“There are no dire wolves south of the wall.” That’s a quote from Robb Stark, a character in the Game of Thrones book and TV series.

If you’ve watched or read this series, then you’re probably familiar with dire wolves, which are larger and have a stronger bite than the wolves we know. Early in the story, the Stark family finds a litter of orphaned cubs. Each child gets its own dire wolf as a pet and guardian. But like princesses giving birth to dragons, these large wolves seem to be a product of their story (in other words, it’s fiction).

Dire wolves in the Game of Thrones TV show. HBO.

However, Game of Thrones author George R.R. Martin did not invent dire wolves; they really existed on our own earth. Dire wolves (canis dirus) were one of the Ice Age monsters that has gone extinct, though they may have lived until just 10,000 years ago (and modern day “sightings” have increased since the TV series just as alien shows increase UFO sightings, so there’s a good chance someone in the comments below this post will report that they saw one).

Back to my point: These wolves once existed (even if they do not exist anymore). Canis dirus was a New World predator that roamed the Americas from modern-day Canada down south to Bolivia and possibly further. Along with other Pleistocene predators like saber-toothed cats and American lions, dire wolves bared their fangs and made herbivores wish they hadn’t walked through the tall grass on their way to the watering hole.

Dire wolf meets the saber-toothed Smilodon. Public domain.

Where Can You See 404 Dire Wolf Skulls?

If you need proof that these wolves were real once, then allow me to recommend the La Brea Tar Pits in Los Angeles. The museum there has a wall that looks much different than the gigantic ice wall in Game of Thrones. It’s a wall decked with skulls that is illuminated and protected by glass.

What’s inside? Not just one skull of a dire wolf, and not just two or ten or twenty. There are 404 dire wolf skulls displayed on this one wall in the museum, which represents only a portion of the more than 1600 remains of dire wolves that have been found at the site.

The skull wall again by another photographer. Creative Commons via Wikimedia.com by Pyry Matikainen.

404 skulls on one wall! This is a truly amazing display. No wonder those wolves didn’t make it south of the wall (I’m joking).

Not Just a Watering Hole

And what site is this, where thousands of these vicious predators met their end? Remember that watering hole where the other animals went to drink? It looked like a cool, wet spot in a valley where one could get a drink in the hot weather.

And for predators like dire wolves, this was a hunting spot, since other animals came for the water. It’s easy work if you can get it: Sit in the tall grass by the small lake. Sooner or later, those horses, bison, camels, and other protein-on-legs will walk down to the only place for miles around that they can get a drink of water. Free lunch for meat-loving beasts.

But this particular watering hole had a catch (literally). The La Brea Tar Pits were not just water. That shiny oasis was full of dark, sticky tar where black gold seeped up from the oil fields below the Los Angeles basin. That black tar was really sticky; think of quicksand stuck in glue. And it trapped thousands of animals, preserving their remains until scientists thousands of years later could dig them up.

The La Brea Tar Pits in Los Angeles. That sticky stuff trapped thousands of dire wolves and many, many other animals. Source: tarpits.org.

Imagine a horse or bison trapped in the tar, unable to climb out. The sight, sound, and smell of dying animals must have attracted predators from miles around, even if they were not prowling that particular watering hole. A pack of dire wolves would try to surround and attack that dying beast. And they’d end up trapped themselves.

These 404 dire wolves thought they were getting a drink and an easy meal. Instead, they got stuck in the mud and their heads ended up on this wall. I guess there’s no such thing as a free lunch.

Powerful Horse Thieves

Dire wolves were about 25 percent heavier than today’s gray wolves (Canus lupus). Along with more muscle, they packed a very powerful bite. According to one paleontologist who has studied dire wolf skulls, their bite would have contained 129% of the force of a gray wolf bite. Being the heaviest canine to have ever walked the earth, dire wolves would not have depended on their speed.

Dire wolf skull. Creative Commons via flickr.com by James St. John.

The dire wolf skeletons are only slightly larger than those of today's gray wolf, but dire wolves packed 25% more weight and a more powerful bite. Creative Commons via Wikipedia.com by mariomassone.

Instead, they probably ambushed their prey. However, paleontologists have examined the remains of dire wolves and concluded that their most common meal, by far, was wild horse. Since horses are pretty fast, then dire wolves would have been hanging around plenty of watering holes waiting for them to drink.

That must be why thousands of dire wolves perished in the La Brea Tar Pits and 404 of their skulls ended up on the museum wall there.

Isn’t There a Song About a Dire Wolf?

Oh yes, how could I forget it? If you’re thinking of something to the tune of “99 Bottles of Beer on the Wall”, you could try singing “404 Dire Wolf Skulls on the Wall,” but it would take too long to get to the end. Here’s a better one: Dire Wolf, as performed by the Grateful Dead in 1983, with Jerry Garcia in beast mode himself. Apparently, the wolves could play cards, too. But please don’t murder me.

References:
http://westerndigs.org/saber-tooth-cats-dire-wolves-found-in-la-brea-tar-pits-show-wounds-from-ice-age-battles/
http://mentalfloss.com/article/63309/10-fierce-facts-about-dire-wolves
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dire_wolf
https://tarpits.org/museum

Top photo by the author. Other images credited in the text.