We take metaphors from nature around us: the Wolf being more favoured than the ant-eater or gerbil, which, to be frank, resemble many a fellow these days.
And the leader of the pack is most favoured and quoted? The Alpha Male. Fierce, dominant, muscular, aggressive. He is 'In Charge'. The image is part of our modern consciousness of what a man should be. And completely misguided.
There’s a photo of a wolf pack walking in a straight line with a caption that claims the first three wolves are old or sick and set the pace for the rest of the pack.
These images and rumors about the behavior of wolf packs are false.
Indeed, ridiculous.They cropped up on social media and image sharing sites in December 2015. A photo shows 25 wolves walking in a single file line through a snow-covered wilderness with a caption that claims:
“A wolf pack: the first 3 are the old or sick, they give the pace to the entire pack. If it was the other way round, they would be left behind, losing contact with the pack. In case of an ambush they would be sacrificed. Then come 5 strong ones, the front line. In the center are the rest of the pack members, then the 5 strongest following. Last is alone, the Alpha. He controls everything from the rear. In that position he can see everything, decide the direction. He sees all of the pack. The pack moves according to the elders pace and help each other, watch each other.”
That makes for a compelling and inspirational story about teamwork — but it’s not true.
David Attenborough took the photo in question for the BBC’s “Frozen Planet” Series in 2011. It shows 25 timber wolves hunting bison in Wood Buffalo National Park in Canada.
Just how the Bro knew the leader was a female, at that distance, I shall leave you to work out.The female alpha wolf led the pack, and the others followed in a single file line to save energy as they made their way through deep snow, according to the environmental website Benvironment.
Hmmmm. Out in the wild maybe. Humans are at the top of the food chain. WE eat almost anything that moves !!
Wolf packs are typically about half the size of the pack pictured in the photo from 2011. Most packs don’t hunt prey the size of bison (which is 10 times the size of a wolf), but the larger pack is able to. And the wolves walking in a single file line through deep snow is a classic example of how they’re able to use weather conditions to their advantage while hunting prey that’s much larger than them.
Also, the idea that wolves have to be on the lookout for “ambushes” or attacks isn’t true, either. Wolves are at the top of the food chain and have no natural predators.
Female Alpha? Is there such a thing?Aside from turf battles with other wolves (which wouldn’t start in an ambush) bears are the only threat to wolves in Canada. Even so, experts say that bears are only able to prey on wolf pups because grown wolves are too fast, swift and clever to get caught by them.
Better to ask 'Is there such a thing an an Alpha at all'?
Brett from the Art of Manliness put us right.
How to REALLY Be Alpha Like the Wolf
Scroll through some young guy’s Tumblr or Instagram feed and you’re bound to find a picture of a menacing-looking wolf with blood around its chops or a lone wolf howling at the moon.
Superimposed on this image is invariably a quote in big bold lettering — some kind of edgy, muscular platitude about ignoring your haters, striking out on your own, and dominating everyone in sight.
You know, being a straight up alpha wolf.
The idea of there being alpha (and beta) wolves originated from Rudolph Schenkel of the University of Basel in Switzerland, who studied a pack of wolves living at a zoo in the 1940s.
Schenkel observed that the wolves competed for status within their own sex, and that from these rivalries emerged a kind of “alpha pair” — a “lead wolf” that was the top male dog, and a “bitch” that was the top female dog.
Then in 1970, American scientist L. David Mech wrote a book called The Wolf, which expanded on Schenkel’s research and popularized the idea of alpha and beta wolves and the leader/subordinate social dynamic of wolf packs.
Both researchers described this dynamic as a competition for rank, with alphas being those who were domineering, aggressive, and violent, and used these qualities to fight off rivals to become the supreme leader of the pack.
Popular culture soon took this conception of the alpha wolf, along with the whole alpha vs beta distinction, and applied it to humans — especially men.
Hence, the idea that to be an alpha male, you’ve got to take no prisoners, f*** s*** up each and every day, take what’s yours, and never say sorry.
There’s just one problem with this idea.
The research it’s based on turned out to be hugely flawed.
Below, we’ll explore the myth and reality of the alpha wolf. As we’ll see, looking to wolves for inspiration for human conduct can actually be useful and inspiring, but only if you’ve got a correct conception for what that behavior consists of.
Here’s what it really means to be alpha like the wolf.
The Myth and Reality of the Alpha Wolf
For most of the 20th century, researchers believed that gray wolf packs formed each winter among independent and unrelated wolves that lived near each other. They had reached this conclusion from observing groups of wolves that had been taken from various zoos and thrown together in captivity.
Under these circumstances, researchers observed that wolves would organize the pack hierarchy based on physical aggression and dominance.
The alpha male wolf, indeed, was the wolf that kicked ass and took names.
Instead of forming packs of unrelated individuals, in which alphas compete to rise to the top, researchers discovered that
wild wolf packs actually consist of little nuclear wolf families.
Wolves are in fact a generally monogamous species, in which males and females pair off and mate for life.
Together they form a pack that typically consists of 5-11 members — the mate pair plus their children, who stay with the pack until they’re about a year old, and then go off to secure their own mates and form their own packs.
The mate pair shares in the responsibility of leading their family and tending to their pups. In 21st century human terminology, they “co-parent.”
And by virtue of being parents, and leading their “subordinate” children, the mates represent a pair of “alphas.” The alpha male, or papa wolf, sits at the top of the male hierarchy in the family and the alpha female, or mamma wolf, sits atop the female hierarchy in the family.
In other words, male alpha wolves don’t gain their status through aggression and the dominance of other males, but because the other wolves in the pack are his mate and kiddos.
He’s the pack patriarch.
The Pater Familias.
Dear Old Dad.
So if you want to truly become alpha like a wolf, you’ll need to do more than become a beast in the gym, and strive to overcome your competitors. You’ll also need to become a committed and dedicated family man — a loving and protective father.
While I’ve always loved wolves and their wildness, after learning more about the nuances of their social dynamics, I’ve fallen in love with them even more. The wolf is a nearly perfect symbol of the ideal of masculinity that I’m trying to get across here at Art of Manliness.
Like alpha wolves, I want to see men who tackle life’s adventure with their mates by their side, and lead their families with heart and strength.
I want to see men who have the ability to marshal the hard tactical virtues of masculinity when needed against external threats, but temper that ferocity with softer virtues like compassion and gentleness, particularly towards those they love.
In short, the male alpha wolf is the totem animal of the Gentleman Barbarian.
So by all means, continue sharing your savage wolf memes on Instagram and Tumblr. Wolves are awesome. But know that gray wolves howl to assemble their mate and pups before and after a hunt, to warn them of danger, and to locate each other during a storm, when traversing unfamiliar territory, or when separated over a great distance.
It is of passing interest, for those that wish to invite it in for a chat, that Our Father, yes, Him who is my Supplier, is not only the Alpha, but the Omega too. No beta in between. He knows how to sacrifice to achieve the needed balance that keeps the Universe turning and the Tavern stocked.It’s the call not of the angry, antisocial lone wolf, but of a father who’s leading, guiding, and lovingly gathering his pack.
He also made us Man and Woman. Not dog and bitch. Not wolves. We are meant to be together and raise pups.... er.. families, with lots of children.
But like the wolves in Zoos, we are caged in by lies and falsehoods, mendacities and false imagery about ourselves. It is not the best environment for our proper nature to thrive.
We know not what we do. But we have to try anyway. Mums and dads, alphas in their own homes, have to sniff out the right path, find the sustenance, guard against foes (politicians, entertainers, purveyors of soft drinks, teachers, feminists.... the list of foes is frankly enormous) and learn the lessons that Our Father - the One and Ultimate Dear Old Dad - has imparted.
We have to breed Quality.
As for 'Masculine', after a lifetime of being a man, studying men (and women and pups), leading men, yes, even fighting and healing them and pulling Ale for them, I have only the feint shadowy ideas that most have about what we human beings are supposed to be like.
One day, if I make it Home, I shall be shown. I look forward to being even more astonished than I have been so far.
And, lastly, look at what the Wolf has given to us.
Dogs. Man's best friend.
Have an fine Ale and think about it.
Pax
Excellent article, my friend ☺️. I love the cute video at the end.....
ReplyDelete- Shiloh 😉
I thought you would like that. :) And the viewpoints discussed.
DeleteVery well said. Good points throughout. Masculinity is far from toxic, men need to be men. We can learn a lot from the wolves...
ReplyDeleteMasculinity has a bad press at the moment, amongst those who have little hope of ever being masculine. We need to seek out those talents, abilities and virtues that are the keynotes.
DeleteFascinating article on wolves, especially that bit about three wolves out in front.
ReplyDeleteThe old and infirm are really treated better.
DeleteA sad and cute story about an 'alpha dog'. The dog was a manic Beagle, extremely excitable, needing a bit of love and calming down.
ReplyDeleteThe family he lived with included two excitable young children who loved to play as did the dog.
The adults in the family had an odd way of trying to settle the dog down. I won't go into it here but it always upset me.
I tried a different approach when he was being boisterous and just placed my hand on his back near his tail to sit him down next to me. He always sat quietly (companionably not submissively) until other people in the room wound him up into a frenzy again! They said the dog had an issue and was uncontrollable?
One day we we were sitting in the garden whilst a barbeque lunch was being cooked. Beagle dog was running around manically in the garden with the children. Manic dogs and children in a garden can be ignored ;-) Beagle dog did what dogs often do... snapped at a wasp and inevitable got stung on the nose!
What did he do? He came running and sat underneath the chair I was sitting on because he knew he would be safe there. He stayed there for more than half an hour :-)
Perhaps a little of topic... but your post brought back this memory :-)
It is a notable feature of much of the scientific study of animals, that the personality of the creatures gets little column space. Owners too ! Hahaha. It sounds as though you took comfort in one another.
Delete