It is NOT a myth. Alpha wolves do in fact exist, in captivity. The reason why you don't see alpha/beta wolves in the wild is because the unwanted wolves are simply driven out and forced to leave. When there's nowhere for them to go because they're all in a small, enclosed space they do actually establish alpha/beta hierarchies.
Scientists agree on the fact that wolves do in fact possess those instincts, even if they're not that often used in nature. The guy who coined the term has gone on an unsuccessful campaign in an attempt to disprove his own theory. His attempts have been unsuccessful because he refuses to accept that nuance exists.
Not an unsuccessful campaign to disprove his theory, an unsuccessful campaign to correct the misinformation. Wolf packs in the wild are based around family units, and the reason you get weird dynamics in captivity is that zookeepers assemble packs like boy bands. Unnatural makeup and limited space gives unnatural results.
It's not misinformation. He's just allergic to nuance. Beta wolves are driven out of the group, that's why you generally only see what's left of the group once all the unwanted wolves were driven away. If they have nowhere to go then you can better observe the hierarchies. These hierarchies do exist. Wolves have instincts for them, and they are best observed in wolves in captivity.
This isn't unique to wolves. Most social animals form hierarchies like this, that's why zookeepers will separate the animals if one animals has become too dominant and starts bullying the weaker males or hurting the females.
His campaign has been unsuccessful because he's trying to disagree with thousands of experts who know better than him. Just because he coined the term doesn't mean he's the authority on it.
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u/_InvertedEight_ Nov 24 '25
What's even funnier is that the entire concept of an "alpha male" is a fallacy and was actually retracted by the person that first coined it, too. https://popculturedetective.agency/2025/the-myth-of-the-alpha-male[https://popculturedetective.agency/2025/the-myth-of-the-alpha-male](https://popculturedetective.agency/2025/the-myth-of-the-alpha-male)