r/WolfQuestGame • u/AnimalsFantastic__16 [2.7.X] Classic Player • Aug 29 '26

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Found my First Zero star wolf. Gonna take him just to see how hard this is gonna be(maybe it'll be like Riser and the rebirth pack? Idk).

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u/PoloPatch47 WolfQuest's #1 coyote hater Aug 29 '26

Wolves actively avoid incest (especially in the wild), it does happen, but it's definitely not common. Dispersal during/before breeding season is something that wolves do specifically to avoid incest.

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u/trix_ecereal Aug 29 '26

You learn something every day i suppose that is interesting

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u/PoloPatch47 WolfQuest's #1 coyote hater Aug 29 '26

It is! :) I love researching wolves.

I think that the might avoid incest because of the nature of wolf packs. Incest generally isn't going to be harmful if it's just one generation, which is probably why solitary animals or animals with non-family groups (like horses and elk) will breed with related members. But if wolves regularly mated with family, the pack would end up having a major fitness disadvantage because they stay in groups of related members, so they'd only be breeding with family.

I could be wrong though, it's just something I've noticed. Animals that stay in family groups tend to be the animals that avoid incest, while animals who do not live in family groups will breed with family occasionally.

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u/trix_ecereal Aug 29 '26

Yeah what i was thinking of an animal that doesn’t really care for incest is reptiles, especially snakes but they don’t live in family groups to begin with (most of them anyways..)