Because of their size, they ambushed their prey ... combined with the competition with humans for food, led to the demise of the dire wolf and many other ancient predators about 10,000 to 20,000 ...
The dire wolf (Canis dirus) was said to be around the size of the largest gray wolves ... brief mention of the dogs (Canis familiaris) that humans have bred to be larger and taller than even ...