Howling is a vocal form of animal communication seen in most canines, particularly wolves, coyotes, foxes, and dogs, and is occasionally copied by humans.
Long-distance contact calls are common in Canidae, typically in the form of either barks (termed "pulse trains") or howls (termed "long acoustic streams").[2][3] The long-distance howling of wolves[4] and coyotes[5][6][7] is one way in which dogs communicate.
Wolves communicate to anticipate what their pack mates or other wolves might do next.[8] This includes the use of vocalization, body posture, scent, touch, and taste.[9] The phases of the moon have no effect on wolf vocalization, and despite popular belief, wolves do not howl at the moon.[10] Wolves howl to assemble the pack usually before and after hunts, to pass on an alarm particularly at a den site, to locate each other during a storm, while crossing unfamiliar territory, and to communicate across great distances.[11] Wolf howls can under certain conditions be heard over areas of up to 130 km2 (50 sq mi).[12]
Gray wolves howl to assemble the pack (usually before and after hunts), to pass on an alarm (particularly at a den site), to locate each other during a storm or unfamiliar territory and to communicate across great distances.[11] Wolf howls can under certain conditions be heard over areas of up to 130 km2 (50 sq mi).[13] Wolf howls are generally indistinguishable from those of large dogs.[14] Male wolves give voice through an octave, passing to a deep bass with a stress on "O", while females produce a modulated nasal baritone with stress on "U". Pups almost never howl, while yearling wolves produce howls ending in a series of dog-like yelps.[15] Howling consists of a fundamental frequency that may lie between 150 and 780 Hz, and consists of up to 12 harmonically related overtones. The pitch usually remains constant or varies smoothly, and may change direction as many as four or five times.[16] Howls used for calling pack mates to a kill are long, smooth sounds similar to the beginning of the cry of a great horned owl. When pursuing prey, they emit a higher pitched howl, vibrating on two notes. When closing in on their prey, they emit a combination of a short bark and a howl.[14] When howling together, wolves harmonize rather than chorus on the same note, thus creating the illusion of there being more wolves than there actually are.[11] Lone wolves typically avoid howling in areas where other packs are present.[17] Wolves from different geographic locations may howl in different fashions: the howls of European wolves are much more protracted and melodious than those of North American wolves, whose howls are louder and have a stronger emphasis on the first syllable. The two are however mutually intelligible, as North American wolves have been recorded to respond to European-style howls made by biologists.[18]
Other vocalisations of wolves are usually divided into three categories: growls, barks and whines.[19] One variation of the howl is accompanied by a high pitched whine, which precedes a lunging attack.[11]
Specific types of howls have been identified in dogs, including:
- Yip-howl – lonely, in need of companionship.[1]: 86
- Howling – indicates the dog is present, or indicating that this is its territory.[1]: 86
- Bark-howl, 2-3 barks followed by a mournful howl – dog is relatively isolated, locked away with no companionship, calling for company or a response from another dog.[1]: 87
- Baying – can be heard during tracking to call pack-mates to the quarry.[1]: 88
The howling of wolves and coyetes is similar, prompting early European explorers of the Americas to confuse the animals. One record from 1750 in Kaskaskia, Illinois, written by a local priest, noted that the "wolves" encountered there were smaller and less daring than European wolves. Another account from the early 1800s in Edwards County mentioned wolves howling at night, though these were likely coyotes.[20]
The coyote has been described as "the most vocal of all [wild] North American mammals".[21][22] Its loudness and range of vocalizations was the cause for its binomial name Canis latrans, meaning "barking dog". At least 11 different vocalizations are known in adult coyotes. These sounds are divided into three categories: agonistic and alarm, greeting, and contact. Vocalizations of the first category include woofs, growls, huffs, barks, bark howls, yelps, and high-frequency whines. Bark howls may serve as both long-distance threat vocalizations and alarm calls. The sound known as 'wow-oo-wow' has been described as a "greeting song". The group yip howl is emitted when two or more pack members reunite and may be the final act of a complex greeting ceremony. Contact calls include lone howls and group howls, as well as the previously mentioned group yip howls. The lone howl is the most iconic sound of the coyote and may serve the purpose of announcing the presence of a lone individual separated from its pack. Group howls are used as both substitute group yip howls and as responses to either lone howls, group howls, or group yip howls.[23]
In addition to howling, wolves advertise their territories to other packs through scent marking. Scent marking is more effective at advertising territory than howling and is often used in combination with scratch marks.
References
- ^ a b c d e Coren, Stanley (2012). How To Speak Dog. New York: Simon and Schuster. ISBN 9781471109416.
- ^ Robert L. Robbins, "Vocal Communication in Free-Ranging African Wild Dogs", Behavior, vol. 137, No. 10 (Oct. 2000), pp. 1271-1298.
- ^ J.A. Cohen and M.W. Fox, "Vocalizations in Wild Canids and Possible Effects of Domestication," Behavioural Processes, vol. 1 (1976), pp. 77-92.
- ^ John B. Theberge and J. Bruce Falls, "Howling as a Means of Communication in Timber Wolves," American Zoologist, vol. 7, no. 2 (May 1967), pp. 331-338.
- ^ P.N. Lehner, "Coyote vocalizations: a lexicon and comparisons with other canids," Animal Behavior, vol. 26 (1978) pp. 712-722.
- ^ H. McCarley, "Long distance vocalization of coyotes (Canis latrans)," J. Mammal., vol. 56 (1975), pp. 847-856.
- ^ Charles Fergus, "Probing Question: Why do coyotes howl?" Penn State News (15 January 2007).
- ^ Mech & Boitani 2003, p. 67.
- ^ Mech & Boitani 2003, pp. 66–103.
- ^ Busch 2007, p. 59.
- ^ a b c d Lopez 1978, p. 38.
- ^ Paquet, P.; Carbyn, L. W. (2003). "Ch23: Gray wolf Canis lupus and allies". In Feldhamer, G. A.; Thompson, B. C.; Chapman, J. A. (eds.). Wild Mammals of North America: Biology, Management, and Conservation (2 ed.). Johns Hopkins University Press. pp. 482–510. ISBN 0-8018-7416-5.
- ^ Feldhamer, George A.; Chapman, J.A., eds. (2003). "Gray wolf Canis lupus and allies". Wild Mammals of North America: Biology, Management, and Conservation. JHU Press. pp. 482–510. ISBN 0-8018-7416-5.
{{cite book}}: Unknown parameter|authors=ignored (help) - ^ a b Seton, E. T. (1909). Life-histories of northern animals : an account of the mammals of Manitoba part II. Scribner. pp. 749–788.
- ^ Mammals of the Soviet Union Vol.II Part 1a, SIRENIA AND CARNIVORA (Sea cows; Wolves and Bears). Science Publishers, Inc. USA. 1998. pp. 164–270. ISBN 1-886106-81-9.
{{cite book}}: Unknown parameter|authors=ignored (help) - ^ Mech, D. L. (1974). "Canis lupus" (PDF). Mammalian Species. 37 (37): 1–6. doi:10.2307/3503924. JSTOR 3503924. Archived from the original (PDF) on September 24, 2015. Retrieved June 2, 2015.
- ^ Mech & Boitani 2003, p. 16.
- ^ Zimen 1981, p. 73.
- ^ Lopez 1978, pp. 39–41.
- ^ Hoffmeister, Donald F. (2002). Mammals of Illinois. University of Illinois Press. pp. 33–34. ISBN 978-0-252-07083-9. OCLC 50649299.
- ^ Bee, James (1981). Mammals in Kansas. University of Kansas. p. 165.
- ^ Michael A. Mares; Oklahoma Museum of Natural History (Norman, Okla.) (1999). Encyclopedia of Deserts. University of Oklahoma Press. pp. 137–8. ISBN 978-0-8061-3146-7.
- ^ Lehner, Philip N. (1978). "Coyote Communication". In Bekoff, M. (ed.). Coyotes: Biology, Behavior, and Management. New York: Academic Press. pp. 127–162. ISBN 978-1-930665-42-2. OCLC 52626838.
Bibliography
- Mech, L. David; Boitani, Luigi, eds. (2003). Wolves: Behaviour, Ecology and Conservation. University of Chicago Press. ISBN 978-0-226-51696-7.