Howl: The Secret Language of Wolves
Jeffrey T Reed, PhD
At age 5, Jeff peed his pants in awe when first experiencing the "wild" that is Yellowstone National Park. Raised in the real "Paradise Valley" Montana, he later learned to hold it in and went on to study computational linguistics and how to decode ancient languages. After a career in software, he now uses AI to study animal communication, especially elk, which he hunts with a sheep horn bow, and wolves, who have to hunt with their teeth. Jeff experienced Yellowstone's wolf reintroduction firsthand...before, during and now 30 years after. He is the brainchild of the Cry Wolf Project - a bioacoustics study of wolves that has amassed the largest dataset of wild wolf communication in the world.
Jeff prefers feral over fancy, wild over domesticated and is active in conserving one of the last wild places in the lower 48 of the USA, the Greater Yellowstone ecosystem (www.wildlivelihoods.com). Contact him at jeff@reedfly.com
Forthcoming 2026
Howl. Some hate it. Some love it. But nearly all know it.
The wolf’s howl is one of the most iconic sounds in nature. Our ancestors could imitate it. And during the Covid lockdown, modern souls echoed this primal sound from their porches, signaling to the world and themselves that they were still here…still enduring.
Excerpt from Audio Book
Howl: The Secret Language of Wolves reveals how wolves (Canis lupus) communicate with sound. It is about their—not our—language, much of which has been secret to us. We all know the howl, and many can imitate it. But wolves have over 20 different vocalizations, including barks, whimpers, whines, moans, yelps, growls, snarls, yips, yaps, woas, and even teeth clacking. Using modern technology leveraging artificial intelligence, observations in the wild, and over 100,000 hours of audio recordings from the Greater Yellowstone ecosystem, this book explores the mysteries of wolf communication, including insights in to our own and our dogs’ languages.
Understanding Spectrograms
A spectrogram and the audio of wolf 907F howling
How to Interpret a Spectrogram
Dictionary of Wolf Sounds
Sounds and Spectrograms from the Book
Howl: Decoding the Language of Wolves
49 Variations of Wolf Howls
Excerpt from the Audio Book
Do wolves talk? A bioacoustics study in the Greater Yellowstone | Summer Speaker Series 2024
How to Interpret a Spectrogram
Dictionary of Wolf Sounds
Four Different Wolf Pack Chorus Howls
Rescue Creek Wolf Pups Chorus Howling with Mom (1490F)
Wolf Pups Howling at Adult Packmates
Stacato howl by 1490F (Rescue Creek pack) with her pups in response to a distant chorus howl.
Raven Kaw
Raven "Food" Call
Agitation Howl directed at a Capture Chopper
Sounds at Slough Creek Bison Carcass
Prospect Peak pack wolf howling
Wolf 302M
Long Duration Howl
Short Duration Wolf Howl
Wolf 1479F Alarm Woof-Howling
Downdrifting in a wolf howl sequence
Two Types of Wolf Howls
Modulated howl followed by two flatter howls...a common pattern in wolf vocalizations.
Mating Howl?
1996 Recording of Yellowstone Wolves Howling
Six step howl
Multiple step down howl
Falling then rising howl
Two step howl
