Why do wolves howling at the moon

Forget the malarkey about wolves howling at the moon. These animals care as much about the Earth's nightlight as metalheads think about "High School Musical. Canine experts have found no connection between the phases of the moon and wolf howling [source: Busch]. Wolves pipe up more often during the night because they're nocturnal. But why do they point their faces toward the moon and stars when they howl? It's all about acoustics since projecting their calls upward allows the sound to carry farther.

Today, wolf howling is one of the most distinct and well-studied animal vocalizations. The ancestors of domesticated dogs , wolves howl as a form of long-distance communication, conveying a range of information. Because of the high pitch and the suspension of notes, the sounds of wolf howls can carry as far as 6 miles 9. Wolf howls serve as GPS systems , sing-alongs and fire alarms -- all rolled into one.

In fact, the purpose of wolf howls isn't terribly different from the reasons humans raise their voices to the wind. In general, the primary reasons why wolves howl include:. The frequency of howling increases during the evening and early dawn when wolves hunt [source: Lopez and Bauguess]. Howls punctuate the air more often during the wintertime breeding season, when wolves seek out mates [source: Lopez and Bauguess].

Since howls bear coding for a wolf's body size and health with the larger animals exhibiting deeper tones , males can exercise their pipes to attract females [source: Feldhamer et al]. Although we think of wolves howling alone, they frequently do so as a group.

These chorus howls involve members of a pack singing in unison at multiple pitches. Together, the chorus may include up to 12 related harmonies [source: Lopez and Bauguess]. Group howling can protect packs since the combination of harmonies tricks listeners into thinking there are more wolves present [source: Harrington ]. Or sometimes, they'll howl just for the fun of it. Alpha wolves, leaders of the pack, usually display a lower-pitched howl and will sound off more frequently than those with a more subservient social standing [source: Feldhamer et al].

Pups also practice howling as they mature, mimicking those of adult wolves [source: Harrington ]. Lone wolves, however, may not howl as much to keep their whereabouts hidden from potential predators, since they don't have the added protection of a pack [source: Feldhamer et al]. As you can see, these primitive animals have an extensive vocabulary to express themselves. To learn more about their language, visit the links below. Sign up for our Newsletter! Mobile Newsletter banner close.

Mobile Newsletter chat close. There are a number of factors that can influence how and when wolves howl, such as time of day, which way the wind is blowing, and even different weather conditions such as the presence of fog or rain. Wolf howls are specific vocalizations used both within a pack and between packs in the same geographic area. These low-frequency sounds have been heard at distances of nearly 10 miles away, although the presence of trees, mountains, and other geographic features can decrease that range.

While wolves have been studied both in captivity and in the wild, scientists continue to learn about their communication and how hunting and habitat destruction by humans may be changing their behavior. For now, these are the known reasons why wolves howl. Like many other species of animals, wolves use vocalizations to communicate. When wolves become separated, they will howl to locate the other members of their pack. Both individuals and entire packs may howl to find a missing member.

The vocalization is also frequently used to locate missing pups or by adults to let the pups know that they are on their way home from foraging. Research on wolf behavior has looked into whether howling to communicate location is harmful to wolves that are in danger of being detected and hunted by humans, but so far no connection has been found. Wolf howling between packs increases dramatically during mating season. When hormones are surging, wolves are more likely to show aggressive behavior towards members of other packs in order to defend their territory and the females in their pack.

Wolves' average summer home ranges span 72 square miles, and territorial howling serves as a warning to outsiders to keep their distance. According to a study by scientists at the Wolf Science Centre in Austria, wolves tend to howl more if they are separated from another wolf that they have a close relationship with.

In the past, scientists had hypothesized that wolves howled as a stress response to being separated from pack members. However, the European researchers found that levels of a stress hormone called cortisol did not significantly increase in pack members when a wolf was taken away from them.

Instead, it seems that wolves howl when separated from another wolf simply to make contact with them and not because their absence is stressful. The higher the rank of the missing wolf, the more the rest of the pack howled. Howling is one way to communicate plans and strategy during a hunting session so that no one is left behind and the hunt is successful.

Eligible wolves must find a mate when the time is right. In addition to howling, barking and growling, gray wolves use scent marking to maintain pack territories. Body language is also an important communication tool. Dominant wolves may display raised hackles the hair on the back of the neck , bared teeth, wrinkled foreheads and erect, forward-pointing ears.

Conversely, a less dominant animal may lower its tail and body position, expose its throat, peel back its lips and fold back its ears. Gray wolves once had one of the largest natural ranges of any terrestrial mammal in the Northern Hemisphere, but expansion into the western U. Cattle ranches believed wolves were a threat to their livelihood, and a history of hunting and poisoning devastated wolf populations, bringing them to the brink of extinction.

In , the Endangered Species Act helped reestablish wolf populations. A combination of legal protection, human migration to more urban areas and land-use changes has helped stabilize them since, and in , they were reintroduced to the northern Rocky Mountains.

Hunting in packs allows gray wolves to take down prey larger than themselves, including caribou, moose, deer and bison. They often hunt at night and will catch prey as a team or chase prey toward the remaining members of the pack as a trap. Gray wolves eat about pounds of food per day.

In addition to hunting large prey, they also catch beavers, rabbits and fish. They will even eat the occasional berry. Skip to main content.