Apr 13, 2025, 05:36 PM IST
Here are eight lesser-known facts about a wolf species that went extinct around 10,000 years ago, but scientists from a Dallas-based biotech firm claim to have brought them back to life.
While they share a common ancestor, dire wolves diverged from the lineage that led to modern gray wolves and other canids millions of years ago, evolving independently in the Americas.
Dire wolves were larger and more heavily built than gray wolves, with thicker legs, broader heads and shoulders, and a stockier frame.
Their jaws and teeth were adapted for crushing bones and consuming the nutrient-rich marrow inside, a trait that sets them apart from many other predators of their time.
Their diet consisted primarily of meat, with at least 70% of their sustenance coming from animal sources.
They disappeared at the end of the last Ice Age, likely due to climate change and the extinction of their prey.
The La Brea Tar Pits in Southern California contain numerous dire wolf fossils, making it a valuable site for studying these extinct canids.
Dire wolves and saber-toothed cats competed for food and territory, and their fossils are often found together in the La Brea Tar Pits.
In 2025, Colossal Biosciences announced the successful creation of dire wolf pups using ancient DNA and gene-editing technology, though these pups are essentially hybrids with 99.9% gray wolf genome.