Animation Source Forums

Good evening, peoples.

I think I can fairly say that BaltoSource is a community made up of mostly wolf-lovers, correct? Except for a few individuals, we've got wolfdog breeders/owners, people fighting to save wolves, wolf researchers, and just people who like to look at wolves. Great, fine.
We've also got the lovely fanfic section on the site, where people can send in stories about wolves. These are fun to read and write, fine, but there's a lot of misinformation being typed up in these that likely nobody has noticed.

Wolf packs are a very popular topic in fanfics, and they are generally made up of:
Alpha Male
Alpha Female
Beta Male
Beta Female
Pack Members (scouts etc.)
Pups
Omega

But, if you're aiming for a realistic wolf pack, this is not the way to go! Allow me to explain. I've even been nice enough to sort it into numbered paragraphs.

Point One: The people who invented the terms "alpha" "omega" etc. have admitted themselves that this is also misinformation (I love that word) and advise people to not take them as fact.
Point Two: The "studies" that triggered these fake rankings were based off of experiments on captive wolves. These wolves were in an unnatural environment, and they couldn't leave if they wanted to, among other variables. It's like basing human behaviour on a soap opera - it's more extreme. Real life isn't like that.
Point Three: An average pack is made up of two "alpha" or leader wolves and their offspring. That's it. When the pups are old enough, they form packs of their own. There isn't a whole bunch of wolves fighting for dominance. There's mum and dad, who are the experienced providers, and the kids who are learning how to be "proper" wolves.
(Note: Also, the group members rarely use force against each other. They are more refined than that, and use body language to communicate, among other things.)
Point Four: The top ranking wolf is, contrary to popular belief, rarely a big boss who goes around and tests everyone's submission, making them bow down to him. Rather, he is more laid back and ready to do his own thing.
Example: A younger wolf is protecting a piece of food, and warning others to stay off. The leader is not going to prance up and snatch it away. Why? Well, the protecting wolf is saying "Please don't come here, I don't trust you to not take this from me". If the dominant wolf did take the food, he would be proving that he is a threat, and any sensible wolf would know that that wouldn't be the greatest way to hold a pack together!

In conclusion... yeah. That's how a pack works. ^^

True, but unfortunately one would find that they'd be a bit boring if they played out in this manner. Wikipedia's article on wolves is the main reason for this perception of them (again ) and the exaggerated version just appeals to readers more.

cobalt makes a good point, writing, role playing in this way would get a bit boring for us we as for all fictional movies out the that were/are based on the nature of captive wolves mixed with the adventure (whatever it may be) that is being plaied out but either way thankyou for the information i was woundering about that anyway and you answered my question before i asked it