Discuss Wolf Pack Heirarchy

[Eclipse]

I just think people made them up for fun, we weren't hurting anything or anybody.

[ChocolateRain]

I just think people made them up for fun, we weren't hurting anything or anybody.

I know, I'm just saying the game isn't going to give you certain ranks, that can be decided amongst pack members.

[CLBaileyi]

I know that the "hierarchy" and labeling of positions within a pack is a new thing to suggest, but I think many might be getting confused with what Dave Mech is trying to say. He is not saying that wolves are not dominant or submissive to one another, but rather that there is not a strict hierarchy that exists and the labeling of that position in the majority of wild wolf packs. (Some larger, multi-generational packs may have a higher level of intensity of dominance/submission due to the fact there are potential multiple breeding animals).

The other thing that plays a huge role in this discussion is to also clarify that Dave recognizes and tries to differenciate the differences between what exists in most captive wolf packs (there are a few exceptions, but not many) and what is going on with wolves in the wild, and how this relates to our labeling of pack members. Wolves in the wild are primarily a family unit with a breeding pair and their offspring. Rarely do the offspring stay with their natal pack (the pack they were born into), and most leave before their 3-4th year. The breeding pair are the dominant animals to other pack members, but shouldn't necessarily be labeled as "A-lpha" but rather the breeding pair.

However, most of the early research on the social structure of wolf pack was done on captive animals, and thus the hierarchy labels of "A-lpha, b-beta, o-mega). These captive packs tend to be unnatural groupings of wolves (single sex of multiple ages, single animal of one sex and all other animals of the opposite sex, etc). Again, the majority of these captive packs are a fabrication of the desires or needs of the facility where the wolf lives-and not an accurate duplication of a natural, wild wolf pack. In these cases, the dominance labels are probably appropriate since the animals have to adjust to the situation of their pack structure that HUMANS created, not what they created on their own.

I hope this makes it clearer to everyone. Part of the study of animal behavior is to recognize that what we see in captivity may, or may not, be what truly exists in the wild. With wolves, their secretive nature makes understanding all of this even more difficult.