Camera footage outside a wolf den captured something unexpected: a red fox preying on a wolf pup and possibly killing it in a rare, opportunistic attack. As apex predators, wolves are known to prey on foxes, but the reverse has never been observed before.
A team of researchers from the University of Sassari in Italy had set up five cameras outside a wolf den to monitor the species’ reproductive behavior and instead ended up capturing the strange behavior of a fox flipping the script. This was the first incident of its kind caught on camera, but the researchers suggest it may be common for a mid-sized predator to prey on the young of its larger competitors in the wild. The incident is detailed in a new study published in Current Zoology.
Think like a fox
The researchers, including Marco Apollonio and Celeste Buelli from the Department of Veterinary Medicine, placed five motion-activated cameras at the Castelporziano Presidential Estate, a protected area on the outskirts of Rome. One night in May 2025, a red fox was seen approaching a wolf den where two young pups were hiding inside.
Warning: The video, shown below, is not particularly graphic, but it does show a disturbing incident that some readers may find upsetting.
The footage captured that night shows the fox sniffing around the den before venturing inside and dragging a wolf pup outside. The young wolf manages to wiggle its way out of the fox’s grip the first time and sneak back inside the den, but the relentless fox goes back in a second time and grabs the pup again. The tiny pup’s whimpers can be heard in the video as the fox drags it from its home.
The video cuts to a different scene, and the wolf’s fate is not caught on camera. The researchers believe the fox ended up killing the wolf, as the pup was never seen again in later footage. At the time of the attack, the adult wolves were out hunting. The pack later relocated the den, likely because it was compromised.
Opportunistic hunt
The study suggests that the fox went after the wolf den as a crime of opportunity. Wolves are apex predators that often hunt and kill foxes in the wild. Although wolves don’t usually end up eating foxes, they do so to eliminate other predators in their territory. Foxes normally feed on small mammals such as birds, mice, and rabbits.
This sly fox, however, chose to attack a young wolf pup as a form of opportunistic kill to eliminate an apex predator, the scientists argue. “Our observation broadens the known range of antagonistic interactions affecting wolf offspring, demonstrating that even mesocarnivores [middle carnivores] can exert direct pressure on the reproductive performance of this apex predator,” the researchers wrote in the paper.
Considering that this was the first incident caught on camera, scientists aren’t sure if this is common behavior for foxes. It does highlight hidden dangers that could threaten wolf pups in the wild and the lengths that smaller predators will go to in order to stay ahead of the competition.