Wolves as pollinators (therophily)

If one were to ask people which mammals serve as polllinators of plants, most would probably identify bats, but I have to say this report of wolves doing so is a bit of a surprise.  Here's an abbreviated excerpt from a report in the journal Ecology:

Up to 87% of flowering plant species depend on a wide range of animal species for their pollination. Among mammals, nectivorous pollinator species are principally represented by flying species such as bats and, to a smaller extent, by some marsupials, rodents, primates, and small carnivores. It has been pointed out that therophily, pollination by non-flying mammals, may however be more widespread and hold more significance than currently recognized. For example, in Australia, direct experimentation has shown that the brown antechinus (Antechinus stuartii) and the sugar glider (Petaurus breviceps) are important pollinators of native Proteaceae (Banksia spp.). The mammals involved in pollination are typically small- to medium-sized and often arboreal species, whereas nectar-feeding carnivoran mammals are much rarer, with only four species of Carnivora among the 343 mammals identified as potential and known pollinators in a 2015 review. However, examples of carnivore species foraging for nectar, and putatively involved in pollination, continue to be discovered, such as the masked palm civet (Paguma larvata), the Cape genet (Genetta tigrina), and the Cape gray mongoose (Herpestes pulverulenta). Here, we report the visitation to inflorescences of the Ethiopian red hot poker (Kniphofia foliosa) by a large carnivore, the Ethiopian wolf (Canis simensis), in the Bale Mountains of southern Ethiopia. Wolves were observed foraging for nectar on K. foliosa flowers, which deposited relatively large amount of pollen on their muzzles, suggesting they could contribute to pollination.

There is good discussion of the subject matter at the source article and in the via at The New York Times.