CRY WOLF Project

For more details, refer to: Theberge, J.B. and M.T. Theberge. 2022. "Triggers and consequences of wolf howling in Yellowstone National Park and connection to communication theory". Canadian Journal of Zoology `100: 799-809 (Open Access).

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Column 1  “Number” identifies every howl event.  It is also the coupler for the event’s matching sound file where it appears at the end of its identifier clause with an “A” at its end.

 

Column 2  “Date”

 

Column 3  “Sequence”  Each field trip had identifying events labelled H1, H2, etc.  Links with field notebooks including when it has an “a” at the number, which is continuing howls in the same event.  Otherwise, superseded for purposes of sound analysis by Column 1.

 

Column 4  “Time”  which sometimes lacks precision with that in the event’s sound file because of extended recordings especially of prolonged events, but the times are close.

 

Column 5  “Pack” name

 

Column 6  “Location”  Categories are:

    1a=den,

    1=carcass,

    2=traditional rendezvous site,

    3=traditional resting site,

    t=travelling,

    O=other 

    See Methods in publication “Triggers and consequences…* for detailed definitions

 

Column 7  “Location” in territory.  Categories are: C=central, P=peripheral T=trespass.

 

Column 8  “Howl”  Categories are p=pack, s=single, p/s or s/p=both

 

Column 9  “If P#”  meaning if howling was by a pack, the number of wolves present

 

Column 10  “Initiator”  (if known and collared entered is ID number)

 

Column 11   “All present”  enter y or n

 

Column 12   “# wolves present”   Redundant with column 9

 

Column 13  “Others within 2km”  Noted here is the number of wolves in either the same pack (sp) as the sender or in different pack (dp)

 

Column 14  “Sender activity before and after”  Coded with a slash between before and after.

               -  40 passive – bedded, sitting, walking around, feeding

               -  40a stationary but not visible

               - 18 Play

               - 5  Travel intense

               - 6  Travel slow

               - 6a Milling around

               - or anything else on Howling Data Form Explanation: eating,

                    prey chase, etc.

         

Column 15  “Sender social situation before/after howl”

• 40 Disturbance by people

• 41 Disturbance by bear

• 42 Other disturbance

• 23 road split

• 23a excited by scent of foreign wolves

• 8 – wolf (wolves) coming in to join rest of pack after being away (before it gets there)

• 9 - Wolf (wolves) howling after reuniting

• 11 - wolf (wolves) left behind by pack

• 12 – wolf actively searching for rest of pack (travelling but not just staying where left behind by the pack)

• 13 – close encounter with foreign wolf(s)

• 18 – play usually silent

• 19 during chase or initiation of prey chase usually silent

• 20 wolf greeting pack member(s) (come together after lying around within 1 km for extended time) and then howl

• 21 scrum without a howl (silent)

• 22 wolf or wolves travelling back to a kill after bedding nearby for 1 hr +

• 24 after a prey chase usually silent

• 13 close encounter with foreign wolf(s) with or without howl response (redundant and amalgamated with 15 if with howl response). No chase

• 14 interpack chase with howling

• 15 interpack howling close  

• 16 interpack howling distant

• 16a delayed influence of distant howling pack mates

• 25 trying to get pack moving, some go, others stay

• 26 trying to get laggards going in a travelling pack

• 50 None of list so non triggered

• 51 not known because not visible.

 

Column 16  “Receiver SP or DP”  Receiver is the same pack or different pack

 

Column 17   “Receiver Activity Before/After”   Same choices as in column 14 “Sender Activity Before/After”

 

Column 18  “Receiver social situation before/after howl”  Same as for sender

 

Column 19  “Consequence”  Receiver howl and details on receiver/sender travel  coded as follows:   

        HO = Howl response only

        T    = Travel by one or other towards or away from one another only

        HO+T = Wolf(s) do both howl and travel

 

Then also more detail on travel being:

       Travel “a” = subsequent travel by initial howler(s) to responder;

       Travel “b” = subsequent travel by responding howler(s) to initiator(s).

       Travel “c” = subsequent travel away from one another.

 

Note: Sometimes but rarely these a, b, or c were used as additional coding in the 2nd consequence. column.

 

Column 20   “Consequence” being howling interaction between sender and receiver, coded as follows:

  S=single,     A=answered by,     P=pack,     o= means both sender and receiver are in same pack (ie intrapack howling), and no o means both sender and receiver are in different packs (ie interpack howling),  ?=unknown if howling response is same pack or different pack:

     Intrapack                    Interpack                     Unknown     

      SAPo                           SAP                            SAP?

      PASo                           PAS                            SAS?    

      PAPo                           PAP                            PAP?

      SASo                           SAS                            SAS?

 

In addition in Column 20 was some coding that was rarely used:

C9. Single howls then silent pack comes in

C10. Pack howls then silent single comes in

C11. Single howls then silent single comes in

C12. Pack howls then silent pack comes in

 

Howl then Travel to Silent Wolf/wolves

C13. Single after howling travels to silent pack

C14. Pack after howling travels to silent single

C15. Single after howling travels to silent single

C16. Pack after howling travels to silent pack

 

Column 21  “Yipyap”  refers to a pack howl going into a scrum and howling changing to juvenile yipyap, even by adults.  Coded y=yes, n=no

 

Column 22  “Remarks”  Important description of the event.  Also consistently entered within it, and searchable, is the word “prolonged”, sometimes is capitals and sometimes shortened to “PROLON”.