DENVER — In mid-March, howls could be heard echoing throughout Colorado each night at 8 o’clock.
When Brice Maiurro and Shelsea Ochoa started an online group to encourage their friends to participate, they never imagined it would grow the way it has.
“We would’ve been really excited just to have a few of our friends doing it. So, the fact that it caught on and got so big was really exciting for us," Ochoa told 9NEWS.
Across the world, countries and cities have found a way to pay homage to the essential workers on the front lines of the pandemic.
Italy and Boston sing.
New York cheers.
Denver howls.
The sound piqued the interest of CU Boulder Professor of Environmental Studies Joanna Lambert.
“I think it’s been a fascinating phenomenon. What this is revealing most is just how important social cohesion and social bonding is to humans,” Lambert said.
The professor identified similarities between humans and the animals Coloradans can now be heard imitating from their windows, balconies, backyards, and front porches: wolves.
Of all the vocalizations wolves create, the howl resonates most with humans.
According to Lambert, many wolf howls are intended for “long-distance communication” which is exactly what Maiurro and Ochoa had in mind.
“I think just the feeling of connection every night is a reminder that life goes on and everyone is going through this together though separately,” Maiurro told 9NEWS.
In the howls reverberating through Colorado, there is a mix of sorrow and hope.
“I would say that what we’re engaged in right now is a combination of, kind of, that mournful howl of ‘I wish I could be seeing you; I wish I could be hearing you.’ Then also that hopeful kind of more high-frequency rendezvous that we hear,” Lambert said.
It’s a reminder of the pack animals that we are.
Even in the age of advanced technology, Lambert believes some still yearn for a deeper connection.
“Zoom and our iPhone just aren’t cutting it. We want that more visceral kind of sense of the presence of others," she said.
The professor did suggest aiming for a lower frequency to really perfect the wolf howl.