Howling at two Minnesota wolf pack summer homesites

Howling sessions were monitored at two Minnesota wolf pack homesites for 2255 h between 29 April and 3 August 1973. All sessions recorded occurred from dusk through early morning, with an evening peak for one pack. Within a night, multiple sessions were grouped temporally, most occurring within an hour of one another. Howling rates for both packs increased throughout the homesite season, with the larger pack howling twice as frequently. The role of howling in both intrapack and interpack contexts was considered. Much of the howling seemed to be involved in the coordination of pack activities. Further, the low frequency and clumped temporal distribution of sessions suggest that howling plays a secondary role in interpack contexts to other modes such as scent marking during the homesite season, but may increase in relative importance once homesites are abandoned and pack travel becomes nomadic.