Nov 19, 2025 07:40 PM
(This post was last modified: Nov 19, 2025 08:57 PM by C C.)
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Watch this wolf pull off an absolutely genius crab trap heist
https://gizmodo.com/watch-this-wolf-pull...2000687713
EXCERPT: A paper published on November 17 in Ecology and Evolution presents a formal account of this novel behavior. As of now, the researchers aren’t certain whether such behavior could be widespread in wolves; accordingly, they describe the incident as “potential” tool use. If confirmed, however, it would add another layer to our understanding of wolf intelligence.
European green crabs are notoriously stalwart creatures, wreaking havoc on local ecology. Since 2021, Canada’s Haíɫzaqv Nation guardians have been setting up crab traps to control the invasive species. But sometime around 2023, they noticed something kept stealing bait from the crab traps, leaving them either completely damaged or slightly torn.
This attack even occurred for traps deeply submerged, leaving the humans involved puzzled as to the identity of the perpetrator. Wolves were included in the list of suspects—bears, marine animals, and the like—but the researchers were nevertheless shocked by what they saw.
“In rapid succession, [the wolf] carried the buoy up the beach, dropped it, descended the beach, picked up the line, and pulled it farther up the beach until a trap partly emerged from the water,” recounted the paper. The wolf then carried the trap further inland and proceeded to chew and manipulate the bait cup until it opened. The whole encounter lasted for around three minutes.
What’s more, the trap was initially fully submerged and invisible from the shore, “suggesting that the wolf recognized that the buoy was attached to a rope, in turn attached to an unseen trap containing edible bait,” according to the paper... (MORE - details)
https://youtu.be/p2RHtFTgsYA
https://www.youtube-nocookie.com/embed/p2RHtFTgsYA
- - - - - - - - - - - -
Watch this wolf pull off an absolutely genius crab trap heist
https://gizmodo.com/watch-this-wolf-pull...2000687713
EXCERPT: A paper published on November 17 in Ecology and Evolution presents a formal account of this novel behavior. As of now, the researchers aren’t certain whether such behavior could be widespread in wolves; accordingly, they describe the incident as “potential” tool use. If confirmed, however, it would add another layer to our understanding of wolf intelligence.
European green crabs are notoriously stalwart creatures, wreaking havoc on local ecology. Since 2021, Canada’s Haíɫzaqv Nation guardians have been setting up crab traps to control the invasive species. But sometime around 2023, they noticed something kept stealing bait from the crab traps, leaving them either completely damaged or slightly torn.
This attack even occurred for traps deeply submerged, leaving the humans involved puzzled as to the identity of the perpetrator. Wolves were included in the list of suspects—bears, marine animals, and the like—but the researchers were nevertheless shocked by what they saw.
“In rapid succession, [the wolf] carried the buoy up the beach, dropped it, descended the beach, picked up the line, and pulled it farther up the beach until a trap partly emerged from the water,” recounted the paper. The wolf then carried the trap further inland and proceeded to chew and manipulate the bait cup until it opened. The whole encounter lasted for around three minutes.
What’s more, the trap was initially fully submerged and invisible from the shore, “suggesting that the wolf recognized that the buoy was attached to a rope, in turn attached to an unseen trap containing edible bait,” according to the paper... (MORE - details)
https://youtu.be/p2RHtFTgsYA