Hello and welcome to the rank thread of Liulfr. Wondering what rank your wolf is? Confused and want to know what a particular rank does? Or do you just want to know how many males and how many females there are in the pack? Well, this is the place to be! Read on down for more information. Please also remember that names are clickable, and that if you click them, it will take you to the wolf’s profile. Thank you.
THE RANKS!
ALPHAS: Cælestis and None.
BETAS: None and None.
PACK MEMBERS: Lucian, Ricochet, Night.
OMEGA: None.
RANK INFORMATION!
In a pack of wolves, the Alphas are always at the top of the rank hierarchy. They are responsible for keeping the pack’s family ties alive, and during meetings, they only act for the benefit of the pack. Alphas are usually the only pair out of the pack that breed – but Betas (see below) are also allowed to mate. The Alphas usually organize hunts and are the ones to discipline a pack member if they do something wrong.
Second to the Alphas are the Betas. The Betas are like the second–in–command for the pack; they reinforce the rules when the Alphas are not present and they back up the Alphas during pack meetings and such. They are allowed to mate freely, and they are usually the ones to break up fights that happen within the pack. Betas are the wolves that bring up the Alpha pair’s litter and may act as surrogate parents to the litter if the Alphas are away; and during pack meetings, they, too, aid decisions that are made for the benefit of the pack.
The wolves that make up the rest of the pack are known as pack members. They consist of the Alpha and Beta litters – and maybe even litters from some of the pack members; but they also consist of both males and females. These are the wolves that participate in most of the hunts and participate in the rallies that are held, as well as howling sessions. They don’t have specific duties and they generally pick on the lowest–ranking member of the pack: the Omega.
The Omega is the lowest–ranking member of the pack. They are constantly picked on by the pack members and the higher–ranking wolves; and the ways that they are picked on can vary from constant dominance from other members of the pack to physical harassment. The Omega is often excluded from pack rallies and such, and may often be forced to sleep away from the pack.
OTHER STATISTICS!
FEMALES: 2.
MALES: 2.
LITTERS: 0.
Rank order within a pack is established and maintained through a series of ritualized fights and posturing best described as "ritual bluffing". Wolves prefer psychological warfare to physical confrontations, meaning that high-ranking status is based more on personality or attitude than on size or physical strength.
Loss of rank can happen gradually or suddenly. An older wolf may simply choose to give way when a motivated challenger presents itself, yielding its position without bloodshed. On the other hand, the challenged individual may choose to fight back, with varying degrees of intensity.
While the majority of wolf aggression is non-damaging and ritualized, a high-stakes fight can easily result in injury for either or both parties. The loser of such a confrontation is frequently chased away from the pack or, rarely, may be killed as other aggressive wolves contribute to the insurgency. This kind of dominance encounter is more common during the mating season.
While most alpha pairs stay mates for life, there are exceptions. An alpha animal may preferentially mate with a lower-ranking animal, especially if the other alpha is closely related (a brother or sister, for example). The death of one alpha does not affect the status of the other alpha, who will quickly take another mate.
All the wolves in the pack assist in raising wolf pups. Some mature individuals, usually females, may choose to stay in the original pack so as to reinforce it and help rear more pups. However, most will disperse, males particularly.
The following bullet points were taken from
Wikipedia.
This thread was last updated on the 27th October 2006 at 3:53PM, GMT.
Pack Ranks.
