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

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.