INDIVIDUALLY DISTINCT VOCALIZATIONS IN TIMBER WOLVES, CANIS-LUPUS

Howls were recorded from seven captive wolves temporarily individually isolated from their pack-mates. Sound spectrograms of these recordings were then digitized and 14 variables were measured and subjected to multivariate statistical analyses. Both principal components analysis and discriminant analysis indicated that individuals could be reliably discriminated primarily on the basis of the fundamental frequency of howls and the variability of frequency within howls. The significance of the presence of vocal signatures in this long distance vocalization is discussed in the context of wolf social organization. © 1990 The Association for the Study of Animal Behaviour.