HOWL

A mind-blowing exploration of the lives and language of wolves, drawing on cutting-edge bioacoustics research to reveal the hidden meaning of wolf "speech" and unveil evidence that wolves can communicate in rudimentary sentences, with powerful lessons for dog owners and nature lovers alike.

Yips, barks, howls, whines, even teeth-clacking: Wolves are known to make a myriad of sounds, many of which bear a striking resemblance to those of their close cousin, the domesticated dog. But until now, researchers could only guess at what these ancient canids were communicating with their elaborate vocalizations.

Enter Jeffrey Reed, a technologist and linguistics expert who has used cutting-edge sound monitorsand new advances in artificial intelligenceto isolate and categorize hundreds of wolf sounds and to pick apart their meanings. "Here I am!" "Be Alert." "Respect My Space." "I Love You." "Stranger Danger!" "Send Backup." These are just some of the messages that wolves are sending when they open their mouths. Both a science-driven narrative and an emotional journey anchored by Reed's years-long observations of one iconic matriarch wolf in Yellowstone National Park (the global locus of wolf research), Howl reveals a structured system of communication between these iconic apex predators, even suggesting that wolves sometimes "speak" in rudimentary sentences. With exclusive audio clips of Reed's wolf recordings embedded in the audiobook and linked in the print book via QR codes, Howl takes us inside the wolf's world as we've never experienced it before. Readers will never hear a wolf howlor listen to a dog's low bark or gentle whimperthe same way again.

Jeffrey Reed, PhD, is a feral linguist and technologist with a doctorate in computational linguistics and dead languages. Founder of Grizzly Systems and The Cry Wolf Project, he is leading a large-scale bioacoustics study of wolf vocalization in the Greater Yellowstone ecosystem with funding from Colossal Biosciences, the organization that announced the de-extinction of the dire wolf in the Spring of 2025. A conservation advocate, Reed's acclaimed TED talk, "Can AI Help us Speak with Wolves?" was released in June 2025. He lives in Montana.