Some 300 miles north of Vancouver, nestled among the rocky bays and forests of the Haíɫzaqv Nation, a wily​​ gray wolf helps itself to a snack. On its own, this isn’t remarkable and happens all the time. But a wild wolf swimming to a buoy, reeling it in, and then pulling an underwater trap to shore before eating the bait? That’s an altogether new phenomenon, one that scientists argue could qualify as tool use—something never before documented in wolves.

The astonishing video was recently included in a study recerntly publishedin the journal Ecology and Evolution. Within a swift three minutes, the wolf’s work was done and their meal finished. But does the canine’s clever move qualify as tool use? The study’s authors say it may come down to how you define tool use. 

How the wolf was caught on camera

Members of the Haíɫzaqv Nation initially set up the traps to capture the invasive European green crabs that wreak havoc on the local ecosystem. But they soon found that the traps were being dragged to shore, broken into, and left empty: It seemed something was making off with the bait.

To catch the culprit, they set up cameras around the traps. The very next day, they had their answer. Around 9 p.m. on May 29, 2024, a clever gray wolf was recorded swimming out to the buoy, carrying it to shore, then pulling on the buoy’s rope to reel in the trap before quickly devouring the bait.

Which actions count as tool use is an ongoing debate among scientists, and this latest example is no exception. If this wolf actually used a tool comes down to the definition of tool use. 

In their study, authors Kyle Artelle, an environmental biologist at SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry, and Paul Paquet, a biologist and wolf expert, 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.” This definition would seemingly include rope pulling as tool use.

However, other definitions wouldn’t say this is tool use. These exclude rope pulling, because the animal isn’t the one procuring or manipulating the rope. If, for instance, the wolf had tied and pulled the rope itself, then this instance would qualify as tool use—even using this more selective definition. 

Artelle and Paquet, argue that, “the sophistication of this particular sequence might suggest an exception to the rope pulling exclusion—as might the fact that pulling the rope is the key mechanism for retrieving crab traps even by humans.”

So, in short, the debate rages on. But, regardless of whether or not this is considered tool use, no one is denying that this wolf is one clever canine.

 

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