Color?

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SonyWolf
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Color?

Post by SonyWolf » Mon Feb 08, 2010 1:21 pm

Does a color increase wolf's chances to be dominant? I mean, if the wolf is, for example, white, does that matter in their hierarchy?

Sintact
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Re: Color?

Post by Sintact » Mon Feb 08, 2010 1:31 pm

I don't think the pelt colour affects in a wolf's social life. What affects more is the genetics and personality of the wolf. Though I can't ensure that what I'm saying is true.

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RoxasXIII
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Re: Color?

Post by RoxasXIII » Mon Feb 08, 2010 1:31 pm

I don't believe so. I have never heard of it mattering in neither a family pack nor a special pack (where not all of the wolves are related)
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SonyWolf
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Re: Color?

Post by SonyWolf » Mon Feb 08, 2010 1:37 pm

Thank you. And I didn't believe it also, but I wanted to make sure... I still don't see why would pelt color affect the pack hierarchy in any way o.e

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Re: Color?

Post by Songdog » Mon Feb 08, 2010 4:06 pm

Ack, we have a topic on this somewhere because people have asked about it in the past. Unfortunately, I do not know where the topic is, but maybe another moderator will and can hopefully give you a better answer.

I believe the theory behind this was that more dominant animals eat first and choose the best parts of a kill, thus receiving more nutrients. But their colors don't just change throughout the hierarchy, nor could color ever really indicate how dominant a wolf was.

Pelt colors have to do mainly with genetics, although can be affected by their nutrient intake, especially at a young age. For example, a sickly wolf with light color may take on a yellow sheen. But this may have nothing to do with dominance, it may simply imply scarce prey, an illness, or something unrelated entirety.


Oop, and I just found the topic.
http://www.wolfquest.org/bb/viewtopic.php?f=6&t=600
WQ Project Coordinator wrote:The color of a wolf's coat has no bearing on their status in their pack. Gray wolves can come in a wide variety of colors from black to white to gray to tawny and any combination. In Yellowstone National Park, the Hayden pack has a white female as the dominant female. I believe that she is the only white wolf in Yellowstone, but don't quote me on that. She is certainly rare in Yellowstone.

Here is a link to a page that contains a picture of her with some pups from Summer 2007:
http://wolves.wordpress.com/2007/07/22/ ... en-wolves/
pawnee wrote:I read that too! Some people think that if an alpha wolf eats the better food of a carcass, and thus better nutrients, it makes it`s scent and coat condition better than the other members. It might be true to some degree, but as WQ alpha said earlier, I`ve seen all black or all white wolves lead packs before.

So the answer is no.

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Re: Color?

Post by SonyWolf » Tue Feb 09, 2010 8:47 am

Songdog wrote:Ack, we have a topic on this somewhere because people have asked about it in the past. Unfortunately, I do not know where the topic is, but maybe another moderator will and can hopefully give you a better answer.

I believe the theory behind this was that more dominant animals eat first and choose the best parts of a kill, thus receiving more nutrients. But their colors don't just change throughout the hierarchy, nor could color ever really indicate how dominant a wolf was.

Pelt colors have to do mainly with genetics, although can be affected by their nutrient intake, especially at a young age. For example, a sickly wolf with light color may take on a yellow sheen. But this may have nothing to do with dominance, it may simply imply scarce prey, an illness, or something unrelated entirety.


Oop, and I just found the topic.
http://www.wolfquest.org/bb/viewtopic.php?f=6&t=600
WQ Project Coordinator wrote:The color of a wolf's coat has no bearing on their status in their pack. Gray wolves can come in a wide variety of colors from black to white to gray to tawny and any combination. In Yellowstone National Park, the Hayden pack has a white female as the dominant female. I believe that she is the only white wolf in Yellowstone, but don't quote me on that. She is certainly rare in Yellowstone.

Here is a link to a page that contains a picture of her with some pups from Summer 2007:
http://wolves.wordpress.com/2007/07/22/ ... en-wolves/
pawnee wrote:I read that too! Some people think that if an alpha wolf eats the better food of a carcass, and thus better nutrients, it makes it`s scent and coat condition better than the other members. It might be true to some degree, but as WQ alpha said earlier, I`ve seen all black or all white wolves lead packs before.

So the answer is no.
Thank you, Songdog. Now you can lock this topic.

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Re: Color?

Post by SolitaryHowl » Tue Feb 09, 2010 11:44 am

Question has been answered.
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