Why does the dog howl? The mystery of the wolf howl has been revealed. The legend of the white and red wolves and the Moon

The wolf children, one might say, are very lucky! You don't often meet such patient and devoted parents. “Two cubs tried to tear off their mother’s tail; they tore and tore it with such fury that the fur flew in clumps. The other two did everything they could to leave their mother without an ear...” - this is how Canadian naturalist Farley Mowat describes the family idyll at the den. Yes, wolves love their children, and at the same time they are very strict educators. Severe beatings for the slightest offense and, in addition, painful biting of the head - the usual pedagogical technique: this is how the child is shown that he has crossed the boundaries of what is permitted.

Relatives protect the wolf cubs from predators and make sure the kids don’t get lost.

It must be said that wolf cubs learn well, including when communicating with each other. Quarrels between them are not uncommon; there are even cases of fratricide in the struggle for leadership. But parents hardly interfere in such conflicts, following the principle of natural selection: the survival of the fittest! But where it is really needed, wolves show a lot of care and attention. For example, the father of the family will first feed the wolf cubs, and only then eat himself. After a successful hunt, he swallows large pieces of meat and then regurgitates them semi-digested for the wolf cubs. If the children do not eat enough, the father will go hunting again without resting and not being properly fed. Wolves are smart, receptive, and successfully adapt to different conditions existence, but taming a wolf cub is not easy. He is physically strong, can handle pain well and will always fight for the lead. Only a balanced and consistent person can cope with it.

Wolves are gentle and caring parents, but keeping track of the lively kids is not easy. Family idyll often gives way to harsh but fair beating.

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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 not far from your house or garden plot, then this is the same animal, appearing every time after dark. 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 creature 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 various kinds 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 a 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 means anger, deception and deceit, a strong and dangerous enemy, a 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 the person has many ill-wishers, and some experts say that if you hear wolf howl, this, among other things, can promise need and loneliness.

The mournful howl of a dog is one of the most unpleasant and even scary sounds for the human ear. It can be especially uncomfortable when the animal “suffers” at night. Of course, after all folk signs They say that the howl of a dog foreshadows the imminent death or illness of its owner. But should you always be afraid of dog “crying”?

For what reasons can a dog howl?

Let's try to find the reasons why the dog howls:

Reason 1: instinct. Even the smallest and most gentle one is, in fact, a domesticated wolf. And wolves, as you know, use howling to communicate with other relatives. With the help of a voice signal, wild animals communicate with other members of the pack, announce to their fellow tribesmen that they have found prey, and drive strangers away from their land. A dog with wolf blood flowing in its veins, howling, may simply be looking for communication with other individuals. Having heard the piercing howl of another dog in the distance (this noise will not be heard by the owner’s ear), the pet can easily “answer” it, putting the owner into a stupor;
Reason 2: feeling unwell. It just seems to us that a dog is howling for no reason. But an animal can complain about pain, calling a person for help;
Reason 3: sadness or boredom from loneliness. Is the dog’s “song” heard only when the owner is away? Perhaps the dog howls when he is left alone in the apartment, yearning for his beloved owner. The animal is simply lonely and has nothing to do with itself, which is why it makes noisy, drawn-out sounds. For the same reason, an animal on a chain may “cry” when experiencing loneliness;
Reason 4: call for play and communication. An animal can easily howl if the owner does not pay any attention to it. With the help of a loud howl, the dog seems to say: “Master, pay attention to me, play with me!”;
Reason 5: fear. The dog can react by howling to the sirens of ambulances or fire trucks, fireworks displays, gunshots, or any loud, incomprehensible sounds. When a person is afraid of something, he often screams. Likewise, a dog expresses its fear by howling;
Reason 6: hunger. Is your neighbor's dog howling? Perhaps this is how the animal asks for food. Unfortunately, sometimes people forget to fill the animal's bowl with food when they are late for work. It is not surprising that the dog begins to get nervous and howl;
Reason 7: Singing along. Some music lover dogs, upon hearing human singing or the sounds of a guitar (piano, violin, etc.), begin to howl. The Internet is full of videos in which the owner, say, plays the guitar, and his dog “sings.” True, not all animals respond to music. Most dogs are indifferent to melodies;
Reason 8: warning of a fire or other disaster. Dogs have an excellent sense of smell, they better than man capture the most subtle odors hundreds of times. An animal can howl, for example, when it smells burning (warns of a fire). There is even such a sign: a dog howls with its muzzle up - there will be a fire. In addition, sometimes animals begin to howl several days before a robbery of the owner’s house or another unpleasant event (for example, flooding of an apartment). How four-legged friends sense trouble is a mystery;
Reason 9: prediction severe illness or death. No matter how creepy it may be, sometimes a dog howls in the yard during the day or at night bad news: to illness or imminent death of its owner (or any family member). Mysticism can be approached in different ways, but it happens that on the eve of a person’s untimely death, his dog howls for a long time and piercingly. Why is this so? How can a dog know that a separation is coming? There is an opinion that a pet simply smells a special smell from a person before death. But an animal can howl even before sudden death (road accident, fall from a height, etc.). It is impossible to find an explanation. The dog simply anticipates trouble. By the way, according to popular belief, a dog howls to the deceased with its muzzle buried in the ground;
Reason 10: joy. So that it’s not too scary, let’s note that a dog can howl out of joy, for example, when greeting its owner from work. Or smelling an individual of the opposite sex running nearby. That is, the animal expresses its positive emotions with the help of a howl.

Folk signs about howling dogs

People who lived long before us did not have the opportunity to get information from newspapers or the Internet. Therefore, they tried to capture and analyze everything that was happening around: the words spoken, their own and others’ reflexes (sneezing, twitching of limbs, etc.), the behavior of animals and birds, changes in the weather. This is how numerous beliefs were formed, including those about dogs (almost all of them, unfortunately, are negative):

The dog howls in the yard at night, staring at front door(gate, gate) - there will be bad news from afar (from relatives or friends). Another option is that misfortune can happen to the owner, but outside the house. Or the owner will suffer in his own house, but at the hands of alien enemies;
An animal howls when it comes close to a person - a warning about danger (disease, accident, etc.);
An unfamiliar dog follows a man and howls - a bad omen, a signal of trouble;
The dog howls the night before important event (long trip, weddings, birth of a child, etc.) is a bad sign, announcing problems in an important upcoming matter;
The dog anxiously rushes around the owner’s bed and howls pitifully - to a quick deterioration in health. If an animal does this near a crib, it means that the baby may soon get sick;
A dog howls and digs the ground - to the death of the owner or one of his relatives;
An animal howls while rolling on the ground - to significant changes in the life of the owner;
A dog howls at the doorstep, not wanting to go anywhere - a very bad omen of imminent losses (health problems, financial difficulties, etc.);
A dog howls in the yard at night - evil spirits are wandering around the house, which the vigilant dog does not let in;
An animal howls and gets angry at a house guest - a sign that the thoughts of the person who came are not as bright as they seem. Perhaps a hypocritical enemy has entered the owner’s home, who is only pretending to be a friend;
A dog howls from a shelter (kennel) - soon bad news will come to the owner’s house;
A dog howling at the moon means a change in weather;
A dog howls while lying down - to its own demise;
The dog howls, looking ahead - there will soon be war.

What should an owner do if his dog howls?

Considering that most signs about dog “crying” promise very unpleasant news, the question arises: “What to do if the dog howls?” Let's first consider what our ancestors advised us to do:

A stranger's dog howls in the yard– you need to throw her a treat without leaving the yard (for example, through a fence or an open door or gate);
The dog howled on the doorstep– you should quickly take the animal out into the yard or into the house, most importantly, away from the threshold (in the old days, people believed that the threshold was the line between the world of the living and the world of the dead);
A strange dog follows and howls- you need to give alms to the needy and go about business (to work, to the store) or home another way, winding, preferably through 3 bridges and 3 intersections (as if confusing the trouble);
The dog howls at the door– you need to throw a bucket of clean water over the threshold;
The dog howls, hiding in a booth- you need to read prayers and walk around the house and yard with a church candle.

What to do to modern man who heard a dog howl? If a strange dog howls, naturally, nothing can be done. At most, you can call your neighbor and inquire about his health. But if your own dog is bothering you, you should do this:

Calm down yourself. A dog's howl does not always sound like a sign of imminent death! Maybe the dog was just sad. To escape from disturbing thoughts, you can read prayers, watch good movie, read a book;
Talk affectionately to the animal, pet it. Most likely, after communicating with the owner, the house friend will calm down. In general, it is important to pay attention to the dog every day so that it does not feel lonely;
Watch your dog carefully: Does the animal have any signs (stool upset, vomiting, etc.)? The deterioration of a dog's health is often associated with howling. Now is the time to call the vet;
Be wary. What if dogs really sense trouble? This doesn't mean you need to panic. You just have to be a little more careful than usual: don’t speed while driving, reschedule an important meeting for another day;
Be vigilant if someone in the house is sick. There is no harm in going to the doctor. Still churchgoers Orthodox people they advise ordering Sorokoust from the church about the health of a sick person;
[*]Provide the dog’s corner with toys. In the absence of the owner, the animal may get bored and therefore start howling. A ball or rattle will help brighten up loneliness at least a little;
Try to rehabilitate the animal. Some dogs love to howl even for no apparent reason. To exclude this, you can “be silent” or “quiet”.

There is no need to be afraid of a dog barking, but it is necessary to pay attention to the alarming sounds made by the animal. It is important not to shout at the dog if it suddenly howls, but to try to calm the pet and find out the reason for the “crying”. Why do wolves howl at the moon?

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 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 closest cosmic neighbor. The drawn-out, tragic howl coming from the forest thicket on a moonlit night has brought mystical horror to people since ancient times. Night look life, 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 take full moon for the Sun - after all, the visible sizes of the day and night luminaries are absolutely identical, and wolves and dogs have no color vision. 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 has 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!!!

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 in such 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 a 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.