The dire wolves always fascinated our imaginations since time immemorial.
The big tenacious top predator that once roamed the land of North America during the Late Pleistocene period,
conquered even the entertainment industry.
The creature inspired multitudes of movies and TV shows adding more awe
and curiosity as to how the animal once lived.
The dire wolf size is comparable to the larges modern-day gray wolves,
Yukon wolves, or the northwestern wolves.
So imagine yourself standing face to face with an animal with such fierce fangs and sheer size.
Better prepare for the shock of your life when you meet the 12-year-old
Yuki from Naples, Florida.
He is what they call a wolf-dog.
A completed DNA analysis confirms his bloodline as 87.5% gray wolf, with 8.6% Siberian husky, and about 3.9% German Shepherd.
He stands 5-foot-4 and weighs a whopping 120 pounds (ca. 54 kilograms),
and yes he looks a lot like a dire wolf.
He arrived at the Shy Wolf animal sanctuary back in 2008 when he was just 8-months old.
Yuki’s previous owner dumped him at a high kill rate shelter when he grew quickly and became too much to handle.
He’s doomed to live in a cramped shelter without much room to roam especially for his size.
Good thing they decided to call the Shy Wolf sanctuary team to make an evaluation.
The Shy Wolf team saw Yuki and knew then that with high probability he is a wolf-dog.
Yuki instantly became an internet celebrity due to his size.
People just couldn’t believe their eyes when they see him.
He now lives happily in the sanctuary with another female wolf-dog named Bella.
She is smaller than Yuki but seems to be much more dominant in their relationship.
Unfortunately, Yuki is found to have incurable blood cancer. There is little that the caretakers can do but spend as much time as they are able with him.
The sanctuary currently seeks funds to help them obtain a larger location for rescuing more wolf dogs like Yuki.
They hope Yuki’s popularity will spread awareness in helping those in distress get immediate attention.
Credits to Shy Wolf Sanctuary