Ethiopian wolves are specialized feeders on what prey group?

Ethiopian wolves are specialized feeders on Afroalpine rodents.

Unlike many large canids, Ethiopian wolves are highly specialized hunters rather than broad generalists. Their highland habitat supports dense populations of rodents, so the wolves have evolved a narrow skull, elongated muzzle and widely spaced teeth suited to extracting small prey from burrows. They commonly hunt alone during daylight, when many rodents are active.

In the Bale Mountains, the big-headed African mole-rat is a major prey species. Ethiopian wolves also eat grass rats, brush-furred rats, highland hares and other small mammals. In the Simien Mountains, Abyssinian grass rats are particularly important. The wolves may scratch at burrow entrances or dig extensively to reach prey.

This diet explains why the species is tied so closely to open Afroalpine grasslands rather than forests or lowland savannas. Rodent abundance affects territory size, pack numbers and pup survival. Ethiopian wolves occasionally take larger prey or consume eggs, carrion and even nectar, but those are supplementary foods, not the specialized prey group that defines their ecology.