Do the oldest and weakest wolves really lead the pack?

Every now and then there is a photo circulating on Facebook of a pack of wolves moving in single file through a snowy landscape.

This photo is about:

There is also this story:

A pack of wolves on the move.
The first 3 are older or sickly (red squiggle). They determine the speed of the pack. If it were the other way around, they would soon be left behind and lose contact with the pack. In the event of an ambush, they would be victims. They are followed by the 5 strongest (yellow marking). In the middle is the rest of the pack. And at the end 5 stronger ones again. The Alpha Wolf (blue arrow) goes last and alone.
He controls the overall situation from the back position. From here he can direct the entire group, decide which direction to take and be ready for possible attacks from opponents. The pack follows the walking rhythm of the elders and keeps in mind that the community spirit does not allow leaving anyone behind.

But is that actually true?

The fact check

The claim is not new. We reported on it back in 2016 and our colleagues at Snopes published a report on it in 2015.

This photo originates from the Guardian . However, in 2011 the photo appeared with a completely different description:

A massive pack of 25 timberwolves hunting bison on the Arctic circle in northern Canada. In mid-winter in Wood Buffalo National Park temperatures hover around -40C. The wolf pack, led by the alpha female, travel single-file through the deep snow to save energy. The size of the pack is a sign of how rich their prey base is during winter when the bison are more restricted by poor feeding and deep snow. The wolf packs in this National Park are the only wolves in the world that specialize in hunting bison ten times their size. They have grown to be the largest and most powerful wolves on earth

Photographer: Chadden Hunter/BBC NHU

According to the source, it is a pack of 25 timber wolves from Canada, led by a strong alpha female.

As the strongest in the pack, she leads the way - the others follow in her footsteps to save energy.

Oh! This means that exactly the opposite of the text above is described on Facebook.

Even though this is a fairly “harmless” example of “images taken out of context,” it is very clear that not everything that our gullible friends throw at us in the News Feed should not be taken at face value.

Running in other people's footsteps saves energy, but it's pretty boring in the long run, right? *wink from the editorial team*

Link to original post: www.mimikama.org