Wolves, in the past, were predominantly spread across the Northern Hemisphere and adapted to a wide range of ecosystems. Today, their numbers in these areas have significantly decreased due to several reasons: the reduction of wild habitats (lack of prey for food), governmental policies from the previous century (hunting aimed at eradicating wolves), current wolf protection policies that vary from country to country, and the lack of awareness among people about wolves, which often creates fear of them.
Wolves use three distinct languages for communication: sound (howling, barking, and growling), specific scents (urine and pheromones), and body language (body postures, movements, and facial expressions).
When we hear a wolf howling at night, it is not howling at the moon; this is how wolves communicate with each other. They do this throughout the day, but it is most clearly heard at night due to the silence and their increased nocturnal activity. This form of communication allows wolves to connect over long distances and locate one another. Defensive howling is used to keep the pack together and to deter potential threats, especially to their pups. Barking serves as a warning. A mother may bark at her pups when sensing danger or use a bark-howling combination to display aggression in defense of the pack or territory.
Wolves have a highly developed sense of smell, 100 times more sensitive than that of humans. They mark their territory with urine, a behavior known as scent marking. When wolves outside the pack detect this scent, they recognize that the area is already claimed by another pack. Members of a pack can also use this to identify one another, which is helpful when a pack member gets lost. Dominant wolves mark the territory as frequently as every two minutes. Wolves also communicate using chemical signals – pheromones. Pheromone sources include glands in the paws, tail, eyes, anus, genitals, and skin. For instance, a male can detect if a female is in estrus through the pheromones in her urine and will only attempt to mate with her during this period. Naturally, their keen sense of smell alerts them to the presence of enemies or food nearby.
Wolves most commonly communicate through body language. When angry, they hold their ears upright and show their teeth. A wolf that is suspicious of another’s behavior pulls its ears back and squints. They also express fear by pulling their ears back. A playful wolf bows with its front legs and jumps in circles.
Wolves use specific movements to establish hierarchy within the pack. The primary rule is that the pack consists of leaders and followers. Leaders are usually the parents of the other pack members and are typically the oldest, largest, strongest, and most intelligent wolves in the pack. The dominant pair is responsible for the pack. To display dominance, they hold their tails high and stand tall, while followers show submission by lowering their tails and crouching close to the ground in the presence of the dominant wolf. Active submission is often demonstrated by pups, who crawl, lick the muzzle, and tuck their tails to show inferiority. Passive submission is shown by followers lying on the ground, turned sideways or on their back. If two wolves disagree, they exhibit this through growling and baring their teeth to appear as threatening as possible. Usually, the less dominant wolf concedes before a fight begins and rolls onto its back to accept the authority of the dominant wolf.
In the wild, wolves have three main needs for survival: an adequate population and density of prey as a food source, large enough habitats to accommodate both wolves and their prey, and human tolerance. The first two requirements are relatively straightforward. The last condition is much more complex. Tolerance does not mean that everyone must love wolves, but that people should accept their existence and allow them to live. Human tolerance has the greatest influence on the survival of wolf populations.
Written by: Ivana Trajkoska and Maja Jordanova
