People all across the state of Colorado have started to hear what sounds like howling wolves at eight o’clock every night. This sound, however, is not wolves. It is the quarantined people of Colorado, howling at the moon.

This all started with a couple living in Denver, Shelsea Ochoa and Brice Maiurro, who decided to howl one evening in order to reconnect with all others currently in quarantine. After feeling separated from the rest of humanity, they thought it would be a good way to show strength during this difficult time.

The couple created a Facebook group titled “Go Outside and Howl at 8pm” on March 27th. This was originally supposed to be a small thing—just for family and close friends. But, the idea took off. As of April 2, 2020, this Facebook group has roughly 245,000 total members and counting. It seems that people related to the hardships of social isolation and loved the idea of connecting with others while still distancing themself and doing their part to flatten the curve.

On April 1st, Denver7 posted a video of people howling all throughout Denver.

There are many different reasons these Colorado citizens howl each night. 

“People are howling because they’ve lost someone, to relieve stress, [or] to support the people on the frontlines,” said Ochoa. 

The entire discussion wall on the Facebook page is filled with people mentioning why they’d started howling. 

Carol Schmidt, a howler, posted, “Tonight I howl for the Navajo Nation[,] they have lost so many to this virus.”

Victoria McVicker suggested everyone howl for all the hardworking parents out there, “the original essentials”.

Some members of the Facebook group are even posting videos of their dogs joining in with them.

In an interview, Ochoa mentioned everything that can be portrayed through a single howl, “The cool thing about the sound of a howl is that it can have a lot of different emotions in that howl.”

“It can sound angry, you can express sorrow, longing, triumph, pride, freedom,” she said.

Most howl from 8:00-8:05, but someone can simply howl for a minute or two if they would prefer.

A lot of people tuned in for a howl on April 7th, when a pink super moon was hanging high in the dark sky. The couple encouraged people to howl that night, as the moon was bright and beautiful. But, even without this, more and more people are joining the howling.

Jacob Regier, a member of the Facebook group, posted, “Heard probably five other howls in my neighborhood this evening. Never felt so connected to the human race.”

Ochoa and Maiurro hope that the howling will continue until the pandemic is over, or at least until people are officially released from quarantine.

If you’d like to join the “pack”, give your best howl at eight o’clock. It does not matter where you are, who you are, or why you’re howling, it’s a way to feel linked with humanity during this time.

Just as a pack of wolves, we will stay steady, strong, and connected even as we are distanced from others.