“The concept of the pecking order became very popular. This describes how chickens can be aggressive towards birds below them in the social hierarchy, but not towards those above them. Schjelderup-Ebbe established the term "pecking order " in the 1920s to describe relationships among chickens. Pecking orderĪnother Norwegian, Thorleif Schjelderup-Ebbe, also contributed with important insights. Her dissertation describes research on pack structure in wolves, and how it in turn affected views on dog training. In 2015, she completed her doctorate on “Power and meaning in the conflict zones over keeping dogs”. Rudolf Schenkel's work had great influence, said Ane Møller Gabrielsen, a senior research librarian at NTNU, the Norwegian University of Science and Technology. But this information was overlooked.Īne Møller Gabrielsen is a senior research librarian at NTNU. "By continuously controlling and suppressing all types of competition within the same sex, both ‘alpha animals’ defend their social position,” Schenkel wrote.Īccording to another well-known wolf researcher, David Mech, it was Schenkel's work that gave rise to the idea of the alpha wolf, according to The International Wolf Center website.Īs early as 1947, Schenkel mentioned that it was possible that wild wolf packs consisted of a monogamous pair, their puppies and one- to two-year-old pups. He saw that the highest ranked female and male formed a pair, and that the hierarchy could change. Schenkel studied wolves at the Basel Zoo in Switzerland, where up to ten wolves were kept together in an area of 10 by 20 metres. Rudolf Schenkel wrote about social structure and body language among wolves in 1947. So how did the idea for the alpha wolf come about? (Photo: Andrew Astbury / Shutterstock / NTB) Battle for leadership in captivity
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