Yep. David Mech is the one who basically coined the term “alpha wolf” based on an early study, and has since spent years of his career retracting that theory and explaining that male wolves do not fight for dominance in nature.
In the original studies they threw a bunch of adult wolves from different packs into a small enclosure. Then reported the fight for dominance as if it was how they normally act in nature. Most packs in nature are just a mom and a dad with kids from the last 2-3 years, who usually leave on their own.
Wasn’t this shit not true from the get-go? not even to the wolves the whole idea came from?
Yep. David Mech is the one who basically coined the term “alpha wolf” based on an early study, and has since spent years of his career retracting that theory and explaining that male wolves do not fight for dominance in nature.
In the original studies they threw a bunch of adult wolves from different packs into a small enclosure. Then reported the fight for dominance as if it was how they normally act in nature. Most packs in nature are just a mom and a dad with kids from the last 2-3 years, who usually leave on their own.