Alpha Status, Dominance, and Division of Labor in Wolf Packs
http://www.wolf.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/267alphastatus_english.pdf
I know it seems unlikely to you but the entire shitlord segment of YouTube that has been pushing this garbage has been wrong the entire time and I am in fact smarter than ALL OF THEM put to together.
Because I know that "Alpha wolves" never existed.
Wolf (Canis lupus) packs have long been used as examples in descriptions of behavioral
relationships among members of social groups. The subject of social dominance and
alpha status has gained considerable prominence (Schenkel 1947; Rabb et al. 1967; Fox
1971b; Zimen 1975, 1982), and the prevailing view of a wolf pack is that of a group of
individuals ever vying for dominance but held in check by the "alpha" pair, the alpha
male and the alpha female (Murie 1944; Mech 1966, 1970; Haber 1977; Peterson 1977).
[i][i]Most research on the social dynamics of wolf packs, however, has been conducted on
wolves in captivity. T[/i][/i]hese captive packs were usually composed of an assortment of
wolves from various sources placed together and allowed to breed at will (Schenkel
1947; Rabb et al. 1967; Zimen 1975, 1982). This approach apparently reflected the view
that in the wild, "pack formation starts with the beginning of winter" (Schenkel 1947),
implying some sort of annual assembling of independent wolves. (Schenkel did consider
the possibility that the pack was a family, as Murie (1944) had already reported, but only
in a footnote.)
In captive packs, the unacquainted wolves formed dominance hierarchies featuring alpha,
beta, omega animals, etc. With such assemblages, these dominance labels were probably
appropriate, for most species thrown together in captivity would usually so arrange
themselves.
In nature, however, the wolf pack is not such an assemblage. Rather, it is usually a family
(Murie 1944; Young and Goldman 1944; Mech 1970, 1988; Clark 1971; Haber 1977)
including a breeding pair and their offspring of the previous 1-3 years, or sometimes two
or three such families (Murie 1944; Haber 1977; Mech et al. 1998).
Occasionally an unrelated wolf is adopted into a pack (Van Ballenberghe 1983; Lehman
et al. 1992; Mech et al. 1998), or a relative of one of the breeders is included (Mech and
Nelson 1990), or a dead parent is replaced by an outside wolf (Rothman and Mech 1979;
Fritts and Mech 1981) and an offspring of opposite sex from the newcomer may then
replace its parent and breed with the stepparent (Fritts and Mech 1981; Mech and Hertel
1983)
I know it seems unlikely to you but the entire shitlord segment of YouTube that has been pushing this garbage has been wrong the entire time and I am in fact smarter than ALL OF THEM put to together.
Because I know that "Alpha wolves" never existed.
Wolf (Canis lupus) packs have long been used as examples in descriptions of behavioral
relationships among members of social groups. The subject of social dominance and
alpha status has gained considerable prominence (Schenkel 1947; Rabb et al. 1967; Fox
1971b; Zimen 1975, 1982), and the prevailing view of a wolf pack is that of a group of
individuals ever vying for dominance but held in check by the "alpha" pair, the alpha
male and the alpha female (Murie 1944; Mech 1966, 1970; Haber 1977; Peterson 1977).
[i][i]Most research on the social dynamics of wolf packs, however, has been conducted on
wolves in captivity. T[/i][/i]hese captive packs were usually composed of an assortment of
wolves from various sources placed together and allowed to breed at will (Schenkel
1947; Rabb et al. 1967; Zimen 1975, 1982). This approach apparently reflected the view
that in the wild, "pack formation starts with the beginning of winter" (Schenkel 1947),
implying some sort of annual assembling of independent wolves. (Schenkel did consider
the possibility that the pack was a family, as Murie (1944) had already reported, but only
in a footnote.)
In captive packs, the unacquainted wolves formed dominance hierarchies featuring alpha,
beta, omega animals, etc. With such assemblages, these dominance labels were probably
appropriate, for most species thrown together in captivity would usually so arrange
themselves.
In nature, however, the wolf pack is not such an assemblage. Rather, it is usually a family
(Murie 1944; Young and Goldman 1944; Mech 1970, 1988; Clark 1971; Haber 1977)
including a breeding pair and their offspring of the previous 1-3 years, or sometimes two
or three such families (Murie 1944; Haber 1977; Mech et al. 1998).
Occasionally an unrelated wolf is adopted into a pack (Van Ballenberghe 1983; Lehman
et al. 1992; Mech et al. 1998), or a relative of one of the breeders is included (Mech and
Nelson 1990), or a dead parent is replaced by an outside wolf (Rothman and Mech 1979;
Fritts and Mech 1981) and an offspring of opposite sex from the newcomer may then
replace its parent and breed with the stepparent (Fritts and Mech 1981; Mech and Hertel
1983)
