So... I really don't know why Zander was leader. Look at this
He was only looking out for Fella
He left his mate who was pregnant, throwing up and cramping because he beat up Zay
He was overly hot headed
Unlike all of our great leaders (Fella, Fell, Ree), Zander never fixed anything:
Ree fixed conflicts including Kala, Wyndbane and Feather, and raised Zaylex.
Fell solved the drought and loss of fish by finding the pond, along with leading the warriors into the battle to Daimon and Diablo.
Fella is solving the bears, along with leading the pack through the loss of Zander and Kira and Jay and Taima and Kalami.
Even Kyo has the excuse of only being leader like a month. And even he is helping with the bears.
Btw
The only betas are from Convel's family. Convel was first, then Kama, then Zaylex.