While Hollywood may portray the howls of wolves in various ways, new research has found the animals do indeed have different 'accents,' based on their breed and location. Researchers pinpointed 21 types of howl to find they corresponded to specific subspecies of wolf, as well as jackals and domestic dogs.

What do different wolf howls mean?

Wolves howl to communicate their location to other pack members and to ward off rivaling packs from their territory. ... Another sort of howl is an aggressive howl to other packs. It warns other packs or individual wolves in the area to stay away from the territory. A pack will also mark territory by using urine and feces.

Does each wolf have a unique howl?

Just like us, each wolf has a unique voice so distinctive features of each individual's howl allow wolves to identify each other. And when every member of the pack joins the chorus, the singular howls and their harmonies give the listener the impression that pack is larger than it actually is.