YSK that there is no such thing as an "alpha wolf" - eviltoast

Some of the many articles about it:

The notion that wolves fight amongst each other and the strongest becomes the “alpha” and the weakest is the “omega” and all that, is a misconception that has been debunked ages ago, and even the author of the study who called them “alphas” in the first place is pleading with his old publisher to stop printing the dang book already so this misconception can finally die out.

Wolf packs are more or less just families. One “breeding pair” and their pups, which often stay with their parents way into adulthood.

  • givesomefucks@lemmy.worldEnglish
    798·
    1 year ago

    Ironically its that they don’t have “alphas” in the wild because they just separate and leave each other alone…

    For humans in school, prisons, and even just work environments we’re a lot more like captive wolves than wild

    This terminology arose from research done on captive wolf packs in the mid-20th century—but captive packs are nothing like wild ones, Mech says. When keeping wolves in captivity, humans typically throw together adult animals with no shared kinship. In these cases, a dominance hierarchy arises, Mech adds, but it’s the animal equivalent of what might happen in a human prison, not the way wolves behave when they are left to their own devices.

    That being said, any person describing themselves as an alpha is usually a big piece of shit.

    • Wolf Link 🐺@lemmy.worldOP
      581·
      1 year ago

      Personally, I like the “alpha as in new software” approach: Alpha version = unstable, missing important features, filled with flaws, prone to breakdown and not fit for the public.

    • TheSanSabaSongbird@lemdro.idEnglish
      3·
      1 year ago

      I actually met and interviewed Mech some years ago while working on a story regarding wolves in Oregon. He was a kind and very approachable person.

      Fun fact; his name is pronounced “Meech,” not “mech” as in “mechanic.”