Ancient DNA reveals secrets of Game of Thrones wolves

For fans of the TV show Game of Thrones, dire wolves are often seen as mysterious iconic legends. Now, for the first time, an international team led by Durham University and colleagues in Australia, Germany and the US, have analysed ancient DNA from dire wolves to reveal a complex history of these ice age predators. Distant cousins The study shows that extinct dire wolves split off from other wolves nearly six million years ago and were only a distant relative of today's wolves. Dire wolves, made famous in the TV show Game of Thrones, were common across North America until around 13,000 years ago, after which they went extinct. However, lots of mysteries still surround their evolution and extinction. The research found that dire wolves were so different from other canine species like coyotes and grey wolves that they were not able to breed with each other. Previous analyses had led scientists to believe that dire wolves were closely related to grey wolves.