Biggest Myth in Science: The “Alpha Wolf”

The idea of the “alpha wolf” is a myth. But the parasite controlling wolves from their brains? THAT is real

For decades we thought wolf packs had dominance hierarchies with alphas at the top. Turns out they’re just families, as in literal parents and their offspring.

So why did this myth spread? A scientist studied captive, unrelated wolves in confined zoo spaces and saw aggression & dominance. We then assumed that’s how ALL wolves behave.

But there is such thing as a lone wolf!Wolves infected with Toxoplasma gondii (yes, the cat litter parasite) are 46x more likely to become pack leaders. The parasite manipulates their brains to make them more aggressive and risk-taking.
A brainless organism controlling apex predators thousands of times its size. Now THAT’S some major alpha energy.

Read more here: “Parasitic infection increases risk-taking in a social, intermediate host carnivore” published in Nature

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