In a widely used behavioral experiment that requires teamwork, wolves showed up their domesticated cousins.

The study led at the Wolf Science Centre in Ernstbrunn, Austria calls into question a long-held assumption that domestication fosters more cooperative individuals.

To determine who the better team-player is, researchers put food on a tray attached to two ropes and tested pairs of dogs or wolves in an exercise where the animals could get the food only if each individual pulled on a different rope at the same time. When the dogs were tested, they failed to cooperatively pull the two ends of a rope at the same time to obtain a piece of food. The wolves, on the other hand, showed perfect teamwork.

Should we be surprised? Nope.

After all, the strength of the wolf is the pack.