LMH Research Fellow Professor Claudio Sillero, founder of the Ethiopian Wolf Conservation Programme (EWCP) and part of the University of Oxford’s Wildlife Conservation Research Unit (WildCRU), has contributed to an article on the first large carnivore species ever to be documented feeding on nectar.
(L) Professor Claudio Sillero. (R) An Ethiopian wolf (Canis simensis) licks nectar from the Ethiopian red hot poker flower (Kniphofia foliosa). ©Adrien Lesaffre.
The new findings, published in the journal Ecology, describe a previously undocumented behaviour of Ethiopian wolves (Canis simensis), which have been observed feeding on the nectar of Ethiopian red hot poker flowers (Kniphofia foliosa).
The study was carried out by researchers at the Ethiopian Wolf Conservation Programme (EWCP), a partnership between the Wildlife Conservation Research Unit (WildCRU) at the University of Oxford, the Ethiopian Wildlife Conservation Authority (EWCA), and Dinkenesh Ethiopia. The EWCP was founded by Professor Sillero and Dr Karen Laurenson in 1995 to secure the future of the rare Ethiopian wolf.
Researchers observed that some individual wolves would visit as many as 30 blooms in a single trip, with multiple wolves from different packs exploiting this resource. There was also some evidence of social learning, with juveniles being brought to the flower fields along with adults.
As they foraged, the wolves’ muzzles become covered in pollen, which they could potentially transfer from flower to flower as they feed. This novel behaviour is perhaps the first known plant-pollinator interaction involving a large predator, as well as the only large meat-eating predator ever to be observed feeding on nectar.
Dr Sandra Lai, EWCP Senior Scientist based at the University of Oxford, and lead author on the study, said: “These findings highlight just how much we still have to learn about one of the world’s most-threatened carnivores. It also demonstrates the complexity of interactions between different species living on the beautiful Roof of Africa. This extremely unique and biodiverse ecosystem remains under threat from habitat loss and fragmentation.”
Professor Sillero describes observing this behaviour first-hand: “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. In no time, I had a taste of it myself - the nectar was pleasantly sweet. When I later saw the wolves doing the same, I knew they were enjoying themselves, tapping into this unusual source of energy. I am chuffed that we have now reported this behaviour as being commonplace among Ethiopian wolves and explored its ecological significance.”
The Ethiopian wolf is the rarest wild canid species in the world, and Africa’s most threatened carnivore. Found only in the Ethiopian highlands, fewer than 500 individuals survive, in 99 packs restricted to 6 Afroalpine enclaves.
The study, ‘Canids as pollinators? Nectar foraging by Ethiopian wolves may contribute to the pollination of Kniphofia foliosa’ has been published in Ecology.
Photos courtesy of Adrien Lesaffre.
An Ethiopian wolf (Canis simensis) licks nectar from the Ethiopian red hot poker flower (Kniphofia foliosa). ©Adrien Lesaffre.
