Wolves with a taste for nectar? How we discovered the first large carnivore that pollinates flowers

By Sandra Lai, Postdoctoral Researcher, Ethiopian Wolf Conservation Programme, University of Oxford

Every year in the highlands of Ethiopia, when the rain returns after a parched dry season, a dazzling sight unfolds. Vast fields of a plant known as the Ethiopian red hot poker revive from their crinkled, withered state, and bloom into fiery torch-like flowers. From June to November, these bright blossoms offer a precious resource: a profusion of sweet nectar.

Among the humming flash of sunbirds and insects drawn to the flowers, an unusual visitor appears: the Ethiopian wolf. Approaching a cone-shaped flower head, it licks the bottom, lapping up nectar and looking quite visibly pleased.…

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