The Ethiopian wolf, also known as the red jackal, is one of the rarest canines in the world and also Africa’s most endangered carnivore. But ongoing conservation efforts for the coyote-like predator cannot only help sustain local wildlife populations; their taste for sweet snacks can also pollinate plants.
Ethiopian red hot pokers are perennial flowers of the Kniphofia genus native to the African country and usually blooms between May and October. Every year, pollinators such as birds, insects and small mammals visit the plants to drink their large quantities of nectar. But while the Ethiopian wolf’s diet consists largely of rodents, a new study published Nov. 19 in the journal Ecology confirms that the red jackals themselves are also regularly in search of Ethiopian red-hot poker nectar.
Ethiopian wolves mostly subsist on a diet of small rodents. Credit: Adrien Lesaffre
Researchers documented that the canines visited as many as 30 flowers at a time. Credit: Adrien Lesaffre
The evidence gathered by the authors of the University of Oxford’s Ethiopian Wolf Conservation Program (EWCP) study marks the first known documentation of large carnivores purposefully feeding on nectar. Researchers monitored the habits of a group of wolves over one flowering season and noted that individual wolves visited as many as 30 flowers at a time. And it’s not just the adults who make trips to the blooming fields; the study also shows that young wolves appear to learn how to harvest nectar from their parents and other pack members.
Each wolf’s snout is often covered in fine, yellow pollen after their nectar snack. Although not directly confirmed, researchers think it is very likely that the predators’ subsequent migrations help spread the flowers, like other traditional pollinators.
“I first became aware of the nectar of the Ethiopian red-hot poker when I saw children of shepherds in the Bale Mountains licking the flowers,” explains EWCP director and co-founder Claudio Sillero, who tasted the described nectar as “pleasantly sweet. ”
According to the EWCP’s November 20 study announcement, local residents of the Oromo community also use the nectar for honey and as a coffee sweetener.
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“When I later saw the wolves doing the same thing, I knew they were having a good time and taking advantage of this unusual energy source,” Sillero continued. “I am pleased that we have now reported this behavior as common among Ethiopian wolves and investigated its ecological significance.”
However, this unique ecological partnership is threatened with extinction. According to the EWCP, fewer than 500 Ethiopian wolves remain in the wild, spread across 99 packs confined to six enclaves in the region’s highlands.
“These findings highlight how much we still have to learn about one of the world’s most endangered carnivores,” said Sandra Lai, lead author of the study and senior scientist at the EWCP. “It also demonstrates the complexity of the interactions between different species living on the beautiful Roof of Africa.”
