There is an old Turkic tale: there was a hungry wolf, and one day, out of hunger, he wandered into a village, where he found a hut from which came the delicious smell of freshly baked pancakes, the wolf burst into the hut, scared the grandmother to death, and grabbed the pancake! And damn it was hot, the wolf howled and ran into the forest. Since then, when he sees the moon, which looks like a huge yellow pancake, he howls...
The moon has a constant influence on all spheres of life on our planet. The world's oceans alternate their ebb and flow, subject to the action of the gravitational fields of our satellite. The growth and development of plants accelerates or slows down depending on the phase of the moon - any gardener knows this. Our well-being also responds to the behavior of the Moon - many people feel increased anxiety, palpitations, and worse sleep during the full moon. It is during the full moon that people suffering from sleepwalking experience exacerbations.
The animal world also does not remain indifferent to the influence of our nearest cosmic neighbor. A drawn-out, tragic howl coming through moonlit night from the forest thicket, since ancient times it brings mystical horror to people. nocturnal lifestyle, high intelligence, a terrible howl that cannot be confused with any other - all these qualities have made wolves heroes of myths, fairy tales, legends and numerous superstitions.
Let's try to answer the question: why do wolves howl at the moon? Part of the reasons for increased anxiety during the full moon were touched upon above: the gravitational field of the Moon has an exciting effect on the central nervous system. However, many experts believe that wolves do not howl at the moon at all, but simply because howling is the only means of communication available to them with their relatives. One could agree with this point of view. But dogs also sometimes howl long and drawn out on moonlit nights - what to do with this?
Some zoologists believe that animals mistake the full Moon for the Sun - after all, the visible sizes of the day and night luminaries are absolutely identical, and color vision absent in wolves and dogs. At the same time, it is unnatural for sunny day The surrounding darkness is perceived by them as something catastrophic, causing panic and fear.
True, if a dog lives with a loving owner, then at night it will most likely sleep peacefully, warm and full, and howling at the moon will simply not occur to it. So whether a dog should howl or not howl depends on the person. Wolves are a different matter.
And there is no beast more terrible than man
He ran away... People shot at him...
Falling into the loose snow with your paw,
The wolf knew for sure: there would be no salvation,
There is no beast more terrible than man.
And at this moment, hundreds of kilometers away,
A terrible sentence was carried out:
There's a little girl out there somewhere
This is the fourth time I've had an abortion.
The baby was screaming!!! But no one listened to the scream.
He called for help: “Mommy, wait!!!
Give me a chance to be needed by you!
Give me the opportunity to live! After all, I’m alive!!!”
And the wolf ran... The dogs were tearing at his throat...
Drunk people screamed in the forest.
They've almost completely caught up with him,
The wolf raised his muzzle and wiped away a tear...
The baby screamed, bursting into tears
How scary it is to die without being born!
And trying to hide from the piece of iron,
He dreamed of looking into his mother's eyes.
But “mom” doesn’t need this
- It’s become unfashionable, you see, to give birth!
She wastes her soul on stupidity,
It’s “not a bad idea” to kill your children.
And the wolf fell exhausted... It was necessary
“He led the barbarians away from the she-wolf.”
She was left alone with the wolf cubs,
When he took the sentence upon himself...
The dogs tore his body to shreds.
But you just can’t tear a wolf’s soul!
His happy soul rushed into the sky
- It makes sense to die for the sake of children!!!
And who, tell me, is the beast really?
And why is this age disgusting?
But animals are simply more humane than us.
And there is no beast more terrible than man!!!
When people want to express a state of deep melancholy and sadness, they often say that they want to “howl at the moon.” The imagination immediately paints an eerie picture: a lone wolf standing somewhere in a dark forest, on a hill. He raised his head up and howled protractedly, looking at the moon.
The plot has long become traditional for the artist’s brush. Similar stories are usually shared by hunters and residents of settlements near the forest. And these stories gave rise to many myths about werewolves turning into wolves on a moonlit night. There are also many legends and fairy tales about the mysterious connection of this predator with the moon.
The Legend of the White and Red Wolves and the Moon
A long time ago, back in the days when the sky god Svarog was the father of all gods, he sent the god of moonlight, Hora, to descend to earth, into a dense forest, to convey his orders to the forest inhabitants. And he had to calm down the wolf pack, which was raging beyond measure in its aggression and gluttony.
Having turned into a huge white wolf, Hore went down and conveyed to the pack Svarog’s command to stop the outrages. But the wayward red-haired leader Chubars did not listen to the admonitions of the gods. He wanted to continue gnawing, tearing and biting all living things, so that everyone around him would be afraid of the ferocious wolves.
And then the god Khora decided to severely punish the red-haired Chubars: he sent him into eternal exile to the Moon itself, so that there he would constantly gnaw and tear only bare stones.
Since then, his descendants, the wolves, barely seeing the bright disk of the moon, remember their ancestor-leader and start a mournful song, at the same time melancholy and creepy. People call that song "howl." And they hear in her the bitterness of a predator who has lost part of his strength, and a hidden threat.
What are the real causes of wolf howling?
This is how the fairy tale explains the behavior of animals. Why do wolves actually howl at the moon? Zoological specialists have long been studying the causes of these terrifying sounds.
It turned out, for example, that wolf howl- just one of the types of communication of these predators, with its help they share information with each other:
- they “blow” the gathering for the flock to hunt;
- resolve territorial issues with rivals;
- call females or males to themselves;
- warn partners or flock about danger;
- give a sign to relatives about their location;
- protect freshly caught prey.
It is also curious that wolves in this way share not only practical, useful information, but also with his animal experiences:
- this may be the experience of losing a partner or a child;
- there may be joy from adding to the family;
- expression of pain from the injury;
- anxiety when a companion disappears or other emotions.
For example, the famous zoologist Jason Badridze suggested that wolves howl if their leader disappears. In this way they call the leader into the flock. Not all scientists agree with this idea. Many believe that predators react this way to any stressful situation, and howling helps them relieve stress.
There are also interesting observations that howling is one of the ways of defense, a means of deceiving an opponent. Since the sounds are made in completely different tones, it is difficult for a potential enemy to correctly estimate the number of individuals in the flock. Often the song of 3-4 wolves is perceived as the howl of an entire pack.
The intonation and timbre of the song depend on the type transmitted information. Research scientists and some experienced hunters have even learned to recognize whether the voice belongs to a male or female. They can sometimes themselves read information intended for animals. For example, a call to hunt is distinguished from a howl notifying the birth of offspring.
What does the moon have to do with it?
Why do animals need to communicate during the full moon? Moon phases really influence many processes occurring on earth. They influence the ebb and flow of the tides and determine the days of planting and harvesting.
The moon also affects the physical and emotional state of people. But, according to most scientists, the luminary of the night has no effect at all on wolves. They may well howl both at night and during the day, both alone and in groups, even in flocks.
Most likely, the answer is that in the dark these four-legged animals are more active; they are night hunters. In addition, when full moon Usually the weather is quiet and sounds carry quite far. Its bright light illuminates all surroundings much better than during the month or at cloudy weather. During this period, everything that happens in the forest becomes more audible and noticeable.
And the predator also looks at the moon for quite understandable reasons. The thing is anatomical structure larynx. When you raise your head, it is freed and the outgoing sound is cleaner and louder.
However, some researchers still insist that it is during the full moon that such phenomena are observed more often.
They offer several explanations:
- During this period, the lighting is brighter; hunting may be more successful than in complete darkness. Predators simply try not to miss a good chance to get prey.
- It is believed that wolves have only black and white vision. This does not give them the opportunity to really distinguish sunlight from night light. A lot of excess light causes panic, irritation and aggressiveness in them.
In any case, the influence of the full moon on wolves cannot be called significant and, even more so, mysterious. But it affects people quite noticeably and during this period they are, of course, more inclined to mystify.
In many cultures, the wolf is considered one of the representatives dark forces, along with the black raven, bats and some other representatives of the fauna. The moon is also identified in many traditions with witchcraft and magic. Therefore, in the human mind, these two symbols are easily mixed, complement each other and become the subject of incredible fantasies.
Video: why does a wolf howl on a moonlit night?
The first time I heard real howl wolf when I came to visit my grandmother in the village. To be honest, it became very creepy and scary from these sounds. It seemed to me that their howls were getting closer to home. Why do wolves make such sounds? Now I will dispel some myths and tell you a little about these animals.
Where do wolves live
Wolves are known in many countries on our planet. Their habitats are:
- Europe;
- Asia;
- North and South America.
Wolves are also not uncommon in our country. They live everywhere, with the exception of Sakhalin and Kuril Islands. I think everyone knows that wolves are predators. Individuals can be medium to large in size. Outwardly, they are very similar to dogs. They do a great job with different conditions habitat, so it will not be difficult for them to survive, for example, in the tundra.
Wolves gather in packs of up to 40 individuals. They mark the territory of their residence. Such a flock is headed by a pair of leaders, and the rest are their relatives and individuals who have come from outside. Wolves mainly lead night image life, and during daylight hours they hide in shelters.
What does a wolf howl mean?
I've heard so many different versions of why wolves howl. Some almost proved that wolves are werewolves. All this, of course, is nonsense. And wolves don’t howl at any moon either. Wolves can howl every day, and it makes no difference at all whether the moon is visible in the sky or not. You can just hear the sounds of howling at night, due to the fact that wolves begin their hunt precisely in the dark.
Howling for a wolf is a way of communication. With such sounds he can notify other flocks about his territory. In communication with each other, they can notify about the start of the hunt for prey and tell about their location. Wolves navigate very well by these sounds. And there is nothing mystical about it.
It turns out that there are even several artificially bred breeds that are a mixture of a dog and a wolf. But some even have real wolves at home. I would say that it is not a very safe idea to have such a pet.
It may well be the first, and the second, and the third. Let's try to talk about this, of course, unique and very interesting animal.
General description of the predator
According to scientists, the familiar gray wolves are one of the largest, elusive, and powerful animals of the Canidae family. Each representative has excellent vision, amazing hearing and a sense of smell of rare quality. In addition, we should not forget about the amazing endurance of the animals described.
Adult Gray wolf can be up to 160 cm long and shoulder height up to 85 cm. Impressive, isn't it? This is precisely why a howling wolf can scare even the bravest and bravest traveler.
It should be noted that the weight of the animal differs depending on its place of residence. We can only name averages: from 25 to 39 kg. Although in Lately Individuals weighing up to 100 kg are becoming increasingly common. Females usually weigh 5-10 kg less than males.
In winter, wolves are covered with fluffy and large fur with undercoat, thanks to which they can withstand temperatures down to -40°C.
Wolf packs consist of their cubs. Surprisingly, for protection, these mammals can unite into one huge flock. The wolf is monogamous, so the pair remains until the death of one of the partners.
These animals are able to reproduce from the age of two. Females give birth once a year. Gestation lasts approximately two months, and the average litter is 5-6 young. At birth, wolf puppies weigh about 500 grams, but due to the fact that they grow very quickly, by autumn the weight of wolf cubs increases 30 times.
These predators are considered territorial animals. Therefore, if a wolf howls at the moon near your home or personal plot, then this is the same animal, appearing every time at nightfall. Strangers will not pass.
Wolves feed mainly on artiodactyls, but during times of food shortage they can eat all living things and even carrion. IN harsh winter flocks often attack wounded or weak individuals of their own species and eat the bodies of dead relatives.
Surprisingly, these predators can hear sounds at a great distance, can swim and run very fast.
To communicate and maintain relationships within a pack, wolves use many distinctive facial movements.
A wolf cannot, like a snake or a scorpion, kill its victim instantly, so the pack attacks another Living being and tears off a piece of flesh.
Predators began to be used in the Middle Ages, when the plague progressed in Europe, and people were not buried. Their corpses were eaten by wolves. Most likely, from then on, the howling wolf began to inspire such strong fear, because it was this animal that began to be associated with illness and death.
It should be noted that, contrary to a fairly common misconception, although the wolf is a distant relative of the dog, it perceives it only as food.
Is a wolf dangerous for humans?
People treat these predators differently, but always with admiration. howling at the moon, appear every now and then on items of clothing or interior decoration.
Wolves are carriers of various kinds of diseases. When an animal becomes infected with rabies, it, unlike other animals that become disoriented and lethargic, becomes aggressive, and may well attack people.
Of course, a wolf is very dangerous, since it can kill not only an adult person, but also a horse. When hunting, the animal always acts with lightning speed and noise.
However, it is necessary to understand that these predators will never attack a person without reason. The wolf kills only for two reasons: to feed itself and, according to the purposes of protection.
Some people even consider wolves not dangerous at all. There is also a legend about a wolf who raised a child. The boy growled like a wolf cub and jumped on his hands and feet.
Why do wolves howl at the moon?
Scientists have proven that the predator does not howl at the night light. Howling is the most important form of communication of these animals in nature. With its help, the wolf maintains the cohesion of the pack, coordinates its actions, defends its territory, transmits important information and finds relatives in unfamiliar territory. The wolf howl lasts no more than 5 seconds, but because of the echo it seems that it sounds for a very long time.
The opinion that the wolf howls specifically at the moon has spread due to the fact that when this happens, the animal always raises its muzzle upward, and on a quiet moonlit night in calm weather the sounds can be heard very far away.
Why do you dream about a wolf?
Howling denotes anger, deceit and deceit, the strong and dangerous enemy, quarrel. If you dream of a wolf pack, it means loss and damage; a caught animal means ridicule and shame; a killed one means victory over your enemies. If in a dream you feel the sight of a wolf with evil eyes, then in reality this means that a person has many ill-wishers, and some experts say that if a wolf howl is heard in a dream, this, among other things, can promise need and loneliness.
We often say the saying: “To live with wolves is to howl like a wolf,” but we never think about why wolves need to howl at all. Moreover, for a long time and zoologists did not know this. And only recently, scientists from Austria were able to solve the ancient and intriguing mystery of the chilling, but still, without a doubt, beautiful wolf howl…
Bloody lunch of the wolf pack
As we know, wolves sometimes tend to howl, which they do from time to time with pleasure. Moreover, many of those who live in rural areas or goes on expeditions, they periodically hear this howl, which, in my opinion, is simply beautiful. However, scientists still don’t really know why wolves sometimes need to give away their location to such in an original way. Although zoologists, of course, have some guesses on this matter.
I want to say right away that we're talking about and about the individual vocal exercises of each individual of the wolf pack and about the collective howl - when the whole “world” of wolves sing intricate melodies in unison. However, often both of these phenomena are superimposed on one another - as soon as some wolf starts a sad song, the whole pack immediately picks it up. But sometimes this does not happen - the “singer” can perform his roulades for half an hour in splendid isolation, and none of his comrades joins him. Why do wolves sing in chorus in some cases, but not in others?
Back in the middle of the last century, scientists suggested that wolves react to the absence of a dominant individual with a collective howl - in this way they try to call the leader. This version was confirmed by the observations of the Georgian zoologist-naturalist Jason Badridze, who lived for many years in wolf pack. In one of his articles, Yason Konstantinovich mentioned that after the death of the leader from old age, the entire flock howled harmoniously and piercingly for a long time (the leader went to die in a secluded corner, and, therefore, his comrades did not see the death itself). However, some zoologists disputed this statement, arguing that such a reaction could not have been to the disappearance of the leader itself, but to any stressful situation - that is, wolves howl simply to relieve tension.
And recently, scientists from the Center for the Study of Wolves (Austria) decided to put an end to the question of why wolves howl. Over the course of several years, researchers observed nine individuals Canis lupus, and the work began when these animals were only six weeks old. When the wolf cubs grew up, zoologists divided them into two groups, one of which had five wolves, and the other four. Gradually, the wolf cubs grew, and friendly and hierarchical connections began to form between them, that is, someone obeyed someone, someone preferred to play with someone, and someone led all their comrades. In other words, after some time two full-fledged wolf packs formed.
Next, the scientists began to give their charges very long walks, during which one of them was taken away from the pack. Moreover, such a “sampling” was carried out completely randomly - this was done so that such smart animals as wolves could not predict who exactly would leave them during a walk. And here’s what’s interesting: after 20-25 minutes, the flock, realizing that someone was missing, began to howl in unison. It is interesting that if the dominant disappeared, then it was quite difficult to understand who first started the howl; it seemed that the wolves began their song at the same time. Well, if one of the ordinary wolves disappeared, then his comrade would always act as the “ringleader,” and after some time the rest would pick up the calling song. Or they didn’t pick it up if the missing one didn’t get along with all the other members of the pack.
Thus, scientists realized that for wolves, howling serves as an expression of some kind of personal experience associated with social relationships. However, they still decided to test the so-called stress hypothesis. Zoologists measured the level of the stress hormone cortisol in wolves during the “disappearance” of the leader and ordinary members of the pack. As a result, it turned out that when the pack noticed the absence of a dominant, the level of cortisol in their saliva increased all the time. And in the absence of an ordinary relative, this did not happen, but the wolves still howled, sometimes with the whole pack. It turns out that howling is not at all standard reaction to any stressful situation - it is directly related to the disappearance of a comrade, regardless of what rank in the pack the missing person occupied.
Thus, we can say that wolves really howl in order to re-establish contact with someone who is very important to them - either a leader or a close friend. And, what is most interesting, they often do this without regard for their pack mates and are not at all in under stress. Well, if this is so, then the wolf howl cannot be considered unconditioned reflex- This is, to some extent, quite conscious behavior.
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