Just when you thought you were able to evade all the other anglers to get to your spot, you learn that wolves are now fishing the rivers too. Check out the insane footage below of wolves fishing in Minnesota.
The research findings indicate that wolves hunting and catching fish is likely a common behavior in regions similar to the Greater Voyageurs Ecosystem. This suggests that wolves in places such as Wisconsin, Michigan, Ontario, Quebec, and Manitoba are probably engaged in fishing activities on a yearly basis.
Initially, the discovery of wolves hunting fish occurred in 2017 when two wolves from the Bowman Bay Pack were observed engaging in this behavior. At the time, it seemed like a unique and remarkable behavior that only a few wolves had acquired.
This perception was largely due to the fact that it was the first documented observation of wolves hunting freshwater fish in locations like Minnesota that researchers were aware of. However, as time progressed, it became evident that there was much more to learn.
Fast forward seven years, and it has been established that wolves have been hunting and catching fish every year, with the exception of 2022, which experienced significant flooding that likely made fish-catching challenging. Therefore, wolves engaging in fishing activities have been documented in six out of seven years since 2017.
To document this behavior, researchers utilized various approaches, including analyzing data from GPS collars, firsthand observations, trail cameras positioned at creeks, and camera collars attached to wolves. Through these methods, they were able to observe wolves from five different packs, as well as a lone wolf, catching fish in various creeks and rivers within the research area.
It is worth noting that many of the wolf packs involved in this behavior are likely unrelated, meaning that one “intelligent” fishing wolf is not instructing others in the area to fish. Instead, individual wolves independently discover this behavior when favorable fishing conditions arise. In some instances, they share this knowledge with other members of their pack, leading to the transmission of the behavior within the group.
Based on these findings, the researchers conclude that fishing among wolves is probably a widespread behavior, and it is highly likely that wolves in similar ecosystems engage in hunting and catching fish every year.
However, this behavior has remained largely unknown to the public due to the relatively short duration of time during which wolves fish (typically a few weeks), as well as the difficulties associated with documenting the behavior without the aid of GPS-collar data.
Source: VoyageursWolfProject
