The clues could have come straight from a detective novel: crab traps mysteriously hauled ashore, bait missing, and the metal frames marked with perplexing tooth impressions. For researchers working in a remote stretch of British Columbia, the central question became clear — who was behind the covert raids?
++ The peregrine falcon: nature’s fastest killer in the sky
As is increasingly the case with modern mysteries, the culprit was exposed by a remote camera. The footage revealed that highly resourceful sea wolves were retrieving the traps by diving to snag the floats, then dragging the ropes ashore with a series of deliberate, methodical tugs. Ecologist Kyle Artelle described the display as “highly efficient and focused behaviour”.
The finding not only broadens scientific understanding of wolf intelligence but also highlights the unexpected ways in which wildlife interacts with human activity. Artelle’s research, carried out with co-author Paul Paquet and published in Ecology and Evolution, was the result of a longstanding partnership with the Heiltsuk First Nation.
For more than a decade, the community of Bella Bella has fought the spread of European green crabs. Introduced to California over thirty years ago, the invasive species has travelled steadily northwards, severely damaging clam beds and eelgrass ecosystems — vital nurseries for young fish. In the Heiltsuk territory, the after-effects of an earlier diesel spill have enabled the crabs to thrive even more aggressively.
To monitor and slow the invasion, Haíɫzaqv Guardians set traps across the intertidal zone and in deeper waters, marking the latter with brightly coloured floats. But in 2023, the team realised that many damaged traps bore clear tooth impressions.
“At first, we assumed wolves or bears were disturbing the traps left exposed at low tide,” Artelle explained. “But we couldn’t understand what was attacking the deeper ones.” Otters and seals were considered likely suspects — until camera footage provided the astonishing truth.
One video shows a wolf emerging from the sea with a float clenched between her teeth. She drags it onto the beach, repositions herself for better leverage, then hauls the rope repeatedly until the submerged trap breaks the surface. Moments later, she raids the bait cup and disappears, leaving behind an explanation for the year-long mystery.
“We were stunned. Capturing this behaviour was pure serendipity — and genuinely inspiring,” Artelle said. Both scientists and Heiltsuk community members have long recognised wolves as intelligent predators, but the precision of the wolf’s actions, he noted, demonstrated a learned skill, likely shared within her pack.
The culprit was a coastal or “sea wolf”, a rare subspecies adapted to marine environments and known for feeding on salmon, shellfish and even seals.
While wolves in much of British Columbia are often viewed as nuisances and hunted, the Bella Bella community maintains a very different relationship. Through the Haíɫzaqv Wolf and Biodiversity Project, wolves are protected and coexist closely with residents.
++ Power and finesse: the monkey that bites like a jaguar
“There’s a pack living right at the edge of town. They’ve lived alongside people for millennia, but in a uniquely harmonious way,” Artelle said. The rugged landscape of forest and sea, he added, “is possibly one of the few places in the world where wolves can fully be wolves”. The implications of the behaviour captured on film are significant.
“This reveals an entirely new dimension of their capabilities,” Artelle noted. “When we uncover such behaviours in other species, it deepens our understanding of our own. It opens up new questions about what it means to be a wolf — and what else they might be capable of.”
