“Ethiopian wolves: predators that feed on nectar and act as plant pollinators Scientists have discovered that Ethiopian wolves regularly feed on the nectar of local flowers. During feeding, their snouts are covered with pollen, which allows them to act as plant pollinators.”, — write on: unn.ua
Ethiopian wolves feed on the sweet nectar of local flowers. In this way, pollen remains on the faces of animals and they can perform the functions of plant pollinators.
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The Ethiopian wolf is the rarest wild canine species in the world and the most threatened carnivore in Africa. Wild Ethiopian wolves consume the nectar of the flowers of the Ethiopian hot poker (Kniphofia foliosa), which is traditionally used by the locals in the mountains as a sweetener for coffee and bread.
These wolves are believed to be the first large carnivore species to regularly feed on nectar.
For large carnivores such as wolves, nectar feeding is highly unusual due to the lack of, for example, a long tongue or specific snout construction, and because most flowers are too fragile or produce too little nectar to be of interest to large animals
Also, researchers from the University of Oxford observed that some wolves fit up to 30 flowers at a time. As they lick up the nectar, their snouts become coated with pollen, which they can potentially transfer from flower to flower as they feed.
“The behavior is interesting because it shows that nectar feeding and pollination by non-flying mammals may be more common than currently recognized, and that the ecological importance of these lesser-known pollinators may be more important than we think,” says Sandra Lai.
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