There really was such a thing as a "Dire Wolf," now extinct. Click this link to read all about it. Many people (myself included), probably relate to the "Dire Wolf" as a species portrayed in "Game of Thrones." Those who know the species only through the fictional world created by George R. R. Martin can be forgiven for thinking that the "Dire Wolf" was a literary creation, not a real-life predator. Martin's wonderful series of fantasy novels, collectively denominated, A Song Of Ice And Fire, is where most of us learned about the "Dire Wolf."
Back in April, there were lots of stories about the "return" of the "Dire Wolf," by way of genetic efforts at "deextinction." Click here for a story from Time Magazine. Here is a link to a story in The New York Times. The Times' story emphasizes the "slap in the face" that one of the scientists experienced when he saw the white coat of the genetically recaptured canine. "Dire Wolves" are bigger, and their bite is stronger than those of ordinary "Gray Wolves." Another feature, of course, is that their coats are "white," as befits a species that inhabits a literary series that incorporates "Ice" into its title.
In fact, though, this "Dire Wolf" revival, and especially the genetic recreation of the wolf's white fur, seems out of synch, doesn't it?
As I presume everyone reading this knows, planetary global warming, which is now threatening to conduct lots of other species into extinction (including, quite possibly, the human species) is going to create a world in which "ice," and "snow," and everything "white," are going to be ever more scarce, if even existing at all.
Maybe, we should focus on combatting global warming, as a higher priority than bringing back the "Dire Wolf," summoning it to a world not of "Ice and Fire," but of "Fire" alone.
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