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Please notice that coyote howling is totally different from coyote barking which I describe on another page -- click “coyote barking” above. The HOWLING is either elicited by fire engine sirens early in the morning or performed for the pure joy of doing so. As far as I have seen, coyote howling has nothing to do with dogs intruding upon the coyotes. Though a howling session may include “barks”, these are not distressed sounding as is the case when a dog intrudes upon a coyote.  When I heard the howl associated with the fire engine siren (3), I could hear another coyote far, far in the distance responding in the same way! I’m wondering if this is a coyote “community” response?!

I have included six recordings of howls (1-4 & 6-7). Five were elicited by fire engine sirens early in the morning. However, fire engine sirens do not always elicit a howl from coyotes. I have watched a coyote as sirens sounded nearby, and the coyote totally ignored it!!

The second recording above which includes only TWO voices is actually a response to and part of a joyful play session. There was no siren. Although it might sound like many coyotes, it involved only two voices!! 

Then, because I didn’t know where else to put it, and because these were joyful “noises”, I’ve added a short recording of “squealing” which I was able to capture on my recording device when a family of coyotes greeted each other early one morning!

3)HOWL in response to siren -- after siren. Very short recording.

4) Howl with siren. Hard to distinguish.

2) Group Howling for the joy of it (includes only TWO voices but sounds like more)!

5) Squeals of Delight at a Coyote Greeting -- the shutter drowns the first part

1) THREE COYOTES HOWLING in response to a faint siren in the distance. Two of the coyotes are yipping next to each other, the third one is in the distance with a deeper and longer howl

6) Three coyotes howling in response to a siren, with some bass in the background added by a dog -- this is the first minute of the recording. The last 4 minutes turns into barking by one of the coyotes with a second one howling occasionally -- it went on less intensely for a long time in response to dogs and onlookers on a path close by.

7) Two coyotes howling with a third sometimes joining in.