Ethiopian wolves are the first large carnivores found to slurp nectar

Some wolves have a taste for dessert.

In the highlands of Ethiopia, carnivorous Ethiopian wolves (Canis simensis) dine almost exclusively on rodents. But the predators also have a sweet tooth, sometimes slurping nectar from Ethiopian red hot poker flowers (Kniphofia foliosa), researchers report November 19 in Ecology.

The behavior hints at an unexpected role for wolves in this ecosystem: pollinator. As a wolf licks nectar from the cone-shaped flowers, its muzzle can become covered in pollen that could get passed from flower to flower.

Mammals that feed on nectar, such as sugar gliders, typically live in trees and weigh less than six kilograms. But endangered Ethiopian wolves, weighing in around 15 kilograms, are the first large carnivorous predators known to feed on flowers, says Sandra Lai, a wildlife biologist with the University of Oxford’s Ethiopian Wolf Conservation Programme (SN: 3/22/18).

Local people and visiting researchers have intermittently seen wolves lick flowers during blooming season for many years. But the behavior hadn’t been documented in a scientific paper. When Lai learned about it two years ago, she wanted to find out more.

In May and June 2023, she and colleagues followed six wolves from three different packs as the animals foraged on red hot poker flowers. Four wolves visited just a handful of flowers, drinking nectar from mature flowers at the cone’s base. The remaining two animals appeared to have an even stronger taste for the sugar, feasting from more than 20 flowers during a single romp in a flower patch.

Because the wolves belong to different packs, Lai says the behavior appears to be a widespread practice. But it’s unclear whether pollen from wolf muzzles help flowers bear fruit. Experiments involving individual flowers that are touched by a single wolf with pollen on its muzzle could help find out, Lai says. “Also, you have to take into account the other pollinators.”

Several birds and insects feed on red hot poker flower nectar, as do baboons and some people, who use the liquid as a sweetener. “The flowers are completely full,” Lai says. “So even when you shake it, you have the nectar falling from the flowers.” It’s possible that smaller critters that can fit body parts deeper into flowers are more effective pollinators than those that collect dripping nectar from the outside.

Still, few species live in the high mountains compared with other areas, Lai says, making each interaction potentially important for pollination.