What are the ranks in a wolf pack?
A wolf pack is led by a dominant male and female, who are called the alpha pair. They mate for life and are the only members of the pack to breed. The rest of the pack is made up of their siblings and/or offspring. Below the alpha pair is a second-in-command, called the beta wolf. Next come mid-ranked individuals, and at the bottom of the heap is the omega wolf, the lowest-ranked individual. (The names ‘alpha’, ‘beta’ and ‘omega’ come from letters of the Greek alphabet – alpha is the first, beta the second and omega the last). The different ranks do not have different jobs within the pack, except for the alpha pair being the only ones to breed – all members of the pack help to hunt, defend the territory and raise the young. EDIT: In response to Holly B’s answer, I’d just like to point out that dominance in a wolf pack is not necessarily about size and physical strength. It’s more to do with confidence and strength of character. In one of the packs I studied, the omega wolf was the larg
