Ethiopian wolf (Canis simensis). Photo © Laika ac · Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA 2.0
Of the five wild species of Canis in and around Ethiopia, only the Ethiopian wolf has an immaculately pale surface on the fore foot.
The conspicuousness of this unique feature – which resembles a white glove – may help group members to keep visual contact as they forage silently by day.
The white gloves of the Ethiopian wolf work well in the montane meadows of Ethiopia because the vegetation is grazed so short that its legs are fully revealed.
Such signalling would not work well for other species of Canis which inhabit taller vegetation types.
Figure 1. Ethiopian wolf (Canis simensis). Photo by Charles J Sharp
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Figure 2. Golden wolf (Canis anthus). Photo by Dominic Sherony
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Figure 3. Side-striped jackal (Canis adustus). Photo by Michael Bakker Paiv
Figure 4. Black-backed jackal (Canis mesomelas). Photo by Hans Hillewaert
Figure 5. Arabian jackal (Canis lupus arabs). Photo by Ahmad Qarmish
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