Re: group hunting (was Scavenger vs. Predator Argument)

["Jaime Headden" <jaemei@hotmail.com>]

<<I'd rather not get into the sexual politics of lupines on this one, 
but the alpha female chooses her mate, who leads the pack in much of the 
rest of activities in a sort of proxy-leader or figurehead, like the 
American president or the British monarch, where the apparent 
next-in-power actually holds the reins. So, the alpha male rules, at
least until he is beaten by the beta male, then the alpha female gets a 
new mate and the pack gets a new figurehead. The female controls nearly 
everything the group behavior short of the hunt or territory dominance, 
and at home, the alpha female really does wear the pants!

(I have more than a passing interest in wolves, so I wanted to include
my knowledge where I thought it went. Correct me if I'm wrong, 
though.)>>

<I can't speak to _right_ or _wrong_, but I can say that I've never read 
anything on wolf behavior that agrees with what you've said.  Everything 
I've read, including several works by such experts as David mech and 
Adolph Murie, agrees that where there's a definite packleader at all, 
the leader is always a male. May I ask where you heard or read this 
about female packleaders?>

Like I said, I'm a wolf-enthusiast. In which cases are male wolves 
supreme? Hunting, the offense-defense situations, and rivalry 
situations. Females _do_ choose their mates, and will even fight among 
themselves for the right to be alpha. (Males will also fight for the 
right when there is a clear rivalry to be alpha, but the alpha- 
consistency is for females to remain in power while the guys duke it 
out.)

Now, I list as a source (not as good as reading the papers, I guess) 
tons of documentary footage and articles in the paper and a few books on 
the subjects of canines in general and one or two books on wolves 
specifically, and there is listed a complex society almost comparable to 
human families.

I do admit that I could be totally wrong in my studies, that what I read 
and watched and studied was outdated, and so I could be wrong in my 
assertions here.

Jaime A. Headden

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