Great assessment of this absurd term. Lots of animals do have alphas, but they don't fit the profile of how these sorts of man-children (or researchers from the 1940s) think of the concept. As already noted, wolves in captivity aren't representative of how wolves in the wild behave. Chimp alphas are frequently the "consoler in chief."
"It’s even possible for the smallest male in the group to be the alpha in chimpanzee society. “The smallest male, if he has the right friends and keeps them happy, or if he has female support, he can be the alpha male,” says de Waal. An alpha can be intimidating or vigorous, but he still must also have the right allies. Amongst chimpanzees, the alpha male also has to be generous because alpha status is conferred on the guy with the strongest coalition."
