Science Memes

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alpha (mander.xyz)

submitted 3 months ago by [email protected] to c/[email protected]

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[–] [email protected] 3 points 3 months ago (4 children)

I've heard this debunk a lot over the years, and I don't disbelieve it, but is it not the case that one or two animals (wolves or otherwise) in a group will be the "bosses" or something close to being dominant over the others? Is all of that internal power struggling we see in groups/families of animals not really what it seems? Or is the "alpha" stuff different from that? Or does it only apply to wolves, and "alphas" do exist in other animal species?

Yours, confused and uneducated,

u/58008

[–] emergencyfood 1 points 3 months ago

Different social animals have different social structures. Wolves generally live in family units, led by the parents. Wasps and gorillas have complicated group politics, with alliances, betrayals and backroom deals. Some primitive ants have a 'might is right' system, with the strongest becoming the queen and fighting off challengers. Most ants have a highly democratic system, with decisions made using chemical 'votes' (cast by the workers; drones and queens don't have a say).

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