This Tiny Wolf Pup’s First Howl Will Melt Your Heart

As ancestors to our pet dogs, wolves are amazing animals who love to howl. Howling is essential to a wolf’s life for many reasons. Check out this video by Voyageurs Wolf Project of a wolf cub howling, or at least trying!

How Do Wolf Cubs Learn to Howl?

Howling is an essential communication tool for wolves. While wolves also communicate by barking and growling, howling is especially important for long-distance communication. Wolves’ howls convey different messages, such as warning their pack of danger, marking territorial boundaries, and starting or ending a hunt. Because of this, wolves have evolved to produce howls that can be heard over long distances. Wolves’ howls can travel up to 10 miles in open terrain and a little less in wooded areas. This allows wolf packs to rally together when needed and keep each other safe.

Howling is especially important for wolf cubs, who have not yet learned to defend themselves. Due to their small size, they are vulnerable to predators. For the first few months of a cub’s life, howling helps keep them safe. Just as a human baby cries when hurt or scared, a wolf cub howls for the same reasons. A strong howl is crucial for a wolf cub to bond with its pack and grow stronger as a member.

When Do Wolves Start Howling?

The wolf cub howling in the video looks to be only a few months old. This raises the question: when do wolves start to howl? Wolves begin to howl as early as 3-4 weeks old. At this stage, they are still discovering their voice, so their howls may sound weak, as seen in the video. As wolf cubs grow, their howls become stronger and more distinct. Wolf pups typically spend their first 6-8 weeks in the den with their mothers before beginning to interact more with the entire pack, where they continue to develop their howling and other social skills. Once a wolf cub has shown noticeable growth in its howl and as a member of the pack, it begins to travel with the other members.

By 6 to 8 months of age, wolf pups begin traveling with the entire pack, learning all the skills necessary for survival, including how to howl effectively. After about 1-2 years with the pack, wolf cubs become young adults and may begin to travel on their own to form their own pack. Using the skills they learned in their original pack, they can travel hundreds of miles in search of mates and new pack members, bringing their well-developed howling abilities with them.