Potential Tool Use by Wolves (Canis lupus): Crab Trap Pulling in Haíɫzaqv Nation Territory - PubMed (original) (raw)

. 2025 Nov 17;15(11):e72348.

doi: 10.1002/ece3.72348. eCollection 2025 Nov.

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Potential Tool Use by Wolves (Canis lupus): Crab Trap Pulling in Haíɫzaqv Nation Territory

Kyle A Artelle et al. Ecol Evol. 2025.

Abstract

The cognitive abilities of canids are increasingly recognized, though insights from noncaptive populations are comparatively rare. Recently, recurring damage to crab traps used by Haíɫzaqv Nation Guardians to control a European Green Crab invasion was investigated with remote cameras. A wolf was recorded emerging from the water carrying a crab trap buoy, then sequentially pulling the attached line up the beach until an initially submerged trap emerged from the water. The wolf then extracted the bait cup from within and consumed the bait. The recorded behavior, combined with similarly extracted and damaged traps nearby, suggests a sophisticated understanding of the trap and sophisticated cognition more broadly. This observation raises questions about the context and origins of the behavior and prompts consideration of our relationship with this cognitively complex species.

Keywords: Canis lupus; animal behavior; canid cognition; tool use.

© 2025 The Author(s). Ecology and Evolution published by British Ecological Society and John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflicts of interest.

Figures

FIGURE 1

FIGURE 1

(A–D) Stills extracted from remote camera video of a wolf in Haíɫzaqv Territory pulling an initially submerged green crab trap to shore to access baited cup within. Observation recorded on May 29, 2024 (not April –erroneous date set on camera). See Video 1 for full recording.

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