At the end of War of the Ember, King Coryn says that if he could be another creature that was not an owl, he would like to be an wolf, shortly before his death. 

 Coryn had a very special friendship with the wolf Hamish and learnt to live like them, so that's why Coryn wanted to be a wolf. Who else thought it was tragic when Coryn died? I nearly cried when I finished The War of the Ember! :( The picture is from the cover of an extra book, Lost Tales of Ga'Hoole, which I recommend reading after the last book.