About Prehistoric Dire Wolves (Canis Dirus)
Scary Extinct Wolves of North America
Humans have good reasons for their atavistic fear of wolves. They work in packs, are clever, and good at hunting big prey and bringing it down. Prey such as stray humans who are hunting for food themselves. Now imagine the wolves after you are bigger, heavier, and built to thrive in the Ice Age. That describes Canis dirus, otherwise known as prehistoric dire wolves.
As I mentioned in other posts on prehistoric bears and prehistoric lions, my Ice Age Shifters® series asks the question: What happens if a shapeshifter's animal side turns out to be a throwback to an earlier species? As you might imagine, this difference isn't always welcome. In some shifter communities, tradition trumps acceptance.
Prehistoric Dire Wolves Were Bad-Ass
Dire wolves are one of the most famous species of prehistoric Ice Age animals. And thanks to Game of Thrones, their fame has grown in recent years. They were muscular, with massive jaws, but more slender legs than contemporary wolves. They are the most common fossil remains found in the La Brea Tar Pits. This is probably because they hunted in cooperative packs. Meaning that if one member got stuck in the tarry death trap, others of the pack would try to help, dooming them all.
Paleontologists have competing theories on the evolution of wolves in general. The ancestors of dire wolves likely originated in North America and spread all over the world. Prehistoric dire wolves thrived in North America, Central America, and South America during the Ice Age. For the most part, they weren't that much bigger than the largest of today's wolves, but they were heavier and more brawny.
Dire wolves lost the evolutionary competition and died out at the end of the Ice Age. Paleontologists guess this is because the large prey they depended on died out. Also, humans probably killed them at every opportunity out of fear, and out of annoyance when they lost their valuable food animals to the wolf pack. Much like today, I imagine.
Dire Wolves in the Ice Age Shifters Series
Maned wolves look much more friendly than prehistoric dire wolves 
