Interesting tidbit on wolves
Posted: Thu Jun 16, 2011 1:22 amI was reading a book chronicling a semi-captive pack of wolves - Wolves at Our Door - and a latter chapter describing wolf mating season caught my eye:
"There are plenty of wonderful things to say about wolves, about the way they communicate and care for each other. Unfortunately, the competition for the alpha female is not one of those things. There is no way to sugar-coat it. It is a brutal competition for the right to pass on one's genes. The males are comparatively laid-back, sorting out their status through threats and bluffs. The females draw blood.
To say that the alpha male chooses his mate is really an oversimplification. In our observation, one female eliminated her competition, making herself, in effect, the alpha male's only 'choice.' [One wolf] did this in a variety of ways, the least pleasant of which was to attack [another wolf's] hindquarters, leaving her, I'm sure, in too much pain to breed."
Hmm...sound familiar?
"There are plenty of wonderful things to say about wolves, about the way they communicate and care for each other. Unfortunately, the competition for the alpha female is not one of those things. There is no way to sugar-coat it. It is a brutal competition for the right to pass on one's genes. The males are comparatively laid-back, sorting out their status through threats and bluffs. The females draw blood.
To say that the alpha male chooses his mate is really an oversimplification. In our observation, one female eliminated her competition, making herself, in effect, the alpha male's only 'choice.' [One wolf] did this in a variety of ways, the least pleasant of which was to attack [another wolf's] hindquarters, leaving her, I'm sure, in too much pain to breed."
Hmm...sound familiar?