Tribal Dire Wolf Tattoo

Dire wolves were real

Best known now from fiction, which has slightly obscured the fact that they existed in enormous numbers until roughly thirteen thousand years ago.

More than four thousand individuals have been recovered from the La Brea tar pits alone, making them one of the best documented extinct predators anywhere.

And they were not wolves as such

This is the part that changed recently. Everyone assumed the dire wolf was a heavier grey wolf, because it looked like one.

Genome work published in 2021 found otherwise. The two lineages had been separate for millions of years, and dire wolves were not closely related to grey wolves at all: they could not have interbred with them. The resemblance came from living the same way rather than from shared ancestry.

The name is a mistake that stuck. It usually is.

Bold linework for a small design

Solid black tribal strokes curl and interlock behind the head like flame, and they are what hold the design together at 9.8 x 6 cm. The wolf inside them is worked the other way: a greyscale profile facing right, with soft fur shading, a pale eye and a black nose.

Heavy frame, shaded subject. The contrast between the two is what keeps a compact piece from closing up into a grey patch.

Suits a forearm, shoulder or ankle.

See the wolf temporary tattoo range.

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