interrogation howl

R

RODNEY DALE

New member
Can anyone elighten me exactly what this howl stands for and when is the best time to use it? Day or night? What time of the season? Any info would be appreciated.
 
Rodney,
Although there are a few people who believe otherwise, the howl in question is really just a "lone" howl. Howls do carry different meanings, depending upon the "inflection", or "feeling" you hear. Sort of like when your wife asks you if you are the one who left those black marks on kitchen floor with your shoes and you say no Dear. Then your teen age son walks in to the room and asks you if he can use the car again tonite, even though he just put a fresh ding in the fender last night. This time you will probably use same word--"no" with a slightly different inflection or "Feeling" in your tone of voice. "NO!!!!" /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif If you will shoot me an E mail I will send you a wav file of my own version of the "Domain" or "interrogation" howl. [url=mailto:cronkcalls@aol.com
 
Rich, do you believe that the "Domain" howl and the "Interrogation" howl are one and the same? Both a lone howl? As far as intent, "Interrogation" is self-explanatory, but what do you believe "Domain" implies?
 
A discussion of what a howl stands for is like the perverbial Ford, Chevy, Dodge, Yugo debate. Although I do believe some have got a better understanding of what a certain howl stands for, myself not being one of them, the world of coyote vocalization is probably best understood by only the coyote. We can give our opinion, but unless we belly-up to a dead carcass, fighting each other off for a tiny morsel of calf liver, that's all it is..an opinion.

Here's my opinion /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/laugh.gif

I've never heard the term "interrogation" howl, maybe I have but dismissed it. Maybe you mean "location" howl? Kinda like "Hi, I'm here...anyone around..wanna party?" It's my understanding, and it's worked for me on numerous occasions that it's a long high pitched howl, moving lower in pitch at the bottom.

When to use it? Day or night? I've had success with both, except in the pre-dawn hours. Never had much luck early in the morning. I still try on occasion. February is coming, howling for me has been very productive. You have them pairing up, looking for love in all the wrong bushes. You have territorial males, you have stoopid youngsters. Most of them using vocalizations to some extent.
 
Rodney,
Bob the evil webmaster just nailed the real truth real well in his last post. For a demo of Domain or Interrogation howl, you can find a link to click on in the "Howling in Alaska" thread right here in this forum. No matter what the old "pro's" have told us in the past, there is no man walking who truly understands all coyote language. We can learn enough about the coyote language to fool them into coming to our howling efforts though. All we really need to know is that the sound of a strange coyote in the area seems to cause resident coyotes to become angry, curious or both. They will come to investigate the stranger. I like to use lonesome sounding howls most of the time rather than angry sounding howls. I know what two or three versions of the "warning" or "challenge" howls sound like too, because I have seen and heard this in the field. I will be doing a short seminar of my method of howling coyotes very soon. That thread will appear right here on Predator Masters. My method and my howlers are not the only ones that work, but work they do. Stay tuned. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif
 
I use a lonesome howl on every stand! Some would disagree but it's a way to let every coyote in the neighborhood know that a new kid is on the block. It really works for me and it seems to have a calming/curiosity effect on the coyotes. Sometimes I'll see them coming with just the howl. If so, I just sight tight and wait for them to come to the skinning party /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/laugh.gif . If nothing is coming, I hit them with the dying rabbit call.
 
Mike, that's a rock solid technique that most of the ADC men I talk to use, including Wiley E. Welcome as the Biology moderator. I'll be asking you a lot of questions. First one, how did Scatman Crouthers get his name? ( Maybe I should have asked this on the coyote poop thread)
 
Thanks Rich.

This technique has worked for many years. I'm kinda old fashioned. Once I find something that works, I stay with it. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif
 
I tend to hunt mornings, mostly. Bob, you state that you don't have much luck at pre-dawn or mornings with howling. We've had a real dry spell around here in Illinois. Can't seem to get much interested in coming to anything...distress or howling. I know Randy Anderson states that near sunset is his favorite time. Fine, but then your time's limited if you only hunt the late day.

Any thought on this.....anyone?

BTW..We've had no snow and only the last 4 or 5 days has it been "normal" January weather(single digit temps.). Been very warm and dry here. Some claim food has been too easy to come by to bother coming to the distress call.

Terry
 
Terf,
Bob the evil webmaster probably likes calling the evenings better. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif I seem to have always had my best luck in first couple hours of daylight in morning. That very first stand right at first light, when I can barely see fifty yards or so seems to be the very best. Coyote's eyes are still ajusting at that time, and they seem to think that it is still dark.
 
Si senor..I do enjoy calling at night, the temps in my usual haunts are a tad on the scorching side. But, early morning hours have been good. It's the hours preceeding first light that have given me problems. Not that it's always been like that, I've certainly taken my fair share of coyotes in the early morning darkness, it's just that I find I have better luck howling in the late afternoon (dusk), late evening and early morning (dawn). Maybe in some of the areas I hunt, the coyotes are holding close and tight-lipped after a night of carousing.

Things should be picking up for you soon Ter, not sure how the coyotes act in your part of the country, but I'm beggining to hear lots of vocalizations here at home. I live right up against some rather coyote infested hills, oil fields and a large state park.

Good Luck /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/laugh.gif
 
My hunting buddy and I have had several unusual events take place during many of our calling episodes. Our most recent experiences is one that have both Wally and I perplexed.
We had set up on the dam of a pond. I was doing the calling, facing southwesterly. Wally, 15 yds to my left, was facing southeasterly. South of us, approximately 75 yds was some timber. Four or five minutes into the call we had two or three coyotes howl back at us from a distance. I continued using the distress call. Five minutes later, on the edge of the timber appeared a coyote. She saw us but did not leave, pacing back and forth on the timbers edge, all the while barking and howling at us. Two other dogs joined her but did not vocalize. None of the three were frightened. I would lip squeak, she would bark. This went on for perhaps two or three minutes and was terminated when Wally got a shot off and dropped her in her tracks. Her two companions high tailed it out of there.
Here is a case where the coyote came to a distress call, saw what was making the noise, and rather than turn and run , she proceeded to warn all other coyotes in the area that something is wrong.
I concur with Rich when he says no one truly understands the coyote language. We can make barks, we can make howls, but we really don't know how it's being interpreted by the coyote at that moment in time.
Well, at least this is something to think about. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/confused.gif
Ya'll have a great day.
John .
 
John,
I wonder if that coyote actually knew that you were human's. If you were sitting still, you may have blended in to landscape well enough to confuse the coyote. I can't be sure of course but right now I am thinking that the coyote wanted to come in, thought something wasn't quite right and was barking and howling in frustration. There is always something a coyote will do to confuse us isn't there? And WE are supposed to be the smartest of the predators too! /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif
 
Bob/

Yeah,usually the dogs around here are pretty blabby...until recently. Even with the full moon, they've been quite. It's finally gotten cold here and we did manage to call one in yesterday morning about 10 o'clock, our 4th stand. Seems like, if they are there, the'll come to the distress call. We just have to keep trying new places that we haven't called before.

Here's something interesting for the catagory...predator biology....we've had West Nile pretty bad here last year. I know of several horse owners who lost their animals to it. I noticed several dead and sick crows late last year and everyone I'm sure heard on the news about all the human deaths from it. I'm wondering just how that affected the coyote population here in Illinois. We have noticed that there seems to be fewer coyotes this year than last. What little snow we've had doesn't show a lot of tracks. Any comments?
 
TerFisIL, very interesting question and right up my alley. The west nile virus is spread through infected mosquitos, we're all aware of that. Although horses can and do become infected through the bite of the mosquito, cases of horses dying are rare. Deaths do occur but are are quite low in number compared to those that have contracted WNV either through the actual bite of a mosquito or through studies being conducted now across the country. Obviously most who own horses do vaccinate for varients of the Eastern, Western and Venezuelan equine encephalitis. (A totally different disease). Thier is a vaccine for WNV that was just recently released.

The interesting thing is, that non-infected mosquitos that fed on infected horses in one study showed no sign of becoming infected themselves, and there has been no clinical proof that a horse, or any other animal for that matter can transmit the disease to each other. Hence, though studies are continuing, it appears as if birds are the hosts and mosquitos are the carriers. For now anyway. Studies are ongoing to see if other mammals like bats, squirrels, raccoons and others have the potential of becoming carriers.

If you have large die-offs of crows, doves or any other bird, make sure you contact your local Vector Control District or agency, this could be very valuable in determining the presence of WNV in your area. WNV is apparently pretty lethal to crows. Other birds also have the potential to become carriers, bluejays, ravens, magpies and numerous others are thought to be carrier candidates. Waterfowl are also thought to be endangered. I think about 200 species have been documented to be infected with WNV, including popular game birds like ducks and wild turkey.

Onto the coyote. Yes, their has been cases where dogs and cats have been infected. Could the coyote population be affected? Probably, but I don't know if any studies are being conducted for that species. The studies these days are concentrated on horses, birds and the mosquito. I think it would be safe to say yes, coyotes are probably in danger. I think that the coyote population is actually increasing in the east though..at least this is what I've read. WNV has become entrenched in many parts of the east. Will it have any effect on coyote populations?...hmmm. Here in the west, it's yet to be seen. It's difficult for mosquitos to breed where water is scarce, like our deserts out here that are parched most of the year. Cities will suffer if precautions aren't taken. Obviously coyote populations survive in large and small cities, so I imagine the threat to coyotes is there.

Are we in danger of contracting WNV from coyotes and crows and whatever else? Studies say a big "maybe, maybe not". A coyote COULD become infected by eating the remains of an infected bird though. It's entirely possible. I normally do and I would suggest anyone else that could possibly handle a dead coyote or anything for that matter take precautions. A surgical glove while cleaning your game should always be utilized. Cooking game will kill the WNV. No wild sushi from now on. It's possible that the coyote could become a host for the disease. Rabies and lyme disease is often found in coyotes, so I certainly hope people are being careful.

We continue to monitor the bird populations in Southern California. Although we have had cases of WNV in people here, we have yet to collect any specimens that have been shown to be carrying. A concern though, the typical mosquito is found to be very active in the early morning and late afternoon hours, offering us at least a time to be more vigilant...guess what...with the introduction of a mosquito from asia, notably one that was found in numerous containers containing bamboo, a mosquito called the Tiger Mosquito, this particular mosquito is active not only during the early and evening, but also during the heat of the day. Distribution of this mosquito I believe is just here on the west coast, disburtion anywhere else I have no clue. I'm sorry but I really don't have too much data on Illinois. I know you've had cases.

Right now, the transmittal of the WNV is contained, but only because of weather conditions. As soon as things start to heat up, around May or so..things could get serious. I'd suggest the use of mosquito reppelent, one that contains DEET be used.

I know this is getting long, but it's my area of...not expertise, but my area of involvement lets say. What you need to do is prevent mosquitos from breeding. This can be done very easily by not allowing any standing water on your property. Mosquitos can breed in water only a 1/4 of an inch deep. A larvacide is used by Vector Control Agencies called "Bti" (bacillus thuringensis)..it's a larval growth inhibitor. Bti is used extensively in ponds, flood control channels and back bays. Another form of mosquito control is done by using a very dilluted form of oil. This strengthens the surface tension of water, prohibiting the mosquito larva from breathing. Mosquito larva have a breathing tube that they use to breathe, they break the surface, breathe, then back under, repeating. This oil prevents that and they die from lack of oxygen. This is the form of control used when the mosquito goes from larva to pupa. Bti doesn't work as a growth inhibitor at this stage.

Ok,...geeez.... I've bored everyone enough. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/laugh.gif
 
Wow...did I get an answer to the WNV question. Thanks Bob(your not so evil after all).

This was really the first year that people were concerned here about the disease. Of course the media attention helped but it's better to be informed than oblivious.

I wish I had the numbers in front of me involving how many horses died in Iowa because of ( this, according to the news, now) WNV. There were several in this area. It was a little surprising. I know of one( again, according to the owner) not too far from here. I don't know how they determined it was the virus, I assume they had a vet check it out.

As far as preventing the carriers, of course there has been much information from the media about not allowing standing water, ect, using deet. and time of day to avoid being outdoors.

We have a little more water to deal with in this area. The rivers usually flood every spring and fill all the little low spots with stagnant water and sometimes the skeeters get pretty bad..hard to prevent on such a scale.

As far as reporting dead or sick birds, the DNR of both Iowa and Illinlois told everyone not to report any more ...they know the disease is here.

Hopefully, West Nile will level off and not be a major concern for the affected areas.

Terry
 
Titanium tipped proboscis would be my guess /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/laugh.gif

I'm not sure how they or if they ever found out how the american alligator got infected, but that gives credence to the thought of animals that eat infected animals may infect themselves...Where's Steve Irwin when ya need him?
 
Back
Top