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Within the wolf pack, the breeding pair or the dominant breeding pair (in packs with multiple breeders), often referred to in familiar language as the "alpha pair" or the "alpha wolves", are typically the members of the family unit which breed and produce offspring; they are the matriarch and patriarch of the family. [15]
Later research on wild gray wolves revealed that the pack is usually a family consisting of a breeding pair and their offspring of the previous 1–3 years. In the article, Mech wrote that the use of the term "alpha" to describe the breeding pair adds no additional information, and is "no more appropriate than referring to a human parent or a ...
Canids tend to live as monogamous pairs. Wolves, dholes, coyotes, and jackals live in groups that include breeding pairs and their offspring. Wolves may live in extended family groups. To take prey larger than themselves, the African wild dog, the dhole, and the gray wolf depend on their jaws as they cannot use their forelimbs to grapple with prey.
A likely mechanism for avoidance of inbreeding is independent dispersal trajectories from the natal pack. Many of the young wolves spend time alone or in small non-breeding packs composed of unrelated individuals. The union of two unrelated individuals in a new home range is the predominant pattern of breeding pair formation. [34]
The breeding pair typically monopolizes food to continue producing pups. When food is scarce, this is done at the expense of other family members, especially non-pups. [23] The breeding pair typically eats first. They usually work the hardest at killing prey, and may rest after a long hunt and allow the rest of the family to eat undisturbed.
The African wolf's courtship rituals are remarkably long, during which the breeding pair remains almost constantly together. Prior to mating, the pair patrols and scent marks its territory. Copulation is preceded by the female holding her tail out and angled in such a way that her genitalia are exposed.
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He was an Alpha of the North East Atlantic Wolf Pack, the lover of Esther Mikaelson, the biological father of Klaus Mikaelson, and the grandfather of Hope Mikaelson. He was killed by Mikael, along with the majority of his pack, when Mikael discovered the affair between Ansel and Mikael's wife, Esther. Portrayed by Lloyd Owen. Mary Dumas The ...