Ranks?

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Artic Wolf09
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Ranks?

Post by Artic Wolf09 » Mon May 18, 2009 10:31 am

Can anyone tell me the ranks of a wolf pack in order?
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Snowmuzzle
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Re: Ranks?

Post by Snowmuzzle » Mon May 18, 2009 11:47 am

Stuff like "beta", "hunter" and "delta" were just made up by roleplayers. Basically, there's a breeding pair, and the pack normally consists of their relatives.
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SolitaryHowl
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Re: Ranks?

Post by SolitaryHowl » Mon May 18, 2009 12:47 pm

Snowmuzzle wrote:Stuff like "beta", "hunter" and "delta" were just made up by roleplayers. Basically, there's a breeding pair, and the pack normally consists of their relatives.
and, I also heard there's the 'scrapegoat', where the pack tends to pick on that wolf the most.
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Re: Ranks?

Post by Songdog » Mon May 18, 2009 2:30 pm

Blindseer wrote: delta, gamma, and nurse are just terms made up by roleplayers.

and the alpha, beta, subordinate, omega doesnt really apply to ild wolves; as the terms are not scientifically correct for them. however, these terms are often appropriate for captive packs due to the different pack structure.

for wild wolves I think its just

pack leaders
pack members
lower ranked members

more dominant
least dominant
etc.

there are a lot of ways to describe rank order, and a lot of different names.
Songdog wrote:Those ranks were made up by roleplayers.

In a real pack there is a breeding male and a breeding female, sometimes referred to as 'alphas'. All wolves hunt, look after the pups, and so on. There is a 'hierarchy' in the pack, but it is a subtle hierarchy. Wolves will skirmish and flaunt their dominance over one another on a daily basis. 'Omega' is still often accepted as a wolf who is at the lowest rung of the pack; these are generally juvenile males that haven't left the pack yet.
pawnee wrote: Alpha doesn`t apply to wild wolf packs because the term alpha was used in captive/artificial enviornments in which wolves were forced to make a pecking order. Usually in the wild there is a breeding pair and their pups. Sometimes a relative stays with the pack or similiar but more research needs to be done in what drives one wolf to be a leaderwolf and not too.

the term alpha visualizes that animals fight it out to decide who`s boss, like in chickens or something. but most wild wolves try and avoid fighting. you can see the new International Wolf magazine "what happened to the term Alpha?" by David Mech for specific info.

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