Crows Make Hooks To Catch Food
Mammals aren’t the only animals capable of using tools. Crows are so smart and good with tools that it’s a little scary. New Caledonian crows craft several different tools that they use to hunt prey. Perhaps most impressive of these tools are the hooks the birds make by bending twigs (or wires, in captivity). Crows hold the hook tightly in their beaks and use them for fishing beetle larvae and other treats out of any space they can’t reach with their beaks or talons. The tools seriously speed up the hunting process. Using the hooks, crows can catch food up to 10 times faster than crows without hooks. And crows seem to be aware of how valuable their tools are because they are more likely to hide hooks than any other tool that they use. Amazingly, the birds can even recognize and use premade hooks. Crows are believed to be the only animals (other than humans) who know how to make and use hooks for hunting.