Is there Such Thing as a False wolf Howl?

Question

I was recently at the Seneca Park Zoo where they have two arctic grey wolves, a brother and a sister. As i observe the two, the brother went to the back of the exhibit and howled...well at least it looked like he was "trying" to do that. All that cam out was a low raspy sound that didn't even remotely sound like that of a howl. I was just curious as to if wolves have a certain age where they are able to howl or if they have a certain howl that emits no sound. If someone with some kind of wolf knowledge help me it would be greatly appreciated:) Thankyou

Answer 1

Wolves have a number of calls with different meanings. The typical howl means something like "Where are you?" and is used by lost (or lonely) wolves. As such, a cub would be expected to be able to utter it. The call is widely understood. I played a recording of wolf howls once and my afghan responded, luckily not as loudly as he did when the car he and my wife were in was stuck at a red light near a fire siren that went off.