How do individual wolves become pack leaders?
The leaders, or dominant wolves in a pack are called the alpha pair. There are usually the male and female wolves that have mated in the past and they are usually the only wolves in the pack to breed. They also select den and rendezvous sites. They can be recognized in a pack by tail position, with dominant wolves tending to hold their tails straight out. This posture is exhibited in normal social encounters as well as when an alpha asserts its dominance. The pack is a hierarchy. Struggles for dominance continually take place and an alpha wolf that shows weakness may be replaced.
