Overview
- Video recorded in May 2024 shows a female wolf in coastal British Columbia pulling a float line to drag a submerged crab pot ashore and retrieve the bait.
- Kyle Artelle of the State University of New York described the multi-step sequence as meticulously choreographed and potentially the first documented tool use by wild wolves.
- The observation emerged from a long-running green crab eradication program, which created predictable baited setups that wolves could learn to exploit.
- Study authors present the tool-use interpretation as a hypothesis based on the footage and context, noting that further observations are needed to confirm broader conclusions.
- A second video from February 2025 reportedly shows another wolf performing a similar maneuver with a partially submerged trap, and additional pots were found damaged off camera.