Post by Rafe on Aug 6, 2006 23:12:35 GMT -5
Howling
Howling adult wolf on glacial erratic at Little America Flats.Wolves howl for several reasons. Howling helps pack members keep in touch, allowing them to effectively communicate in thickly forested areas or over great distances. Furthermore, howling helps to summon pack members to a specific location.[8] Howling can also serve as a declaration of territory, as portrayed by a dominant wolf's tendency to respond to a human imitation of a "rival" individual in an area that the wolf considers its own. This behavior is also stimulated when a pack has something to protect, such as a fresh kill. As a rule of thumb, large packs will more readily draw attention to themselves than will smaller packs. Adjacent packs may respond to each others' howls, which can mean trouble for the smaller of the two. Thus, wolves tend to howl with great care.
Wolves will also howl for communal reasons. Some scientists speculate that such group sessions strengthen the wolves' social bonds and camaraderie—similar to community singing among humans. During such choral sessions, wolves will howl at different tones and varying pitches, which tends to prevent a listener from accurately estimating the number of wolves involved. This concealment of numbers makes a listening rival pack wary of what action to take. For example, confrontation could mean bad news if the rival pack gravely underestimates the howling pack's numbers.
Observations of wolf packs suggest that howling occurs most often during the twilight hours, preceding the adults' departure to the hunt and following their return. Studies also show that wolves howl more frequently during the breeding season and subsequent rearing process. The pups themselves begin howling towards the end of July, and can be provoked into howling sessions relatively easily over the following two months. Such indiscriminate howling usually has a communicative intent, and has no adverse consequences so early in a wolf's life. Howling becomes less indiscriminate as wolves learn to distinguish howling pack members from rival wolves.
Other vocalizations
Growling, used in tandem with bared teeth, is the most visual and effective warning wolves use. Wolf growls have a distinct, deep, bass-like quality, and are used much of the time as a threat, though they are not always necessarily used for defense. Wolves will also growl at other wolves while being aggressively dominant.
Wolves can also bark, which they do when nervous or to warn other wolves of danger. Wolves bark very discreetly, and will not generally bark loudly or repeatedly as dogs do; rather, they use a low-key, breathy "whuf" sound to get attention immediately from other wolves. Wolves will also "bark-howl" by adding a brief howl to the end of a bark. Wolves bark-howl for the same reasons they normally bark. Actually, pups bark and bark-howl much more frequently than adults, using such vocalizations as cries for attention, care, or food.
Wolves can also whimper, which they usually do only while submitting to other wolves. Wolf pups will whimper when they need a reassurance of security from their parents or other wolves.
Scent marking
Wolves, like other canines, use scent marking to lay claim to anything from territory to fresh kills. Alpha wolves scent mark the most often, with males doing so more than females. The most widely used scent marker is urine. Male alpha wolves urine-mark objects using a raised-leg stance (all females squat) so as to enforce rank and territory. They will also use such marks to identify food caches and to claim kills on behalf of the whole pack. Defecation markers are used for the same purposes as urine marks, and serve as a more visual warning, as well. These types of scent markings are particularly useful for navigational purposes, keeping the pack from traversing the same terrain too often while also allowing each individual to be aware of the whereabouts of its pack members. Above all, though, scent marking is used to notify other wolves and packs that a given territory is occupied, and that they should therefore tread cautiously.
Wolves have scent glands all over their bodies, including at the base of the tail, between toes, and in the eyes, genitalia, and skin. Pheromones secreted by these glands identify each individual wolf. A dominant wolf will "rub" his or her body against subordinate wolves to mark such individuals as being members of a particular pack. Wolves may also "paw" dirt to release pheromones in lieu of urine marking.
That wolves rely so heavily on odoriferous signals testifies greatly to their olfactory capabilities. Wolves can pick up any scent, including marks, from great distances, and can distinguish among them just as well or better than humans can distinguish other humans visually.
Howling adult wolf on glacial erratic at Little America Flats.Wolves howl for several reasons. Howling helps pack members keep in touch, allowing them to effectively communicate in thickly forested areas or over great distances. Furthermore, howling helps to summon pack members to a specific location.[8] Howling can also serve as a declaration of territory, as portrayed by a dominant wolf's tendency to respond to a human imitation of a "rival" individual in an area that the wolf considers its own. This behavior is also stimulated when a pack has something to protect, such as a fresh kill. As a rule of thumb, large packs will more readily draw attention to themselves than will smaller packs. Adjacent packs may respond to each others' howls, which can mean trouble for the smaller of the two. Thus, wolves tend to howl with great care.
Wolves will also howl for communal reasons. Some scientists speculate that such group sessions strengthen the wolves' social bonds and camaraderie—similar to community singing among humans. During such choral sessions, wolves will howl at different tones and varying pitches, which tends to prevent a listener from accurately estimating the number of wolves involved. This concealment of numbers makes a listening rival pack wary of what action to take. For example, confrontation could mean bad news if the rival pack gravely underestimates the howling pack's numbers.
Observations of wolf packs suggest that howling occurs most often during the twilight hours, preceding the adults' departure to the hunt and following their return. Studies also show that wolves howl more frequently during the breeding season and subsequent rearing process. The pups themselves begin howling towards the end of July, and can be provoked into howling sessions relatively easily over the following two months. Such indiscriminate howling usually has a communicative intent, and has no adverse consequences so early in a wolf's life. Howling becomes less indiscriminate as wolves learn to distinguish howling pack members from rival wolves.
Other vocalizations
Growling, used in tandem with bared teeth, is the most visual and effective warning wolves use. Wolf growls have a distinct, deep, bass-like quality, and are used much of the time as a threat, though they are not always necessarily used for defense. Wolves will also growl at other wolves while being aggressively dominant.
Wolves can also bark, which they do when nervous or to warn other wolves of danger. Wolves bark very discreetly, and will not generally bark loudly or repeatedly as dogs do; rather, they use a low-key, breathy "whuf" sound to get attention immediately from other wolves. Wolves will also "bark-howl" by adding a brief howl to the end of a bark. Wolves bark-howl for the same reasons they normally bark. Actually, pups bark and bark-howl much more frequently than adults, using such vocalizations as cries for attention, care, or food.
Wolves can also whimper, which they usually do only while submitting to other wolves. Wolf pups will whimper when they need a reassurance of security from their parents or other wolves.
Scent marking
Wolves, like other canines, use scent marking to lay claim to anything from territory to fresh kills. Alpha wolves scent mark the most often, with males doing so more than females. The most widely used scent marker is urine. Male alpha wolves urine-mark objects using a raised-leg stance (all females squat) so as to enforce rank and territory. They will also use such marks to identify food caches and to claim kills on behalf of the whole pack. Defecation markers are used for the same purposes as urine marks, and serve as a more visual warning, as well. These types of scent markings are particularly useful for navigational purposes, keeping the pack from traversing the same terrain too often while also allowing each individual to be aware of the whereabouts of its pack members. Above all, though, scent marking is used to notify other wolves and packs that a given territory is occupied, and that they should therefore tread cautiously.
Wolves have scent glands all over their bodies, including at the base of the tail, between toes, and in the eyes, genitalia, and skin. Pheromones secreted by these glands identify each individual wolf. A dominant wolf will "rub" his or her body against subordinate wolves to mark such individuals as being members of a particular pack. Wolves may also "paw" dirt to release pheromones in lieu of urine marking.
That wolves rely so heavily on odoriferous signals testifies greatly to their olfactory capabilities. Wolves can pick up any scent, including marks, from great distances, and can distinguish among them just as well or better than humans can distinguish other humans visually.
