What’s new: One of the world’s rarest carnivores, the Ethiopian wolf, enjoys snacking on flower nectar, a new study has found. This wolf is, in fact, the first large carnivore documented feeding on nectar and leaving with a pollen-laden nose and mouth, possibly making it the only large meat-eating predator that also serves as a plant-pollinator. What the study says: Researchers from the Ethiopian Wolf Conservation Programme (EWCP) say that over the years, they have opportunistically come across the endangered Ethiopian wolf (Canis simensis), found only in the Ethiopian highlands, feeding on the nectar of flowers of the red hot poker (Kniphofia foliosa), a herb that’s also endemic to Ethiopia. The flower’s sweet nectar is known to attract insects and birds, and even other mammals such as human children, domestic dogs, olive baboons (Papio anubis) and mountain nyala (Tragelaphus buxtoni). The local Oromo community also uses the nectar as a sweetener for food such as coffee. To further investigate the behavior, the study’s authors followed six Ethiopian wolves, from three different wolf packs, over four days between May and June 2023. The researchers found that nectar-eating behavior is widespread among the different packs: the wolves, while moving through a K. foliosa flower field, would stop and lick the most mature flowers containing the most nectar, and leave with pollen deposited on their muzzle. The researchers write the wolves’ attraction to the flowers is “remarkable” since each wolf was observed visiting up to 30 flowers, spending from a minute to more than an…This article was originally published on Mongabay
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