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Could Gray Wolves Survive in the Cretaceous Arctic? - What the dogs doing?

CreatureArchives

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The Cretaceous Arctic was a land of extremes—long, dark winters, brief but intense summers, and a prehistoric ecosystem dominated by dinosaurs. But what if a modern predator, the gray wolf, found itself in this ancient, frozen wilderness? Could it survive, adapt, and evolve to carve out a niche among prehistoric giants?
Or would it fall victim to the many dangers of the Cretaceous?
Join us as we explore speculative evolution, survival strategies, and the challenges this modern apex predator would face in a prehistoric world!

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20 Comments

@foryossimodicarbonio9703 1 year ago

Could "CreatureArchives" survive "Madly Mesozoic"?

@Nojo7733 1 year ago

I think gray wolves could do quite well, at least to my knowledge, they have a niche that no other predator in the area has, being pack hunting pursuit predators, they would likely be a rather dominant force over the solitary dromaeosaurs and troodontids, and would only answer to nanuqsaurus. They also have the advantage of being able to cash food and keep pups in dens, out of the range of large predators.

I’d imagine there would be plenty of herbivorous targets that they could reasonably take on within the 100 pound-2 ton range

@thebigmanishere 1 year ago

Another great fact about wolves is that the father wolfs if they see a predator to their cubs like black bears, cougars and even tigers would either try to stand his ground or lure the threat away from his pack nipping at them. This strat works with the capital APEXs like kodiaks and tigers into chasing the wolf only to lose him in the bushes. I imagine they would do the same with nanuqsaurus .

@Fettman89 1 year ago

The idea of wolves really leaning into the scavenging side and evolving into a more Hyena like creature is actually pretty cool as a survival tactic, the Ice wolf variation is just metal AF lol, Imagine a pack of Polar Bear sized wolves baring down on a lone nanuqsaurus, I love the speculative evolution sections because they're really well thought out.

@danieljones4256 1 year ago (edited)

Congratulations you must be what the third YouTuber to start doing this? Either way saw your first video and I have to admit, your second video has improved audio quality. Looking forward to future videos.

@eliletts8149 1 year ago

Well, grey wolves are already known to be able to live in places that have multiple months of darkness in the winter in their natural distribution and temporal range.

@justinianthegreat1444 1 year ago

The wolves would probably be a vassal or meso predator while nanuqsaurus stays as the apex

@thegreattotemaster 1 year ago (edited)

4:15 - There are actually more options for prey, and ones fairly close to the wolves' size, in the Prince Creek Formation. Their fossils are just mostly indeterminate and/or haven't preserved as well as those of the larger dinosaurs (there definitely seems to be some preservation bias going on). There are pachycephalosaurs (Alaskacephale), ornithomimids, thescelosaurines, leptoceratopsids, and less easily classifiable ornithopods. Since these are herbivores (and relatively small ones at that, being not all that far off in size from the deer, pigs and other ungulates and artiodactyls wolves normally tend to hunt), then logically they would almost certainly greatly outnumber the local predatory animals like troodontids and dromaeosaurs (as that's what usually happens in ecosystems, especially when also factoring in the aforementioned preservation bias in the fossil record), and thus be a far more reliable food source.

@hughquigley5337 7 months ago

“What the dogs doing?” Lmfaooo

@matthewdyet3618 1 year ago (edited)

Here are a few ideas:

Could Purlovias survive in the Cenozoic?

Could Dingos survive in the Cenozoic?

Could Rhinos survive in the Mesozoic?

Could Komodo Dragons survive in the Mesozoic?

Could Terror Birds survive in the Mesozoic? (Phorusrhacos, Gastornis, Keleken and Titanis)

@applbredanimates 1 year ago

great analysis and unique adaptations of how its evolve, great video overall :>

@luukzilla1519 1 year ago (edited)

I have some video ideas for you.

6. Could Bruce (JAWS) survive in the Western Interior Seaway/Hell's Aquarium?

5. Could a Wampa (Star Wars) survive in the Pleistocene epoch?

4. Could a Rancor (Star Wars) survive in the Cretaceous period?

3. Could a Deathclaw (Fallout) survive in S.T.A.L.K.E.R?

2. Could a Yautja (Predator) hunt and beat some of the most dangerous Cryptids?

1. Could the Godzillasaurus (Toho) survive in the Monsterverse Skull Island?

Edit: the Yautja will be facing these Cryptids specifically

Skinwalker
Wendigo
Mananggal
Aswang
Goatman
Lizardman
Dogman
Kasai Rex

@brandondaman2692 1 year ago

I can imagine shadow wolves could potentially survive the kt extinction unlike their counterparts and if so they would totally rewrite the evolution of the Cenozoic

@Sasharavnhardt 1 year ago

I LOVE the speculative evolution section of your videos!!

@kendallsievert8228 1 year ago

Fun fact there’s likely a Troodontid in Late Cretaceous Alaska that was just big enough to scare away a pack of wolves as a fossil of a troodontid tooth was found in the Prince Creek Formation that was 50% larger than its southern cousins

@TheLandThatTimeForgot1974 1 year ago (edited)

Asian Elephant
Survive In The Cretaceous Thailand

- Meet Phuwiangosaurus (Herbivore)
- Meet Phuwiangvenator (Predator)
- Meet Vayuraptor (Small Carnivore)
- Meet Siamosaurus (Semi-Aquatic)
- Meet Siamotyrannus (The Tyrant)