Why do wolves howl at night, and what makes it quite an eerie sound? This question was originally answered on Quora by Holly Root-Gutteridge.

In wolves, howling is primarily used for long-distance communication with other wolves, as a way to mark territory boundaries, and to figure out where other wolves are based on their replies to howls.

The Old Farmer's Almanac says the moon got the nickname because wolves were likely heard howling in mid-winter. Wolf experts say the pack may be howling during full moons for other reasons.

When separated from a packmate, a wolf's howl intensity is determined by the closeness of its partnership with the departed individual, not by that individual's rank. Arielle Duhaime-Ross reports.

A wolf dog with a blood-stained paw from its raw meat, begs for more at Howling Timbers, east of Muskegon on Thursday, Jan. 24, 2019. (Kayla Renie | [email protected]) ...

The howling would begin as soon as the departing wolf went out of sight. Wolves are social animals with a strict hierarchy. So if the wolf was a leader, more howls were recorded.