"The wolf seemed to know exactly what she was doing. She dove into the water, fetched a fishing float and brought it to shore. She then waded back in and tugged on a rope connected to the float. She pulled and backed up, pulled and backed up, until a crab trap emerged. When it was within easy reach, she tore it open and consumed the bait inside."
"People of the Heiltsuk Nation in central British Columbia had been puzzled about what was foiling their efforts to capture invasive green crabs along their shores. The crabs are a real problem - they eat through eelgrass that harbors marine life and they devastate the native clam, herring and salmon populations the tribe relies on for food. But the traps people were setting with herring and other bait kept getting damaged. Sometimes, there were just minor tears in the nets."
Footage from the British Columbia coast captured a wolf diving to fetch a fishing float, tugging a rope attached to it, hauling up a crab trap, tearing it open and eating the bait. Researchers regard the behavior as possibly the first documented instance of a wild wolf using a tool to forage. The Heiltsuk Nation had struggled with damaged traps set to catch invasive green crabs that destroy eelgrass and harm clam, herring and salmon populations. Investigators initially suspected marine mammals or human tampering before a trail camera recorded the wolf retrieving and opening traps.
Read at The Washington Post
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