Why get up when you can howl lying down?
Meet Alawa and Zephyr 🐺🐺
This adorable pair of gray wolves have been caught on camera howling as lazily as they could whilst they took one of their daily naps.
Alawa and Zephyr live in the Wolf Conservation Center, a non-profit organization in South Salem, New York.
When you picture wolves howling, you probably conjure an image of them under a full moon, majestically howling with their head held high.
Well, not these two!
The duo are too lazy to stand up, so instead, they tilt their heads to the side and let out a howl.
The pair are ambassador wolves, which means that their job is to help teach the public about wolves and the crucial role they play in nature’s ecosystem.
As soon as another wolf starts howling in the distance, they respond.
You might be surprised to learn that the howling goes on for over two minutes, after which they get right back to snoozing!
Bored Panda spoke to Maggie Howell of the Wolf Conservation Center about what a typical day for a wolf in their sanctuary looks like. She had this to say:
“For wild wolves, every day is about survival. Wolves rely on each other to function, thrive, and survive.”
“As highly social animals, wolves live in structured family units called packs. Cooperative living gives wolf families a number of benefits. Teamwork facilitates successful hunting, pup rearing, territorial defense, and more.”
“Although our ambassador wolves aren’t toughing it out on the wild landscape, just about everything they do together.
“They play together, sing together, groom one another and most importantly, love together.”
Check out Alawa and Zephyr’s lazy howling:
Howell explained why the wolves howl for so long:
“They probably couldn’t resist responding to one of the other 40 wolves who call the Wolf Conservation Center home.”
“Wolves howl to communicate with one another over long distances—they can hear a howl up to 10 miles away in open terrain!”
A howl can mean many things: a greeting, a rallying cry to gather the pack together, an announcement of their presence to warn other wolves away from their territory, or a spontaneous expression of play and bonding. Whatever the meaning, it never gets old!”
“Wolves are a critical keystone species in a healthy ecosystem. By regulating prey populations, wolves enable many other species of plants and animals to flourish.”
“In this regard, wolves initiate a domino effect: “touching” songbirds, beaver, fish, and butterflies. Without predators, such as wolves, the system fails to support a natural level of biodiversity.”
“Beyond their ecological importance, wolves are unique, sentient creatures who have a value in and of themselves,” explained Howell.
“Their presence reminds us that we must learn to appreciate wildlife for its intrinsic value, to respect its right to exist, and to have humane concern for the survival of entire species.”
“If we don’t, we fail ourselves—now and for future generations.”
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