What started as an attempt to catch the vandals damaging crab traps in British Columbia resulted in an intriguing discovery: Canadian wolves are manipulating human tools for their own ends, reeling in traps to collect bait.
According to researchers writing in the journal Ecology and Evolution, this could be the first example of tool use reported in this particular species — and it’s been captured on film.
“This is a striking glimpse into a facet of their behavior that is not as well known,” says Kyle Artelle, assistant professor at the State University of New York College of Environmental Science and Forestry. “It’s one thing for someone to try to convince others of wolf intelligence — it’s quite another to just hit play on a video.”
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Wolves and Damaged Traps
Things began in 2023, when Haíɫzaqv Nation Guardians noticed damage to traps that had been laid out to catch the European Green Crab, an invasive species causing havoc to native fauna.
It was not a one-time incident. This was happening repeatedly. Sometimes there was minor tearing in the netting. Sometimes the trap was left completely mutilated. Every time, the bait cup was vandalized.
There were clues. The majority of the traps attacked were located in the intertidal zone, meaning they were exposed at low tide and submerged at high tide.
There were suspects. Bears and gray wolves roam the area, but the fact that some of the damaged traps were found in deep water suggested that marine mammals were the most likely culprits.
Some of the guardians installed remote cameras in May 2024 to catch the thief in action. The culprit was caught red-pawed the following day.
Tool Use in Wolf Behavior
Footage shows a wolf dragging a buoy from the river and onto the beach. She drops the buoy and hauls the trap onto shore, then chews the cup, releases the bait, and eats it.
“We were hoping to maybe get a glimpse of a marine mammal in the area — maybe a seal swimming by, or maybe an otter chewing on the trap on a low tide. It never crossed our minds we were going to see a wolf swimming to shore with a buoy and proceeding to pull the trap out as we did,” says Artelle.
The researchers explained that this behavior may have been learned through a process of trial and error, though it is likely that there is at least an element of causal understanding.
“The efficiency and speed of the sequence, combined with observations of other similarly moved and damaged traps in the area, suggest previous experience and intent,” the study’s authors wrote.
Claudio Sillero, Professor of Conservation Biology at the University of Oxford, who was not involved in the research, says the behavior “fits accepted definitions of tool use and is a tremendously exciting find.”
“Although the wolves did not manufacture the tool themselves, they were able to manipulate objects in a goal-directed, sequential way to access food,” Sillero says.
Additional footage captured on Valentine’s Day 2025 shows another wolf pulling a line to retrieve a trap partially submerged under water.
Bringing Animal Cognition To Real Life
There is some debate over what comprises tool use in nonhuman animals, and others may argue that this does not fulfill the criteria because the wolves did not build or lay out the traps themselves.
Still, the researchers described the act of appropriating human tools to reach a goal as “noteworthy” in itself, comparing it to individuals using a computer whose mechanisms they do not fully comprehend.
The wolves may have learned by watching humans or by pulling in exposed traps during periods of low tide, gradually building up to the point of pulling in submerged traps.
Dr. Lisa Leaver, an expert in wild animal cognition at the Centre for Research in Animal Behavior at Exeter University, UK, says it is “pretty rare” to see footage like this, explaining that researchers work hard to recreate similar responses in a more formal setting.
These observations “brings animal cognition to real life” and shows wolves have the ability to flexibly adapt to objects that don’t occur in nature, says Leaver, who was not involved in the study.
Sillero explains, “rare, context-specific behaviors can reveal latent capabilities.” Adding, “In this scenario, the wolves have honed an opportunistic foraging strategy that goes beyond their typical predation tactics. Kudos to the Haíɫzaqv wolves!”
“It invites humility in realizing we are likely only at the beginning of understanding wolves and other species we share this world with,” says Artelle.
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