Dire wolf may not have been a wolf at all

[Still Waters 52,302]

One of North America’s most famous ancient predators—and a favorite of Game of Thrones fans—emerged as mysteriously as it disappeared. Dire wolves, which died out with mammoths and saber-toothed cats at the end of the last ice age, were long thought to be close cousins of gray wolves. Now, the first analysis of dire wolf DNA finds they instead traveled a lonely evolutionary path: They are so different from other wolves, coyotes, and dogs that they don’t belong in the genus that includes these animals. Instead, researchers argue, they need an entirely new scientific classification.

“It’s a fascinating study” that reveals just how distinct dire wolves were, says Robert Dundas, a vertebrate paleontologist and expert on the animals at California State University, Fresno, who was not involved with the work.

https://www.sciencemag.org/news/2021/01/legendary-dire-wolf-may-not-have-been-wolf-all

Quote

Dire wolves were the last of an ancient New World canid lineage

https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-020-03082-x

[Jon the frog 2,409]

So they dont have a close relative to try a cloning program...