The question “Who’s afraid of the big bad wolf?” might sound cliché, but during the Pleistocene Epoch (about 250,000 to 10,000 years ago), it wasn’t about a wolf terrorizing pigs. Back then, everyone was afraid—and for good reason.

The dire wolf made today’s wolves look like puppies. On average, they weighed around 150 to 175 pounds, and some reached up to 200. They stood about 2.5 feet tall at the shoulder and measured roughly 5 feet long, not counting the tail.

They were stockier and more powerful than modern wolves, with especially strong jaws built for crushing bone. Considering the massive prey around at the time, they needed that kind of strength. They lived alongside other giants that were just as tough.

Basically, dire wolves were made for taking down big prey. Everything was larger during the Pleistocene, and competition was fierce.

They went extinct about 10,000 years ago, near the end of the last Ice Age. That was the same period when many other large Ice Age animals, like mammoths and saber-toothed cats, also disappeared.

Scientists think their extinction was caused by a mix of climate change, habitat loss, and the decline of the big animals they hunted. But honestly, no one knows for sure what happened. Something hit the reset button on Earth, and dire wolves didn’t make it through.

About The Replica:

This replica is modeled after a real dire wolf skull recovered from the La Brea Tar Pits. It measures 12 inches long, 7 inches wide, and 6 inches high.

Over 4,000 dire wolf skulls have been found at the La Brea Tar Pits in Los Angeles, making it one of the best places in the world for dire wolf fossils.

While that might sound like a lot, it’s actually a pretty small number considering how many of these beasts once roamed the Earth.

This replica is a great way to add one of these incredible skulls to your collection without spending thousands of dollars.