More info: Mech used the alpha wolf nomenclature in a classic book of wolf biology, The Wolf: Ecology and Behavior of an Endangered Species, which was published in 1970. But he has made a point of pushing back against the term as new research has come to light. After a years-long effort, he finally got The Wolf taken out of print in 2022, he says. The 2003 book Wolves: Behavior, Ecology, and Conservation, which he co-edited with zoologist Luigi Boitani, is now far more accurate and up-to-date, he says.

https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/is-the-alpha-wolf-idea-a-myth/

Even funnier fact. The alpha, beta nomenclature initially appeared from a study related to chicken pecking order. And there's no alpha rooster, but an alpha hen.