Wolf Culture Is Passed Down Through Generations — and a New Paper Argues for Protecting It

How does a young wolf learn how to be a wolf? Genetics certainly plays a role, but so do the knowledge and techniques passed on by the previous generation of wolves, who teach their young how to hunt, what areas to avoid, and how and when to howl (and what each variation in those howls means). Research published a few years ago found that wolves around the world have at least 21 different types of regional howls.

In other words, wolves — and many other species — have unique regional cultures, just like people. Should preserving those nonhuman cultures be a more important element of wildlife conservation? A new short communication in the journal Oryx argues just that — and suggests how to make it happen. Written by David Jennings, Heather Harl, and Andrew Carter of Defenders of Wildlife’s Center for Conservation Innovation, the paper does a deep dive into how behavior is reflected in decision-making for the Endangered Species Act and other conservation laws in the United States.