In the process of foraging, the beaver colony hurriedly dove into the water to escape but could not evade the terrifying claws of the wolf.
Wolf captures beaver.
Deer hunter Jon Galler filmed a wolf hunting expedition near the city of Hill, Minnesota, USA, as reported by Earth Touch News on January 27. The Voyageurs Wolf Project, aimed at studying the northern wolves of the Greater Voyageurs ecosystem, shared the footage captured by Galler.
In their post, the Voyageurs Wolf Project stated that the beaver was an immature one, around 6-7 months old. Galler had been observing the beaver for about 15 minutes before a pack of wolves appeared and crossed the nearby beaver dam. They seemed unaware of each other’s presence until the lead wolf began marking with scent. The sound of its scratching startled the beaver, which was grooming itself on a rock, causing it to leap into the water. This also caught the attention of the wolves.
“The wolf heard the beaver jump into the water and immediately changed its behavior. It charged into the lake and caught the beaver, which was now completely submerged,” the Voyageurs Wolf Project team shared.
A study conducted in Voyageurs National Park in 2016 found evidence that wolves pull beavers out of the water and bring them ashore. However, Galler’s footage appears to be the first direct observation of a wolf successfully catching a beaver that was swimming entirely underwater.
In most northern regions where wolves and beavers coexist, beavers are most vulnerable to predation during ice-free seasons, as in winter they operate in frozen waters and dens, nearly out of reach of wolves. From spring to fall, beavers in such forested areas face greater danger due to their activities in open waters, foraging on land, and repairing their lodges.
Beavers may not seem as formidable as a swift deer or a massive moose, but they are not easy prey. North American and Eurasian beavers are the second largest rodents in the world, only after the South American capybara. These beavers can weigh over 27 kg (approximately 60 pounds), and their powerful teeth can easily chew through wood. According to the Voyageurs Wolf Project team, the wolf’s hunt captured by Galler would likely have been more challenging had the prey been an adult beaver.
