>>13611028Wolves do in fact act according to the alpha/beta dichotomy, but not in nature. It's only when they're placed in an unnaturally small confined space with limited resources (ie, not enough to go around)do these kind of conflicts arrive. And it's not really an alpha-beta psychological thing, it's kind of like how crabs go on either a losing streak or a winning streak, but amplified, because one wolf is better fed and therefore stronger while the more malnourished one is weaker. And like with crabs, where different hormones trigger in response to victory or loss in a mating competition, these hormones affect their behavior in a way that influences their next battle to go a little bit more like their last victory or failure.
