Incredible moment a wolf catches a salmon using fishing technique copied from a bear
When it comes to food, they’re particularly fond of squirrel and hamster. But there comes a time when every wolf fancies a change. After watching bear after bear catching salmon from the local falls, this one decided he might like a piece of the action. He [probably] copied the grizzly technique of fishing, leaping in the water to net himself a tasty haul.
Wildlife photographer Paul Stinsa, who captured the images in Katmai National Park, Alaska, insisted there had been no camera trickery. He described how the wolf cautiously tiptoed round the territorial bears before taking up position close to resting salmon.
‘As it neared the base of the falls, it dived headfirst into the pool,’ he said. ‘In a flurry of splashing water, it pulled its head out of the river with a salmon, desperately flopping, clamped in its jaws. ‘It’s fishing skill wasn’t an accident, rather a repeatable, successful process.’
He said the wolf managed to catch 15 salmon, heading into nearby woods with each individual haul. Ranger Peter Hamel said he’d never seen such behaviour. ‘The wolf had probably decided to start fishing after scavenging on fish bones left by the bears in the woods.