Submitted by: aka.attrition
This picture floated around the internet some time ago showing a pack of wolves walking single-file through the snow. The wolves appear to be walking in a number of distinct groups within this line and with a single, lone wolf bringing up the rear.
When asked to offer a commentary on this picture most would suggest that the alpha-male is leading the pack with the old and sick at the end of the line falling further and further behind. Behind the leader are the two or three strongest wolves that will one day look to challenge him for leadership. In the middle, making up the bulk of the pack, are the females and younger wolves. They walk in single-file making it easier when going through thick snow and creating an obvious trail to follow.
However, maybe that’s not the story. Perhaps there is another story which the image inspires which is far more poignant and insightful than the seemingly obvious but mundane explanation. Perhaps the wolves are far cleverer than we imagine. Perhaps they are far more interested in the survival of the group rather than the individual and value all the members for the different roles and contributions that each can make, whether old or young and whether now or in the months and years to come. There is a different life-lesson story in this image for those of us who are drawn to sites like The Burning Platform; the unconventional, independent, non-establishment thinkers, and mainstream narrative skeptics. Those of us who are family oriented and understand the value of community and friendship above individual egos. Those with an ingrained sense of integrity, honor, and duty.
The alternate and far more inspiring story that I remember associated with this image goes something like this.
The first three are the old and frail, they set the pace for the whole pack. If it was the other way round and walked at the end of the line they would fall further and further behind, losing contact with the more able-bodied, eventually succumbing to nature or attack from the rear. Unable to defend themselves and without support of the group they would be lost to the pack and with them any knowledge and wisdom they had accumulated in their lifetimes.
Next come five strong wolves, not the strongest in the pack but dependable fighters making up the front-line in the defense.
Behind the front-line defenders comes the bulk of the pack; these are the young, the less experienced, and others who bring a variety of skills and value to the pack at large.
Behind the bulk of the pack come the five strongest wolves, the soldiers, survivors of previous encounters, and battled hardened. They provide protection against any attack from the rear and are in a perfect position to see any potential threats the pack may be walking into.
And finally, at the end and often walking alone, is the leader. From his position he can see the entire pack and how they are faring. He sets the direction and can call out instructions. The pack moves at the pace of the elders and the entire group works as a unit, as a community, an invisible bond binding them all to a greater goal than personal agendas.
The true leader leads from behind.
Now, I don’t know if this is the truth of wolf pack behavior or not but it resonates with me as a beautiful analogy of how to live and work and laugh and be of service with other like-minded people in this journey that we are all part of.
No matter our position in the wolf-pack line there is a role to play; to lead, to follow, to fight, to heal, to teach, to learn, to give, and to take. And with time the roles change; the leader becomes the follower, the student becomes the teacher, the soldier becomes the mentor, the child becomes the parent, the young become the old, and the strong become the weak. Time waits for no man and for no wolf.
Personally speaking life has played out so that I have almost always been a lone wolf. Circumstances, life, the universe, whatever the rhyme or reason, have arranged things so that I have always worked mostly alone, often online, and with relatively frequent geographically dispersed relocations making building or becoming part of a larger community much harder. It has its own pros and cons, no doubt, and I wouldn’t want it any other way for myself but if you find yourself in a wolf pack then value that community, that bond; it is a treasure beyond material wealth and especially in the days to come. But then, if you are in a wolf pack, you knew that already and I’m just preaching to the converted.
The lead wolf is the smartest with the best nose for trouble. He never knows what crazy sh*t he’s going to run into, so he has to be ready to deal with it and also sets direction. He’s often the #2 in the pack. When he runs into something bad, he has the toughest and strongest at his back and they bring hell to the fight in an instant. Always always support your point man, no matter what the cost.
I think I have to agree. I used to work with dogs. You can learn a surprising amount about humans, group dynamics, and non-verbal communication by observing how dogs behave when in large packs.
Almost always, the strongest and most alpha dogs will want to lead, for a number of reasons. Wolves don’t strike me as smarter than dogs, but there probably is some reason to their order when moving. Nature always surprises me.
The science says that the genetic distance between scandinavians and sub-saharan africans is the same as that between coyotes and wolves. Read into that what you will.
Some dog breeds have a bit of coyote in them. I owned one, and he was a wonderful little dog- absolutely fearless, and the most handsome of his breed I’d seen anywhere. Blue leopard catahoulas, they call them. Mine was a rescue, a little street dog who used to eat out of the dumpster. It was always funny to watch him interact with all the bigger and older dogs. They always granted his bad little ass respect even tho he was a puppy. It was fascinating to watch.
An extremely rare breed of dog with two noses lives in south america.
The Spanish left some of their ancient Germanic war dogs in Brazil and uruguay, where they became adapted to living in the jungles, hunting in packs. The Cimarron Uruguayo is the national breed of uruguay.
Other rare breeds include the “Aryan Molossus”
The nemet Puli from central asia
And the alabai/central asian landraces
I miss my Catahoula. “Zydeco” was the best dog I ever had and I’ve had a lot.
To me , dogs are human’s closest connection to nature.
Elk herds in fall have a similar tactic as they have to deal with wolves.
The oldest, smartest cows walk point, alert for trouble. The rest of the
cows and yearling bulls follow. The mighty herd bull goes last, keeping
an eye on his harem and challenging anything that threatens them,
including predators. The rest of the lesser bulls are expendable and are
on their own. At the end of the rut, the bulls come together and become
a bachelor herd, cows stay together all year around.
“The science says that the genetic distance between scandinavians and sub-saharan africans is the same as that between coyotes and wolves.”
And yet, coyotes and wolves are categorized as completely different species, but SSA’s and NE’s are somehow, “the same” species.
Let me ask you this, what do your EYES tell you when you compare the progression of civilization achievement between NE’s and SSA’s?
Noticing is forbidden.
Trust the political science.
Truly, if you have nothing to say, you have nothing to fear.
The genetic distance between Africans and North Asians…Chinese… is even greater….
wolves are much more intelligent than domesticated dogs b/c they have to think to survive —
I can think of several breeds that have to use judgement superior to anything a wolf has to handle.
since all dogs descend from wolves your attempt at a point is probably moot. fact is this is discussed in science circles often as well as psych studies that have actually developed a scale for intellect in canines and wolves are far more intelligent than their breed out genetic cousins, the domesticated dogs.
Assumed– there are no transitional fossils showing that dogs once were wolves. This is an assumption based on genetic manipulation and breeding by humans for appx 10k years ( not my theory- trust “the science”)
There is no doubt a relation in all cannids- even a chihuahua has distinct, basic similarities to a wolf ( nasal cavity, upright ears, eye placement, teeth configuration etc) but I’m just saying, I’ve never seen EVIDENCE that dogs were ever fully of the wolf ancestry. This is just evolutionary assumption that all canines descended from an original species.
That Aryan Molussus’ll bite-chu!
Shotgun Trooper,
Never walked point…but when I heard ‘Guns Up’ it was time to start talking.
*
” Perhaps there is another story which the image inspires which is far more poignant and insightful than the seemingly obvious but mundane explanation. Perhaps the wolves are far cleverer than we imagine. Perhaps they are far more interested in the survival of the group rather than the individual and value all the members for the different roles and contributions that each can make, whether old or young and whether now or in the months and years to come. There is a different life-lesson story in this image for those of us who are drawn to sites like The Burning Platform; the unconventional, independent, non-establishment thinkers, and mainstream narrative skeptics. Those of us who are family oriented and understand the value of community and friendship above individual egos. Those with an ingrained sense of integrity, honor, and duty.”
* Once Upon a Time? i DID imagine that there was in fact NO Heaven. AND ALL the attendant Issues. COUNTED on it.
Sincerely, Nevermore Behind me
I guessed about the same thing from the lineup. Reminds me of infantry squad movement to contact. You put a seasoned junior NCO on point, followed by the cherries, with the MG team behind them, then the rest of your squad with the squad leader and his RTO in the rear, for almost all the same reasons you pointed out. I wonder if that kind of tactic was copied from wolf packs?
Great post.
In Vietnam often times blacks were made to walk point front and rear to draw preliminary fire because Charlie loved shooting them.
Nothing to do with intelligence, just racism.
Back that the fuck up you two bit nickel dime No Name liar.
You put your best on Point and some gravitated to it…it was rotated…as was Tail End Charlie…another position you wanted a dependable, experienced Grunt.
Grunts (Chucks = whites, Splives = blacks) had racial issues in the rear…but not in the bush.
What you posted is complete and total bullshit you motherfucker.
That is Mark the wolf snarling. Don’t test him.
I will never forget my first time on point, because it is not as easy as it looks.
Never walked it ken, humped the M-60…but it was critical and you and I both know no one stayed in it who couldn’t learn and perform.
A good point man can spot & save the squad/platoon from ambush and the L shaped death…many just didn’t have the skills or the grit, most grew into it…if they survived…and a few adrenalin junkies wanted it…and everyone else was glad to give it to them.
The most strenuous job is breaking the trail. The wolf in point position needs to be strong and vigorous, not old and frail.
If you’re not leading the pack you’re looking at a bunch of assholes.
Thoroughly appreciated that, aka. Thank you for posting. When I was a young boy with dogs, two of my favorite books were “The Call of the Wild” and “Big Red”.
Loved “Call of the Wild”.
Old Yeller
Lassie Come Home
This is a good post.
Speaking of animals, and especially pets….
Animals catch covid.
Where are all of the weird illnesses, cancers and sudden deaths in the pet population? Why aren’t vets raising hell about long covid, and what’s happening to our furry friends?
Covid is not the problem the vax is.
Great post, aka. Thank you.
Well written; kudos to you and your graphic choice.
Wild mustangs in New Mexico are led by a matron, leader of the pack. One gripping description tells of how when spooked they run from danger over a volcanic, black basalt like surface that is almost like running on razor blades. Even in moonless nights she knows the exact single file route to safety-this is done with blazing speed and not with a gentle trot. Bringing up the rear: her stallion.
One time I encountered an otherwise small, docile herd of mountain goats in the snow just above the ridge of a mountain bowl at about 11,000 feet elevation. After a bit something spooked them and the leader went charging to safety down into the upper reaches of the bowl, with an growing cloud of snow as the rest of the herd followed in what surely was a structured order. Bringing up the rear was the Big Guy, watching ever so carefully every move I might make and glaring like if I were smart I’d never visit their domain again. (Note: the docile description is generally in play-access to the herd’s playground is quite easy and in the warmer months people will feed the goats apples and carrots. Kind of stupid, but interesting to watch how the idiots befriend the goats).
Word to the wise: avail oneself to nature’s lessons.
Likewise, Alpha female would be leading, based on my experience living in woods. Some males explore and report, females show up with group.
I think the author is full of crap … ‘The true leader leads from behind’. What a crock … especially since many tens of millions of US used that sort of logic to say exactly why Trump’s predecessor was such an enormous failure … he/she/it was always ‘leading from behind’ …
Besides … what fantasies the author has about how wolves and other creatures of the wild live seems to be very inappropriate to the actual lives of these creatures — where survival of the fittest is THE prime directive … otherwise the entire species will disappear.
It is the leader of the wolf pack that picks the direction in which the pack is to go … not the ‘sick, lame and lazy’ as we used to call them in the Marine Corps …
It sounds like you’ve had a bad hair day. I thought the article was well written and thought provoking.
Roast squirrel under pine canopy, wolfpack:
https://www.youtube.com/@LilRedHeidiHood/videos
Damned bones in squirrel are so tiny…
All attached to the spine, like fish. Butchery is a skill, like anything else:
Yank ’em all out at once – fish, squirrel, rat, brontosaurus . . .
Most guys prefer brontosaurus bone-in.
Pretty but really clickbait silliness.
The WWW, in a nutshell. 🙂
ETA: Modern society too.
Ok, so the bitch is seen here before. The drink thing in the beginning, WGARA? I watched until the bitch climbed up to the stand. Yikes!
It was one of the sacred duties of the Dog Soldiers, the legendary Native American warrior guild, to be the last to leave camp, no matter what, fighting to the death if need be to protect the rear of the train. It is one of the most exposed and dangerous positions.
That’ll be the wolves badest badass trailing behind.
But you can’t have the infirm up front either, the first to run straight into trouble. Non-combatants go in the middle, protected front and rear, both from attack and from being left behind.
It is three of the strongest and wariest out at the front, breaking trail and keeping a nose out for trouble. They won’t outrun the train. They’ll stop and catch their breath now and again and use the opportunity to more carefully observe their surroundings as the train catches back up.
The next group of five is the command group, the leader and his personal guard. Also helping to break trail and ready to fight if need be.
A couple of the strongest runners ought to be out on the flanks, perhaps on top of the rises the train is passing between, to raise the alarm against a flanking attack.
I have observed wild boar in the woods and you will only see the snout of the big male sticking out into a clearing as he sniffs for danger, then he takes off and all the rest follow in single file. The dogs run around independently sniffing everything but if one smells something, it lets out a bark that means I found it, follow me.
Having worked in the bush here in northern BC I’ve seen a pack a few times. They, like most animals have a range or territory. In winter they do like the picture shows, run single file just because traveling is easier and usually they’re going to get somewhere with purpose. Theres not a lot up north thats going to attack or bother a pack, they’re the apex. My observations are that in winter, they conserve energy so that when they come across a caribou or moose that they’ll have the energy to chase it down.
In summer, entirely different. They tend to run fanned out. Just what I’ve seen and they also don’t seem to target sick animals either, but healthy animals. Which to me makes more sense, you don’t eat something that could potentially kill you. Just a few things I’ve observed when I have seen them. My 2 cents worth
Kool. And the article was quite interesting.
the real story behind the pic —
I had this explained to me at SERE training. Then they paired us up into 2 person teams to put us in the cage at Eglin AFB. I grew up in the Okefenokee swamp and I was paired with a guy named Hebart from the swamp country of Louisiana. Then we had a two week vacation surviving in a swamp in the panhandle of Florida. The the Evasion and Resistance phase came. There is no evasion, they know where you are.
Wisdom and experience is why they want all the old people dead (well, that and medicare and medicaid will quickly blow up) Are all old people wise? Hardly but many are and also have experience with lost arts like canning, soap making, hydrating food, gardening, sewing, car repair, home repair, shooting, and memories of what actually happened, not what the media and textbooks say happened. Are some of us frail? Yes but also there are some old guys who can shoot quite well and don’t need to be strong.
Are all young people unwise? No, there are a few out there who are getting what is really going on long before I did and are doing their best to try to warn others and prepare. But they have the benefit of the internet, something us older people did not have when we were young. We had books but a good history book that was not full of lies had to be learned of by word of mouth, usually.
A lot of people of all ages are not going to make it through the next decade. But the ones who do will be because they created a wolf pack.
Nice post, Attrition.
I just hope if I ever find myself at a vantage point to see such a site . The pack has not picked up my scent.
It would require extremely accurate rapid firepower to fend off that group
The birds eye doesn’t pick out the white ones, way out on the flanks.
Infantry … or small, smaller, smallest teams.
gov best gov’s least. none at all is as least as it gets.
Solo•psism. Ain’t in the wolfpack repertoire.
And they were hunted to extirpation in many parts.
Because of them way off in the flanks.
Corollary: If you stay bunched up, you’ll only die with company … but no, not even … the illusion of company is what you’ll have: everybody dies alone.
Olyphant’s a wolfpacker in this one. Fun flick.
Much respect.
Hi “BP!!!”
10-4!!!
Audentes, Fortuna, Iuvat!!,
skybill
I don’t know about their behavior, but breaking trail in single file would not only serve the purpose of making the trail easier to travel, but hide their numbers.
A long time ago, in an Article long forgotten…(what was it a Week?)
Someone asked for this Well Done! Piece. Thank You.
Sincerely, Looming on the near Horizon
Remember this, not everything you are shown is real.
“not everything you are shown is real.”
Thanks. SURE it’s ALL Fake News. That They Have Been Touting since forever. Even that Artist that mounted a Paint ball gun to One to create a ‘Masterpiece’.
Wing-Nut Tin-Foil Head-ta-Toe conspiracy Theorist here, Clearly.
Equally SURE that Boston Analytics & Cambridge Dynamics* is but a figment of my Livid Imagination!
*Caution IS advised.
Enjoyed this post. Would like to contact aka.attrition directly. How do I do that, please? Thanks.
I’ll send your email address to him.
Thanks! Much appreciated
If they are anything like a flock of geese flying south then the lead is alternated amongst the strongest, most experienced geese who know the way and how to use wind currents etc. The rest do their best to stay in formation and thereby contribute to the stability of the flock’s path.
Putting the oldest/weakest wolves at the front would immediately expose them to the most demanding tasks and consequently lead to an immediate cessation of progress.
In both cases only the fit will survive a stressful journey in the middle of the coldest season or a seasonal migration. The weak, wounded or otherwise compromised will be left behind from the beginning or soon after.
The natural world is not Disney World. It is without malice but is naturally blood and guts, tooth and nail when it’s not sublimely mystical.
In the ‘natural world’ often times black geese were made to fly point front and rear to draw preliminary fire because hunters loved shooting them.
Nothing to do with intelligence, just birdy racism.
Nothing against you W…I upvoted your excellent post…sorry.
I want to thank everyone for their encouraging words and also the insightful comments contributing to the larger discussion and expanding the themes. Always good to learn and exchange ideas, knowledge, and insights. Thank you.
Thank you for a good one. Nice piece.
IF the frail were in front, they wud have the hardest time breaking the trail and would slow the herd down.
That could be how it works, or you just inconceivably referenced Barack Obama.
Bringing up the rear is never for the frail or weak. It is to protect the pack from attack from behind. Very important position.
Today I met with an 83 year old sick friend and his wife in the hospital. He has pancreatic cancer and will have a seven hour surgery soon. His chances are not so good, but he’s in good spirits as he knows his Lord and knows his life is in His hands.
I share this as this man is full of valuable life lessons and wisdom from being through many storms of life and coming through it all intact… thus far. We should value our elder generation and not try to regulate them to the trash heap, thinking they have nothing to offer.
As this author mentions, our old should set the pace… not the young and inexperienced. And it is very true… the best leaders are servants to all they lead and have humble spirits. Those kind of people you’ll love, respect and go to the mat for!
amen