Twenty Degrees Below

science-junkie: Why everything you know about wolf packs is...

Fri, 24 May 2013 04:22:13 +0200

Why everything you know about wolf packs is wrong
By Lauren Davis

The alpha wolf is a figure that looms large in our imagination. The notion of a supreme pack leader who fought his way to dominance and reigns superior to the other wolves in his pack informs both our fiction and is how many people understand wolf behavior. But the alpha wolf doesn’t exist—at least not in the wild…

Although the notions of “alpha wolf” and “alpha dog” seem thoroughly ingrained in our language, the idea of the alpha comes from Rudolph Schenkel, an animal behaviorist who, in 1947, published the then-groundbreaking paper “Expressions Studies on Wolves.” During the 1930s and 1940s, Schenkel studied captive wolves in Switzerland’s Zoo Basel, attempting to identify a “sociology of the wolf.”

In his research, Schenkel identified two primary wolves in a pack: a male “lead wolf” and a female “bitch.” He described them as “first in the pack group.” He also noted “violent rivalries” between individual members of the packs… Thus, the alpha wolf was born. Throughout his paper, Schenkel also draws frequent parallels between wolves and domestic dogs, often following his conclusions with anecdotes about our household canines. The implication is clear: wolves live in packs in which individual members vie for dominance and dogs, their domestic brethren, must be very similar indeed.

A key problem with Schenkel’s wolf studies is that, while they represented the first close study of wolves, they didn’t involve any study of wolves in the wild… In more recent years, animal behaviorists, including [wildlife biologist L. David] Mech, have spent more and more time studying wolves in the wild, and the behaviors they have observed has been different from those observed by Schenkel and other watchers of zoo-bound wolves. In 1999, Mech’s paper “Alpha Status, Dominance, and Division of Labor in Wolf Packs” was published in the Canadian Journal of Zoology. The paper is considered by many to be a turning point in understanding the structure of wolf packs…

Mech’s studies of wild wolves have found that wolves live in families: two parents along with their younger cubs. Wolves do not have an innate sense of rank; they are not born leaders or born followers. The “alphas” are simply what we would call in any other social group “parents.” The offspring follow the parents as naturally as they would in any other species. No one has “won” a role as leader of the pack; the parents may assert dominance over the offspring by virtue of being the parents. While the captive wolf studies saw unrelated adults living together in captivity, related, rather than unrelated, wolves travel together in the wild. Younger wolves do not overthrow the “alpha” to become the leader of the pack; as wolf pups grow older, they are dispersed from their parents’ packs, pair off with other dispersed wolves, have pups, and thus form packs of their owns.

This doesn’t mean that wolves don’t display social dominance, however… Wolves (and other animals, including humans), display social dominance, it just isn’t always easy to boil dominant behavior down to simple explanations. Dominant behavior and dominance relationships can be highly situational, and can vary greatly from individual to individual even within the same species. It’s not the entire concept of wolves displaying social dominance that was dispelled, just the simple hierarchical pack structure…

Source: io9.com

Images credit: Caninest - Michael Cummings

raphacoot: Instant Crush // Daft Punk

Fri, 24 May 2013 02:11:17 +0200

raphacoot:

Instant Crush // Daft Punk

pythosblaze: Aquamarine! My birthstone :D

Thu, 23 May 2013 21:49:25 +0200

pythosblaze:

Aquamarine!

My birthstone :D

faetrouble: coketalk: Contact - Daft Punk The new Daft Punk...

Thu, 23 May 2013 19:38:26 +0200

faetrouble:

coketalk:

Contact - Daft Punk

The new Daft Punk album leaked all over the internet today, and holy shit, I think I got some in my hair.

(Seriously, though. How fucking insane is this track?!)

Jesus fuck

on a scale of one to ‘still got it’

Daft Punk has fucking knocked it out of orbit.

drownedinspace: C is for Cyberdramon! Also (fucking) crazy!

Thu, 23 May 2013 17:27:27 +0200

drownedinspace:

C is for Cyberdramon! Also (fucking) crazy!

scarletsoldier21: Son Of Man- Phil Collins Trazan Soundtrack...

Thu, 23 May 2013 15:16:49 +0200

scarletsoldier21:

Son Of Man- Phil Collins

Trazan Soundtrack (1999)

Photo

Thu, 23 May 2013 13:05:51 +0200

!

Thu, 23 May 2013 10:54:53 +0200

k1mkardashian: thr3mix-moosick: Daft Punk | Give Life Back to...

Thu, 23 May 2013 08:43:56 +0200

k1mkardashian:

thr3mix-moosick:

Daft Punk | Give Life Back to Music

OH MY GOD IT LEAKED

drownedinspace: Glance

Thu, 23 May 2013 06:33:08 +0200

drownedinspace:

Glance

drownedinspace: A Million Thoughts

Thu, 23 May 2013 04:22:22 +0200

drownedinspace:

A Million Thoughts

Fuck. I really want one of those fucking plush Boxer Hockey frogs. GODDAMN COMMERCIALS ARE STARTING...

Thu, 23 May 2013 03:58:09 +0200

Fuck. I really want one of those fucking plush Boxer Hockey frogs.

GODDAMN COMMERCIALS ARE STARTING TO HAVE AN EFFECT ON ME!

…

And seriously “Frogstarter”.

Fuckin’ brilliant.

devilonadinosaur: Illustration by Paul Pope

Thu, 23 May 2013 02:11:19 +0200

devilonadinosaur:

Illustration by Paul Pope

tomblalaw: This Actually Happens A Lot My fourth year film from...

Wed, 22 May 2013 21:49:17 +0200

tomblalaw:

This Actually Happens A Lot

My fourth year film from CalArts

psshaw: riddlesphinx: Track of the Week: I have a habit of...

Wed, 22 May 2013 19:38:41 +0200

psshaw:

riddlesphinx:

Track of the Week: I have a habit of throwing this song around whenever I join some new social media site, but did I ever show you the official music video? Dear lord, out of context fifties footage is my new favourite thing.

MAJOR PARKINSON - Heart of Hickory

artandetcetera: Various works by Unagi Kaisen (a.k.a. うなぎ海鮮)

Wed, 22 May 2013 17:27:42 +0200

Where Can You Be Reached

Landscape

Wasureta Kana

artandetcetera:

Various works by Unagi Kaisen (a.k.a. うなぎ海鮮)

rhamphotheca: Angry Pacific Giant Octopus Escapes Boat Through...

Wed, 22 May 2013 15:16:33 +0200

rhamphotheca:

Angry Pacific Giant Octopus Escapes Boat Through Impossible Hole

Video shot by Chance Miller. Filmed near the Chiswell Islands, Alaska.

(credit: millerslandingak.com)

Photo

Wed, 22 May 2013 13:05:59 +0200

Awesome things about the late shift: Getting up at 11am and still having a chill morning. 3am and...

Wed, 22 May 2013 11:24:02 +0200

Awesome things about the late shift:

Getting up at 11am and still having a chill morning.
3am and still not alseep? No prob, just sleep a little longer in the morning. Maybe until 12 or whatever. Is fine.
Don’t need to open up the store, just close it down, infinitely less work (and also way less stressful).

Not quite so awesome things about the late shift:

Home really fucking late.
Family dinner is no-go.
Public transport at night.

radicaldames: Badass Female Athletes: Samantha Wright Samantha...

Wed, 22 May 2013 10:54:59 +0200

radicaldames:

Badass Female Athletes: Samantha Wright

Samantha Wright is a former competitive gymnast but has moved to competitive weightlighting. She was the coach of the USA Gymnastics team for three years, but now trains at Crossfit. She qualified to compete in the Olympics in weightlifting at the national level, so she’s a possible contender in the 2016 games. Her nickname is the Pixie Warrior, which is also pretty badass. She also placed in the top 10 at last year’s USA National Senior Weightlifting Championships. Despite her small stature, she can snatch 145 lbs. and clean and jerk 170 lbs.