(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. Credit: Ecology and Evolution (2025). DOI: 10.1002/ece3.72348
Many animals have been observed using tools. For example, chimps tear leaves off of branches and stick them into holes to pull out termites, and wild dingoes have been observed moving objects to stand on to get to another area. However, despite being known as fairly intelligent animals, wolves have never been observed using tools.
But, a new study, published in Ecology and Evolution, describes a recorded scenario that just might count as tool use in wolves—depending on which definition of tool use is used.
Caught on camera
Off the coast of British Columbia, an Indigenous group called the Haíɫzaqv Nation has been leading a program to control the invasive European Green Crab.
To do this, they place crab traps—consisting of netting containing bait connected to long ropes and buoys—in the water. Normally, the herring and seal meat used as bait would lure the crabs into these traps, but, instead, they found that many traps were being dragged to shore and broken into. Something was stealing the bait.
To find the culprit, they set up cameras, and much to their surprise, the resulting video showed a determined wolf first dragging the buoy to shore, then going back to drag the rope in more, and then pulling in the netting to get to its meal. The entire ordeal was finished within only three minutes.
Remote camera video (five separate sequential videos combined) 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). Credit: Kyle A. Artelle et al, Ecology and Evolution (2025). DOI: 10.1002/ece3.72348
This was somewhat unexpected, the study authors write, “Although bears or gray wolves appeared to be potential perpetrators, some damaged traps were in deeper water, submerged at all tides, leading to speculation that the damage might have instead been caused by marine mammals such as pinnipeds or otters.”
Tool use or just cleverness?
The team was impressed with the ingenuity of the wolf and the swiftness in which it completed the task. The study authors posit that this is the first known instance of a wolf using tools to get to food. But, whether or not pulling in an object to get to the food is considered tool use seems to be up to debate.
The study authors write, “Tool use is typically understood as using an external object to achieve a specific goal with intent—a definition argued to include even stick chewing by dogs. However, other definitions exclude rope pulling as a form of tool use, ‘because they are not responsible for the proper and effective orientation of the tool to the incentive,’ and that for this to qualify as tool use, ‘the animal must produce, not simply recognize, the proper and effective orientation between the tool and the incentive.'”
It’s also unclear whether just the one wolf is using this method to pull up crab traps or if several are involved. Another video was recorded almost a year later in which a wolf was seen pulling up a partially submerged crab trap, but not pulling in the buoy. The study authors note that the wolves in the Haíɫzaqv Nation live in a protected area, which may affect their behavior.
“For example, wolves in this area face relatively low levels of human persecution (e.g., hunting and trapping), which is rare globally. Reduced need for vigilance might allow wolves to develop confidence and devote time to exploring novel behaviors such as those observed in this study, which might be less expected in more persecuted populations prioritizing vigilance,” they explain.
Regardless of whether the event is categorized as tool use or not, the video is a useful display of a wolf clearly demonstrating knowledge of cause and effect, and may challenge some assumptions about animal intelligence and adaptability.
Written for you by our author Krystal Kasal, edited by Sadie Harley, and fact-checked and reviewed by Robert Egan—this article is the result of careful human work. We rely on readers like you to keep independent science journalism alive.
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More information:
Kyle A. Artelle et al, Potential Tool Use by Wolves (Canis lupus): Crab Trap Pulling in Haíɫzaqv Nation Territory, Ecology and Evolution (2025). DOI: 10.1002/ece3.72348. onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/ece3.72348
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Video catches wild wolf pulling in crab trap to get to food—but is it tool use? (2025, November 18)
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