Christopher MimsMar 1, 2023

Turns out the existence of an "alpha" wolf is a myth.

It was based on old/bad experiments, conducted when unrelated wolves were thrown together in captivity.

In actual wild wolves, packs are just families. There's no dominant alpha battling for the top spot -- and in the rare cases there is, it's an alpha *female* wolf.

Insert obvious implications for the use of this term in human societies.

https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/is-the-alpha-wolf-idea-a-myth/

Is the Alpha Wolf Idea a Myth?

The idea that wolf packs are led by a merciless dictator, or alpha wolf, comes from old studies of captive wolves. In the wild, wolf packs are simply families

Scientific American
Show threadRichard Walker

@mimsical Cool story - with a strong ring of truth. Nice to have one's previous beliefs overturned.

"When keeping wolves in captivity, humans typically throw together adult animals with no shared kinship. In these cases, a dominance hierarchy arises,"

I wonder if this happens with human groups? Such a pity #DavidGraeber is no longer with us.

Mar 2, 2023 at 6:29amWeb