate.

To reassemble a scattered pack.

To get a pack riled up before a hunt

When disturbed

When stressed (most often by wolf pups)

At the presence of an intruder

After playing or other social events

After waking up

To call for help

Wolves generally travel in single file. This eases their trek through snow. Each wolf steps in the tracks of the wolf ahead of them, creating a path.

A wolf family is called a pack. Most wolf packs are a close-knit family with a mother, father, pups, youngsters and adult offspring.

Wolf packs hunt together as a team. The pack combines the strength of many wolves, making it possible for them to hunt large animals. Statistically wolves are not successful hunters. Many more animals escape than are caught.

The wolf has developed the capacity to survive in the most inhospitable of climates.

The leaders of a wolf pack are the alpha male and the alpha female, often distinguishable by their raised tails.

A beta male will lower his head and tail when around the alpha pair to let them know he will obey them.

Subordinates play a strong and important role in helping care for and feed the pups. They are usually young animals, but occasionally are former alphas who have lost their positions.

A young adult wolf that has left the pack to find a new, suitable place to live and mate is called a Lone Wolf.

He who fears the wolf, should not go to the forest.

He who wants to eat with the wolves has to howl along with them.

One wolf doesn't desert the other.

Even the wolf cries for its young.

Even the wolf doesn't eat offered food.

Even the wolf leaves a trace.

Even the wolf loves its young.

Even the wolf teaches its young.

The wolf always has its own songs.

Where the wolf (is), there (are) the tracks.

alpha: the highest rank in the social order of each wolf pack. There are both alpha male and alpha female within each pack. Usually this pair are the parents of most of the other members of the pack, as generally only the Alpha pair mate. Alpha is the first letter in the Greek alphabet.

The wolf is vulnerable to injury and death from kicking prey.

The bond between pack members is so close that observers have recorded that the death of one engenders an evident sense of loss among the survivors.

Wolves live in family groups called packs. A pack is usually made up of a male parent, a female parent, their pups and a few other adult wolves who are the older brothers and sisters. The pack works together to hunt for food and to take care of the pups.   HYPERLINK "http://www.wolfcountry.net/information/WolfPack.shtml" more info... 

The wolf is a large member of the canine family. It is not known for sure just when the divergence occurred that split the ancestors of our domestic dog, C. familiaris, from the grey wolf, C. lupis, but it us thought to have occurred about four million years ago   HYPERLINK "http://www.wolfcountry.net/information/WolfObserved.shtml" more info... 

 HYPERLINK "http://www.wolfcountry.net/information/WolfMyth.shtml" There have many stories and fables written about wolves, some like "little Red Riding Hood",and stories about Werewolves have made the wolf a symbol of evil, a monster to some, The wolf was often portrayed as the Anti-Christ, epitome of evil. There are also many legends of wolves as noble creatures who can teach us many things.   HYPERLINK "http://www.wolfcountry.net/information/WolfMyth.shtml" more info... 

Wolves kill only to eat - to survive. Because wolves usually hunt for large animals, (although wolves are opportunistic and will eat smaller prey) they work together to catch their prey. Wolves will eat a healthy, strong animal if they can catch it.(Wolves need an average of three to ten pounds of meat each day).