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The Alpha Wolf
This cartoon is by me and Nadine Scholtes. And just look at how adorable the wolf pups she drew are!
The term “alpha wolf” was coined in 1947 by biologist Rudolph Schenkel.
At that time, science knew very little about wolves. About all science knew–and that means that’s all Schenkel would have known–is that they live in a pack. He knew they howled and all that. But as far as their social structure was concerned, they live in a group of animals. And he wanted to study the behavior of animals in a group–in this case, the wolves–and so he wanted to do that in captivity.
To do that, he had to make a pack. And so he just got a bunch of wolves– one or two from some zoo somewhere, another couple from another place– threw them all together, and that was his wolf pack.
Schenkel then observed the wolves fighting for dominance – but a wolf “pack” formed in captivity, with unrelated wolves thrown together willy-nilly, won’t act like wolves in nature do. But Schenkel didn’t know that.
When keeping wolves in captivity, humans typically throw together adult animals with no shared kinship. In these cases, a dominance hierarchy arises, Mech adds, but it’s the animal equivalent of what might happen in a human prison, not the way wolves behave when they are left to their own devices.
In contrast, wild wolf packs are usually made up of a breeding male, a breeding female and their offspring from the past two or three years that have not yet set out on their own—perhaps six to 10 individuals. …Infighting for dominance is basically unheard of in a typical pack.
Wildlife biologists have known the “alpha wolf” is a myth for decades. But the term persists, mainly because some people really like the myth. They’re really excited by the image of a strong, dominant man dominating others through sheer physical strength.
To be fair, a lot of people are excited by that image – which is why we see it over and over in action movies, and of course, in superhero stories.
I don’t think there’s anything wrong with having fun watching a Jason Statham movie. But for some people, the alpha wolf myth is compelling not just because it’s fun to watch a hero kick a heel, but because they use it to legitimize their sexist beliefs as natural. I don’t say men should dominate because I’m a misogynist – I’m just reporting what nature says! Don’t shoot the messenger!
And even people who aren’t that extreme might still be influenced by a watered-down version of the alpha male myth. Men – to be properly male – are expected to be confident, strong, take-charge, and emotionally muted. That stereotype long precedes the term “alpha wolf,” of course; but I think that pre-existing cultural belief is one reason the alpha wolf myth took off.
This is an aside, but do you ever wonder why Superman is so muscular? It’s not like he exercises to be able to juggle trucks; there’s no in-story reason he can’t be a scrawny dude with a bit of a potbelly juggling trucks. The answer, obviously, is that comics artists and readers – and also, filmmakers and film audiences – want to be able to see Superman’s power and dominance at a glance.
I offered this cartoon to Nadine to draw because I thought she’d have fun drawing the wolves in panel four. As expected, she did a terrific job with the whole cartoon. For some reason the blatant way the “alpha” and the maid are eying each other in panel two really cracks me up.
Hey, while we’re doing animal myths:
1) Ostriches don’t bury their heads in the sand when frightened. (They do bury their nests and stick their heads in the hole now and then to turn their eggs).
2) Bats aren’t blind.
3) Elephants, like humans, can be startled by unexpected scurrying near the ground, but no, they’re not terrified of mice.
You may have already known all that. But did you know that every time you debunk an animal myth, you’re harming cartoonists? We depend on those myths to earn our livelihoods! Why do you hate us so much, wildlife biologists?
TRANSCRIPT OF CARTOON
This cartoon has four panels.
PANEL 1
A man in a yellow shirt is at a bus stop, cheerfully lecturing the other two people at the stop.
MAN: “Feminization” has warped society. If we lived as nature intended I’d be the alpha wolf!
PANEL 2
The man with a huge thought balloon, showing him imagining walking with one hand holding a bloody axe and the other around a woman’s waist. A second woman, in a maid outfit, is carrying a tray of cake and steak. A third woman looks at him adoringly.
MAN: And the alpha wolf gets the first pick of everything! The best food, the best mates!
PANEL 3
MAN: That’s how men should live. I wish I was a wolf in the wild!
PANEL 4
Inside a wolf den, two adult wolves are talking. There are four kids (three small puppies, one medium sized) and a dead rabbit.
CAPTION: Wolves in the Wild
DAD WOLF: First the little ones eat, then the rest of us will.
MOM WOLF: And then — cuddle pile!
PUPPY: Yay!
CHICKEN FAT WATCH
“Chicken fat” is an archaic cartoonists’ term for unimportant little details in the art.
PANEL 1 – The tattoo is of a German cartoon mouse named Diddl, holding a heart.
A poster says “HEY YOU! READ THIS! Wow, I can’t believe you’re reading this just because I said to.”
Another poster shows a cool woman in sunglasses holding a guitar. Text says “YET ANOTHER BAND… you’re not cool enough to know.”
A pigeon standing on the sidewalk is wearing sunglasses and smoking a cigarette.
PANEL 3 – A poster has a picture of the panel 1 pigeon, with the caption “BEWARE Bad Pigeon.”
The guy waiting at the bus stop is miming shooting himself in the head so he doesn’t have to listen to this alpha wolf prattle any more.
The woman’s tattoo now shows the character Superjhemp (a parody of Superman and other superheroes). He’s very popular in Luxembourg – “he has appeared in over 29 graphic novels that have the highest sales rate for Luxembourgish publications.”
