And being the alpha coyote that she was, Zima paid no attention to her fellow packmates on the shore laughing at her follies. Once retrieved, the bone remained hers alone, for she refused to share her prize with any of them.

However, a storm blew in. Zima's fellow coyotes all ran quickly back to the shelter of their den. Zima, now cold and wet but in so a penurious mood she was unwilling to share her hard-won bounty, feasted on the bone by the river bank. She died of hypothermia.

The next day, the rest of the pack emerged from the warm sanctity of their den in search of food and water. At the river's edge, they found a coyote, paws in the air and frozen solid. Immediately, they closed ranks and dragged the carcas back to their den and waited for it to thaw. Later that evening, they devoured it.

And such is the whimsical eye of history cast upon theories scientific and otherwise.

Sometimes, even alpha dogs go omega.

Teamwork will get you everywhere.

Cathryn