Pack (canine)
Animals which typically predominate over others are associated with the term "alpha". Among pack-living wolves, alpha wolves are the genetic parents of most cubs in the pack. Such access to mating females creates strong selective pressure for intra-sex competition.
Lone wolf (trait)
In the animal kingdom, lone wolves are typically older female wolves driven from the pack, perhaps by the breeding male, or young adults in search of new territory. Many female wolves between the ages of one to four years old leave their family to search for a pack of their own. This has the effect of preventing inbreeding as there is typically only one breeding pair in a wolf pack. Very few wolves will simply remain lone wolves; as such, these lone wolves may be stronger, more aggressive and far more dangerous than the average wolf that is a member of a pack. However, lone wolves have difficulty hunting, as wolves' favorite prey, large ungulates, are troublesome for a single wolf to bring down alone. Instead, lone wolves will generally hunt smaller animals and scavenge carrion.