Wolves howl for many reasons: to communicate with other group members, as a form of socializing that helps to maintain important bonds, to express a range of emotions, and to advertise their territorial boundaries. Given all we now know about them, there certainly isn't any longer a rational basis for humans to feel shivers of fear when wolves howl, contrary to one of the most persistent of all the many nonsensical characterizations and myths about wolves.
Cooperation
Cooperative breeding and cooperative hunting, the two major underpinnings of wolf social systems, involve sophisticated bonds among group members. These bonds are maintained by chorus howling, play, dominance interactions, and other common forms of socializing that have additional adaptive values and often appear in close sequences. Especially rich, intense combinations of these behaviors are likely to be observed as part of the socializing that takes place as wolves rev up to set off on a nightly hunt from the homesite, as well as when separated individuals and subgroups rejoin.
The howling at two of the Toklat homesites is of particular appeal because of the beautiful, wild mountain backdrop and because—up until the trapping and hunting deaths they've suffered since 2005—these choruses usually involved large numbers of wolves. The early morning return of hunters, usually sometime between 5:00 and 7:00, generate the most excited choruses. I don't worry about sleeping too late when I'm out here; a chorus from the den or somewhere nearby never fails me as an alarm. To be awakened by wolves, what a delight!
High-ranking wolves returning to provision pups at a summer homesite after a night or a couple of days away on a hunt clearly delight as well in the responses they get when they signal their arrival in advance with howling. They begin the call and response with a howl toward the homesite while still several miles away. I've listened to and watched wolves in these exchanges well before they could see each other. It was as if the returning hunters were anticipating and trying to intensify the excited welcome they were about to get, as a reward for the tough routine of hunting: heading out into the mountains to find a caribou or moose ten or more miles away, chasing it another mile or two, pulling it down if they're lucky, and finally each of them carrying at least thirty pounds of it over the long, difficult route back to the homesite.
* * *
Tweet
June 26, 2009
At den again tonite. Wolves still in idyllic pond area where cannot see them. Can hear their howling and see them going to/from area, tho.
* * *
One mid-June morning at 6:00 I listened as a raven called on the other side of the valley, but otherwise the morning was still and quiet under clear skies. Then nine Toklat hunters appeared on a high slope about a mile and a half southwest of the den, just above timberline. They stopped—some sitting, all looking intently toward the den—and they howled. Immediately this ignited an excited response from the mother and a young adult helper who had remained with the pups overnight. In a flash, both swung around to focus on the howls, and then howled together. The six pups shot out of a burrow and scurried under the two older wolves, their little tails wagging excitedly.
The distant hunters howled again, setting off an extended volley of yips from the pups as well as another response from the mother and helper. For the next ten minutes it was quiet, although the pups were now wide awake, play-fighting with each other, and jumping all over the two older wolves. The two continued watching intently in the direction of the returning hunters. Then came another howl, and quickly a chorus from all nine of the hunters, now deep within the forest about a mile from the den. The wolves at the den answered again, and there was more silence. Another howl with an ensuing chorus rose out of the forest, still closer to the den, and another burst of yipping and howling came in response.
* * *
Field notes #30
June 1991
3:40 am—Lots of “talking” between various wolves, a full chorus, as well as howling—quite loud and echoing in the trees—woke me abruptly.
5:15 am—I was awakened abruptly again, by the low, gruff alarm barking of several wolves fanned out in front of me 100 feet or so on the gravel bar and a similar distance from my tent on the E side as well. They have obviously spotted my tent and are somewhat upset. I remained motionless inside as the fairly low-key gruff alarm barking and howling continued for several minutes. Then these wolves began trotting toward the main den. I could see 5–6 of them—including the female and male; apparently they were just returning to the main den from the hunt and saw me or scented me in passing by the area.
5:30 am—2 female, 2 male, & 3–4 others arrived back at the den, to a greeting by a young helper—but no immediate howling (perhaps still wary because of me?) one by one they went to the top front end of the den point, where each greeted, was food-begged by, and regurgitated for the pups (and the helper?) and then immediately, one by one, each trotted off to the forest rest area behind the den point and disappeared. Then there was a major, 30 sec chorus howl. The 1 female stood at the original spot for the pups to nurse for 5 minutes, and once again, I can see only 2–3 pups.
* * *
Finally the nine hunters arrived, and all seventeen of the wolves were almost beside themselves with excitement. They jumped on each other and romped about all over the den area and adjacent gravel bar, whimpering, whining, tails wagging, rubbing noses, and licking each other's faces. One howled, and the entire group joined in for a nonstop thirty-second chorus. Then another howled, prompting a chorus that lasted, on and off, for over two minutes. By this time four hunters had regurgitated meat for the pups and mother, and another gave them a large chunk of a forequarter from an adult caribou. A half hour later, the pups were still active, chewing on the forequarter and playing with each other, but it was a long night for the adults, and they were now sleeping near the den.
Reunion
When individuals become separated, such as while chasing caribou, mountain sheep, or moose, they often get back together by howling, as well as by scenting each other's trails. One March, I observed the Toklat alpha male on his way to reuniting with four young wolves after a twenty-one-day separation.
I first observed him in the Lower Savage territory, some thirty-five miles northeast of the four young Toklats. The next day he was in the Stampede territory on his way back toward them, only about fifteen miles northward of their location by late in the day. His route extended farther west than was required for a direct return, likely because he was circumventing the Stampede wolves, who were on the direct route and only five or six miles away. The four wolves were resting on a high rocky ridge along the east side of the Toklat River valley, about a thousand feet above him and a mile and a half away as he came upriver and reached a point just downstream from their location. It was obvious that he knew they were somewhere in the area but not exactly where.
As he approached, he began loping excitedly, and then stopped several times to howl and listen while looking intently in their general direction. Likewise, they looked around intently in his general direction and howled but apparently did not see him. Ultimately he continued about a mile farther upstream until downwind of their scent in the brisk northeast wind, at which point he turned sharply and climbed almost two miles northeastward to their location. I was not present for the actual greeting, but when we returned shortly afterward, the five were curled up sleeping together near that location.
Expressing Emotion
Wolves call-howl to family members who have been trapped or shot. They howl in obvious pain and distress while still alive in traps or snares, and so do any other family members on the scene who might be trying to help them. It is not unusual for wolves to return to or remain near a location where close family members have been killed, even after a trapper or hunter has taken the dead wolves away. I've observed this with several family groups over the years, including the Savage River, Toklat, and Sanctuary. The emotions that I've observed on these occasions in the howling and other behavior of a wolf near a close ma
te who had just died were obvious and intense.
In February 2005, I observed the above male's father howling with obvious distress for his dead mate, the day after a trapper hauled her away from his nearby Savage River trapline. The next photo shows her being hauled away by snowmachine. The male apparently remained with her or nearby for most of the approximately two weeks that she struggled in a trap and a snare, both of which can be seen on the trapper's sled. The male returned to the trapping site repeatedly over the next few weeks. A hunter shot him just outside another area of the park a month later.16
Other than in distressful situations, and apart from the other adaptive values, wolves seem to howl in large measure simply because they enjoy howling. Essentially, wolves ignore our circling airplane, with one fascinating exception: when they are merely resting or lounging around, the sound of the airplane often prompts them to howl. As far as I can tell, the explanation is pretty straightforward. In essence they are singing along with a sound they like—not uncommonly, as in the photo on the previous page, while heads turn together to follow our orbits.
Energizing
Finally, wolves often howl just to energize each other. Wolves are among the most social of all animals, and one of the best times to observe their rich, expressive interactions is while they are revving up from sound sleep, preparing to hunt again. Like most people, wolves seldom jump up from sleep and head straight off to work or hunt in high gear. Typically there is a ten-minute or longer sequence of sleepy-eyed false starts and a building mix of play, roughhousing, dominance, chorus howling, and other socializing before the wolves finally depart.
During the summer months, they are most likely to do this pre-hunt socializing at the homesite. But during the rest of the year, when they travel more or less continuously without any home bases, they are likely to do it wherever they wake up. Probably the greatest value of this behavior is in helping to maintain the intimate familiarity that enables group members to cooperate closely. The following scenes from early April 2009 show the Toklat family of Denali National Park waking, socializing, and then starting off on a hunt over a period of almost an hour.
* * *
Snapshot: A Sign of Intelligence
Johnny Johnson
One thing that touched me the most, and touched Gordon a lot, too, was that snared wolf.
Gordon found a radio-collared wolf caught in a snare by the foot. It was baited in a way that Gordon knew wasn't legal. So they landed the plane and Gordon went up to that wolf and decided to cut it loose.
The wolf just lay there and looked at him as Gordon tried to get that snare off with his Swiss Army knife. It took him thirty minutes, and all that time the wolf was just looking at him, its face ten inches from Gordon's face. When it was free, Gordon just got up and left.
Later we found out that wolf had died from an infection from the snare. But the trapper filed suit against Gordon, and ended up winning nearly two hundred thousand dollars.
That really affected Gordon. He realized he could be sued and lose everything, his cabin and land, he could lose it all. It made him less aggressive, I think.
But what touched him, and me, was how intelligent that wolf was. It never tried to bite him, attack him, or even snarl at him while he was working that snare off. It wasn't aggressive at all.
That's a real sign of intelligence in an animal.
_______________
Note: See introduction. The collared wolf was from the Yukon–Charley Rivers National Preserve, and Haber believed he was acting under an agreement with Alaska Fish and Game. They later denied this, claiming Haber's actions were illegal. Because he was working as a consultant, Friends of Animals paid Haber's fine.
* * *
* * *
Snapshot: Passing By
Troy Dunn
We never frightened any wildlife. The only time I ever saw wildlife run from an aircraft was after they had been chased by a helicopter and darted. If any of them showed any skittishness, then we backed off. When we came in on a location where there were wolves, I always had the prop and power backed way down, trying to be as quiet as I could. Gordon and I strived for no impact to the wolves, and we went to great lengths in engine power management and maneuvering to ensure we met this goal.
Once we were watching a string of wolves walking down Clearwater Fork. Gordon wanted a good picture to document their colorations, so I dropped down while Gordon got his camera lens ready. As we passed by them they literally stopped in their tracks and looked at us, their heads turning to follow us. But they weren't scared, just this look of astonishment as we went by. Gordon and I burst out laughing as we both had the same thought; the wolves had the look on their faces as if asking, what the hell are they doing?
Another time at Stampede Flats, we were observing a group of wolves, and another aircraft came through. At the sound of the other aircraft (a Bellanca Scout), the wolves started running. Gordon and I were surprised so I asked the pilot what his RPM was, and it was the different high RPM and prop noise that scared the wolves. Then there was another time we were observing the remaining Copper Creek wolves. The group had just been shot up within the past two days by airborne predator control hunters, but they still didn't run from us.
At these times, I'd ask Gordon, “Do you think they recognize the sound of our aircraft?” But Gordon put it off; he just said he didn't know. Still, I always wondered if the wolves did come to recognize the sound of our plane, and knew that we weren't going to harm them.
* * *
16 More details on this story are in chapter 2.
CHAPTER 7
HUNTING TRADITIONS: WOLVES, THEIR PREY, AND SCAVENGING
IN 1992, UNDER GOVERNOR WALTER HICKEL, THE ALASKA BOARD OF GAME initiated extensive wolf control in three areas, including Fortymile, with a goal of killing 80 percent of the wolves in order to increase moose and caribou for human hunters. After Friends of Animals led a tourism boycott that resulted in more than seventy-five thousand letters, Governor Hickel halted the programs and called the 1993 Wolf Summit. The state then attempted a sterilization and relocation program; when that failed, the state replaced aerial methods with ground-based snaring, trapping, and shooting. In 1994 Haber video-recorded the results of the state's new program: a trapped wolf, its leg bloody and raw from where it was trying to chew it off and escape. This video gained international attention and helped persuade newly-elected Governor Tony Knowles to shut down the programs, pending scientific review. The Governor then commissioned a National Academy of Sciences study on predator control in Alaska. Meanwhile, Alaskans voted to ban the use of airplanes for predator control except in cases of a biological emergency. The stay was ultimately overturned, however, when the state legislature abolished the biological emergency requirement and reversed Governor Knowles's subsequent veto. Still, during his eight-year tenure, Governor Knowles held his ground and directed the Department of Fish and Game not to conduct any lethal predator control.
For Denali's wolves, it was their winter hunting routine—following the migrating caribou herd to the Wolf Townships just outside park boundaries—that put them in harm's way for private and state-sponsored trapping and hunting. As early as the 1970s, Haber set out to disprove many of the old trappers' myths about wolves being the culprits in low prey populations, such as the myth that they kill more than they could eat. He showed that wolves rely much more heavily on scavenging winter-killed animals than was previously thought—up to three-fourths of their winter diet. Still, the skill and cooperation with which families of wolves hunted is, Haber concluded, the clearest representation of their highly evolved cooperative traditions, traditions that amount to a distinct culture. Wolves aren't indiscriminate killers; they carefully test which prey to pursue, using subtle fitness cues. In winter, wolves pursued moose in only 5 percent of all encounters. And the loss of a family group, or of enough of its key members, could also mean the loss of unique hunting techniques, such as the Savage River family group's “storm-and-c
ircle” method for testing moose. Haber photographed many astonishing sequences of wolves on the hunt, of which a small selection is included here. He also recorded what happens to the remaining wolves when all the adults are killed by humans.
ONE MARCH I WATCHED ELEVEN WOLVES IN HOT PURSUIT OF A cow and calf moose through deep powder snow. Long legs enabled the moose to negotiate the deep snow with greater ease than the wolves, who were leaping and diving through the powder with considerably less grace than a school of breaching porpoises. Deep snow favors the moose, but if one or more crusted layers develop, the odds can shift markedly: the much heavier moose would then break through the crusts and be hindered, whereas the wolves would enjoy firmer footing.
When wolves encounter a cow moose with young, it is virtually always the young that they target. But it is the cow moose that they test, because first they must separate the calf from her—a formidable task with a protective prime-age mother who can usually drive off a large group of wolves within minutes, even when she is defending twins. Most commonly an experienced moose mother faces a wolf group without fleeing, but in this instance the panicky calf began running almost immediately, leaving its mother no choice but to follow closely. After about five minutes the calf stopped, whereupon the cow was able to begin lashing out at the wolves with short, ferocious charges and powerful strikes of the large front hooves. Within a few minutes she convinced them to seek an easier meal elsewhere. There is nothing more fearsome than an irate cow moose protecting a young calf; I have been charged on various occasions myself—it is like a locomotive coming at you.
Among Wolves: Gordon Haber's Insights into Alaska's Most Misunderstood Animal Page 10