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Alpha Status, Dominance, and Division of Labor
in Wolf Packs

Results and Discussion

Conclusions

The above observations show that, at least in summer, social interactions among wolf-pack members are not very different in intensity or quality from those among members of any other group of related individuals. Even the much-touted wolf dominance hierarchy is primarily a natural reflection of the age, sex, and reproductive structure of the group, with the breeding male dominating all others posturally and the breeding female garnering food from the male while she is tending young pups.

The typical wolf pack, then, should be viewed as a family with the adult parents guiding the activities of the group and sharing group leadership in a division-of-labor system in which the female predominates primarily in such activities as pup care and defense and the male primarily during foraging and food-provisioning and the travels associated with them (L.D. Mech, see footnote).

Dominance displays are uncommon except during competition for food. Then they allow parents to monopolize food and allocate it to their youngest offspring. Active submission appears to be primarily a food-begging gesture or a food-gathering motivator (Mech 1970). The role of active and passive submission in interactions between the breeding male and female when no offspring are present needs further exploration.

L.D. Mech. Leadership in wolf, Canis lupus, packs. Submitted for publication.

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