(Phys.org) —A team of researchers with members from AEPA Euskadi in Spain and Hampshire College in Massachusetts has developed a computer model that shows that wolf pack behavior depends on the social structure of the pack as well as its size. In their paper published in Journal of the Royal Society: Interface, the team describes how their model works and what it shows regarding wolf pack behavior, particularly while hunting.
For perhaps thousands of years, people have known of the terrifying skill of wolf packs when hunting for prey. Victims are encircled, giving them no place to run while wolves in the pack take turns rushing in for the kill. What's not as well-known is pack dynamics, particularly when hunting is taking place. Studies of wolves in the past have led to theories of pack behavior based primarily on social structure—dominant wolves lead the less dominant. More difficult to study is what happens when wolves are on the hunt. To learn more, the researchers in this latest effort turned to computer modeling, based on prior field research by others.
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