this post was submitted on 21 Jul 2026
167 points (93.7% liked)
Memes
56386 readers
385 users here now
Rules:
- Be civil and nice.
- Try not to excessively repost, as a rule of thumb, wait at least 2 months to do it if you have to.
founded 7 years ago
MODERATORS
you are viewing a single comment's thread
view the rest of the comments
view the rest of the comments
Fun fact: The whole alpha thing is bullshit, even among wolves. The study that created these terms was made with unrelated wolves in captivity (so perfect incel analogues really). In the actual wild, wolf packs have very caring family structures, centered around a breeding pair and their young.
Even funnier fact. The alpha, beta nomenclature initially appeared from a study related to chicken pecking order. And there's no alpha rooster, but an alpha hen.
More info: Mech used the alpha wolf nomenclature in a classic book of wolf biology, The Wolf: Ecology and Behavior of an Endangered Species, which was published in 1970. But he has made a point of pushing back against the term as new research has come to light. After a years-long effort, he finally got The Wolf taken out of print in 2022, he says. The 2003 book Wolves: Behavior, Ecology, and Conservation, which he co-edited with zoologist Luigi Boitani, is now far more accurate and up-to-date, he says.
https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/is-the-alpha-wolf-idea-a-myth/