10/19/2025
https://www.facebook.com/share/p/1Ag6rajmsG/
Toxoplasma gondii humans can get from infected cat 🐈 💩 and pregnant women should avoid at all costs. Interesting to see how it's affecting other species.
🐺 A brain parasite from cats is making wolves leave their pack and start a new one.
In a striking discovery from Yellowstone National Park, scientists have found that a brain parasite known as Toxoplasma gondii may be subtly reshaping the behavior—and social structure—of gray wolves.
Best known for causing toxoplasmosis in humans, the parasite appears to influence risk-taking and leadership in infected wolves. According to a study published in Communications Biology, wolves infected with T. gondii were 46% more likely to leave their birth pack and over 11 times more likely to become leaders of new ones.
Researchers believe the parasite alters brain chemistry, lowering fear responses and boosting aggression—behavioral shifts that favor dominance and bold decision-making.
The parasite’s life cycle is rooted in felines, and wolves likely contract it by encountering cougar-contaminated environments or prey. What’s remarkable is that this tiny organism may be helping shape who leads a pack—decisions that influence hunting tactics, territory claims, and pack cohesion.
While wolves aren’t being “mind-controlled,” the findings suggest T. gondii is tipping the behavioral scales in ways that could have profound evolutionary consequences. Similar effects have been seen in rodents, where infected mice lose their fear of cats, making them easier prey. If this parasite can drive leadership in wild wolves, it raises broader questions about the hidden forces shaping animal—and possibly human—behavior.
source
"A parasite makes wolves more likely to become pack leaders." Science, 24 November 2022.
