Wolf dives into water to hunt beaver

When the beaver spotted the wolves, it quickly jumped into the water but still could not escape the predator's claws.

Deer hunter Jon Galler filmed a wolf hunt near Hill City, Minnesota, USA, Earth Touch News reported on January 27. The Voyageurs Wolf Project, a project to study northern wolves in the Greater Voyageurs ecosystem, shared the footage Galler captured.

The Voyageurs Wolf Project team said in a post that the beavers were juveniles, about 6 to 7 months old. Galler had been tracking the beavers for about 15 minutes before the wolves appeared and crossed a nearby beaver dam. They appeared unaware of each other's presence until the alpha wolf began scent-marking. Its scratching spooked the beaver, which was preening on a rock, and it jumped into the water, which also attracted the attention of the wolves.

"The wolf heard the beaver jumping into the water and immediately changed its behavior. It dove into the lake and caught the beaver, which was now completely submerged," the Voyageurs Wolf Project team shared.

A 2016 study in Voyageurs National Park found evidence of wolves pulling beavers out of the water and onto land. However, Galler’s footage appears to be the first direct observation of a wolf successfully capturing a beaver while fully submerged.

In most northern regions where wolves and beavers coexist, beavers are most vulnerable to predation during the ice-free seasons, as in winter they are active in frozen waters and nests, largely out of reach of wolves. From spring to fall, beavers in such forested regions are at greater risk as they are active in open water, foraging on shore, and repairing nests.

Beavers may not be as formidable as a swift deer or a massive moose, but they are no easy prey. North American and Eurasian beavers are the second-largest rodents in the world, behind only the capybara of South America. They can weigh up to 60 pounds, and their tree-crushing teeth are powerful. According to the Voyageurs Wolf Project, the wolf hunt Galler recorded would have been more difficult if the beaver had been an adult.

Thu Thao (According to Earth Touch News )

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