Gaby
In Ethiopia, researchers captured video of a local wolf (Canis simensis) enthusiastically licking flowers. The footage suggests these predators—often called Ethiopian wolves or red jackals—might act a bit like giant terrestrial bees. The wolves were filmed savoring the sweet, sticky nectar of Kniphofia foliosa, the red hot poker, their white muzzles dusted yellow with pollen. Ecologist Sandra Lye of the University of Oxford and her team suspect these typically carnivorous animals may be transferring pollen from one plant to another. If that turns out to be true, the Ethiopian wolf would be the first known example of a large pollinator. In their report the team wrote, “We observed that the wolves seek nectar from K. foliosa flowers, which leave a relatively large amount of pollen on their faces; thus, it can be inferred that they may contribute to pollination,” and they said further studies are needed to confirm the idea.
If the team’s conclusions hold, these endangered wolves would join a small but charming group of nonflying mammals that pollinate plants. Biologists call mammal pollination therophily; it also occurs in some rodents, primates, moles, and honey possums. Over years of fieldwork, Lye and her colleagues noticed the wolves periodically seek out sugary nectar. During a four-day study the team tracked six wolves from different packs and observed that one wolf visited roughly 30 flowers on a single foraging trip. “I first learned about the nectar of the red hot poker when I saw herding children in the Bale Mountains licking these flowers,” said ecologist Claudio Sillero of the University of Oxford. “Then I tasted it — the nectar was pleasantly sweet.”
Flowers that rely on mammal pollination tend to be sturdy or show special adaptations, and the red hot poker is no exception. Its numerous blossoms cluster at the top of a stem that can reach about a meter tall, according to ScienceAlert. Nearly 90 percent of flowering plants are pollinated by animals. The new study suggests lesser-known pollinators may play a bigger role than researchers previously realized. Most mammal pollinators are small or medium-sized and often arboreal, like bats or sugar gliders. Some nectar-eating carnivores are small-bodied too, such as civets or raccoons.
The Ethiopian wolf, with fewer than 500 individuals left in the wild, is one of Africa’s rarest predators. It primarily feeds on rodents in the highlands, but it also appears to treat itself to floral desserts. The species survives only on seven mountain ranges above 3,000 meters. Genetic studies suggest these wolves represent a remnant ancestral group of canids related to gray wolves. “These results highlight how much more there is to learn about one of the world’s most vulnerable predators,” Lye said. The study was published in the journal Ecology.
