Jingszo !

Pollen coating their muzzles suggests the endangered canids may act as furry pollinators

With fewer than 500 individuals believed to be alive today, Ethiopian wolves (Canis simensis) are the world’s rarest wild canid and Africa’s most endangered carnivore. But when they’re not chowing down on rodents, these lanky, alpine wolf relatives have a bit of a sweet tooth: Researchers report this week in Ecology that the animals enjoy licking nectar from red hot poker flowers (Kniphofia foliosa, seen in the video above), documenting this behavior for the first time in a large predator.