Alpha male can also refer to a high-ranked human in a group. This may be in a business setting or sometimes in other competitive areas, like sports. However, this is an extension by metaphor: humans do not have the same mating system as other social mammals. One reason is that the oestrous cycle in humans is different. This has the result that females may be sexually receptive at almost any time. Also, humans generally pair off, and alpha males do not have exclusive rights over all females in a group, except in rare circumstances.