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* In prehistoric times, there were some animals that were, in fact, larger than their modern relatives. These included dire wolves, antelodonts (relatives of modern pigs), and deinotherium (related to elephants). None of them tended to be quite so large as modern media portrays them (dire wolves, for example only grew to about 110-175 lbs and were actually shorter at the shoulders than modern wolves), and needless to say they weren't covered in spikes, either.
to:
* In prehistoric times, there were some animals that were, in fact, larger than their modern relatives. These included dire wolves, antelodonts entelodonts (relatives of modern pigs), ''Elasmotherium'' (an ice age rhino), and deinotherium (related to elephants).''Deinotherium'', ''Stegodon'' and several mammoth species (elephant relatives). None of them tended to be quite so large as modern media portrays them (dire wolves, for example only grew to about 110-175 lbs and were actually shorter at the shoulders than modern wolves), and needless to say they weren't covered in spikes, either.
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* Argentavis was a vulture-like bird with a wingspan of 26 feet
to:
* Argentavis ''Argentavis'' was a vulture-like bird with a wingspan of 26 feetfeet.
* Haast's Eagle, once found in New Zealand hunting moas, did not have a wingspan excessively larger than the largest modern eagles, but was much more massive than any modern raptor.
* Haast's Eagle, once found in New Zealand hunting moas, did not have a wingspan excessively larger than the largest modern eagles, but was much more massive than any modern raptor.
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''VideoGame/SouthParkTheStickOfTruth'', Describing [[GrimUpNorth Canada's]] [[BlatantLies furry friends]].
to:
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-> You know what a dire X is, right? They're like X, only dire.
''VideoGame/SouthParkTheStickOfTruth'', Describing [[GrimUpNorth Canada's]] [[BlatantLies furry friends]].
''VideoGame/SouthParkTheStickOfTruth'', Describing [[GrimUpNorth Canada's]] [[BlatantLies furry friends]].
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* In ''SouthParkTheStickOfTruth'', Canada (in 16-bit top down view) has a whole array of dire woodlands creature like bears, snakes and spiders. Oh, and dire AIDS too, they're like regular AIDS but dire.
to:
* In ''SouthParkTheStickOfTruth'', Canada [[GrimUpNorth Canada]] (in 16-bit top down view) has a whole array of dire woodlands creature like bears, snakes and spiders. Oh, and dire AIDS too, they're like regular AIDS but dire.
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* ''VideoGame/TheElderScrollsVSkyrim'' has a variation with the Ice Wolf, Snowy Sabre Cat and Snow Bear - much tougher and deadlier versions of normal predators, only encountered in the colder regions and distinguished by their pale fur. This is FridgeBrilliance, since these animals would ''have'' to be stronger to survive in their cold, unforgiving environment, and [[TruthInTelevision the polar bear is indeed the largest species of bear still alive today]]. Given that two out of three of those were DemonicSpiders to begin with... yeah.
** Skyrim also has Cave Bears, which are stronger than regular bears (but slightly weaker than Snow Bears). Just like dire wolves, [[TruthInTelevision cave bears are a real (though extinct) species]].
** Skyrim also has Cave Bears, which are stronger than regular bears (but slightly weaker than Snow Bears). Just like dire wolves, [[TruthInTelevision cave bears are a real (though extinct) species]].
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* Argentavis was a vulture-like bird with a wingspan of 26 feet
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* Argentavis was a vulture-like bird with a wingspan of 26 feetfeet
* The [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flemish_Giant_rabbit Flemish Giant Rabbit]] and [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Continental_Giant_rabbit Continental Giant Rabbit]] are rabbits that grow ''way'' larger than the average rabbit, the largest ones being the size of a small child.
* The [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flemish_Giant_rabbit Flemish Giant Rabbit]] and [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Continental_Giant_rabbit Continental Giant Rabbit]] are rabbits that grow ''way'' larger than the average rabbit, the largest ones being the size of a small child.
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Removed Creepy Centipedes and Scary Scorpions because unlike Giant Spider and Giant Enemy Crab, not they're not true subtropes, they just overlap frequently in case of centipede- and scorpion-based Big Creepy Crawlies.
* BigCreepyCrawlies
** GiantEnemyCrab
** GiantSpider
** GiantEnemyCrab
** GiantSpider
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* CreepyCentipedes
* GiantEnemyCrab
* GiantEnemyCrab
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* ScaryScorpions
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Dire Animals may fit into various subtropes depending on what animals they are: BearsAreBadNews, RodentsOfUnusualSize, PantheraAwesome, ScaryScorpions, GiantFlyer, GiantEnemyCrab, CreepyCentipedes, FullBoarAction, CanisMajor (particularly giant wolves).
to:
Dire Animals may fit into various subtropes depending on what animals they are: BearsAreBadNews, RodentsOfUnusualSize, PantheraAwesome, ScaryScorpions, GiantFlyer, GiantEnemyCrab, CreepyCentipedes, FullBoarAction, are:
[[index]]
* BearsAreBadNews
* CanisMajor (particularly giantwolves).
wolves)
* CreepyCentipedes
* GiantEnemyCrab
* GiantFlyer
* FullBoarAction
* PantheraAwesome
* RodentsOfUnusualSize
* ScaryScorpions
[[/index]]
[[index]]
* BearsAreBadNews
* CanisMajor (particularly giant
* CreepyCentipedes
* GiantEnemyCrab
* GiantFlyer
* FullBoarAction
* PantheraAwesome
* RodentsOfUnusualSize
* ScaryScorpions
[[/index]]
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The dire animal: a larger, often more "prehistoric"-looking version of a normal animal. It's popular in fantasy works. After all, watching your hero fight a rat the size of... [[ShapedLikeItself well, a rat]] is hardly impressive, but make it [[RodentsOfUnusualSize the size of a small dog]], now, ''that'' is amazing. A wolf might be threatening, but a sabre-toothed wolf the size of a bear... now, that's even more impressive.
to:
The dire animal: a larger, often more "prehistoric"-looking version of a normal animal. It's popular in fantasy works. After all, watching your hero fight a normal-sized rat the size of... [[ShapedLikeItself well, a rat]] is hardly impressive, but make it [[RodentsOfUnusualSize the size of a small dog]], now, ''that'' is amazing. A wolf might be threatening, but a sabre-toothed wolf the size of a bear... now, that's even more impressive.
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Changed line(s) 4,5 (click to see context) from:
The dire animal: a larger, often more "prehistoric"-looking version of a normal animal. It's popular in fantasy works. After all, watching your hero fight a rat the size of ... [[ShapedLikeItself well, a rat]] is hardly impressive, but make it [[RodentsOfUnusualSize the size of a small dog]], now that is amazing. A wolf might be threatening, but a sabre-toothed wolf the size of a bear...now that's even more impressive.
to:
The dire animal: a larger, often more "prehistoric"-looking version of a normal animal. It's popular in fantasy works. After all, watching your hero fight a rat the size of ... of... [[ShapedLikeItself well, a rat]] is hardly impressive, but make it [[RodentsOfUnusualSize the size of a small dog]], now that now, ''that'' is amazing. A wolf might be threatening, but a sabre-toothed wolf the size of a bear...now now, that's even more impressive.
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* In ''VideoGame/GemsOfWar'', the Dire Wolf is, as per its card, "like a wolf, only more dire". They're distinct from the wolf-''people'' who live in the same area.
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* There are many examples of this found in ''Literature/TheIronTeeth'' web serial. They usually have a well defined ecological role though and aren't just supersized versions of normal animals.
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[[AC:{{Podcast}}]]
* Podcast/DiceFunk: Jayne can shapeshift into a dire wolf. She always employs this when combat occurs.
* Podcast/DiceFunk: Jayne can shapeshift into a dire wolf. She always employs this when combat occurs.
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* Literature/{{Discworld}}, according to ''The Compleat Discworld Atlas'', has Dire Yak. However, although they are noticeably larger than regular yak, they are so named because they come from the Dire Peninsula (which is separated from the main continent by the Music/DireStraits).
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* The [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Megalodon Megalodon]] an enormous prehistoric shark thats three times bigger than the Great White Shark.
to:
* The [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Megalodon Megalodon]] an enormous prehistoric shark thats three times bigger than the Great White Shark.Shark.
* In the Carboniferous age, basically every arthropod fit into the BigCreepyCrawlies trope.
* Argentavis was a vulture-like bird with a wingspan of 26 feet
* In the Carboniferous age, basically every arthropod fit into the BigCreepyCrawlies trope.
* Argentavis was a vulture-like bird with a wingspan of 26 feet
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* Another real-life example: [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aurochs Aurochs]], the ancestors of cattle. It took some kind of serious badassery to domesticate them.
to:
* Another real-life example: [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aurochs Aurochs]], the ancestors of cattle. It took some kind of serious badassery to domesticate them.them.
* The [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Megalodon Megalodon]] an enormous prehistoric shark thats three times bigger than the Great White Shark.
* The [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Megalodon Megalodon]] an enormous prehistoric shark thats three times bigger than the Great White Shark.
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** There's also aurochs, which are prehistoric cattle. They seem to be about as common as regular cows would be in real life.
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* In prehistoric times, there were many larger, meaner, versions of the animals we had today. Woolly Mammoths, Sabre-toothed Tigers to name a few. In fact Dire Wolves are apparently based off of canine ancestors from many millenia ago.
to:
* In prehistoric times, there were many larger, meaner, versions of the some animals we had today. Woolly Mammoths, Sabre-toothed Tigers that were, in fact, larger than their modern relatives. These included dire wolves, antelodonts (relatives of modern pigs), and deinotherium (related to name a few. In fact Dire Wolves are apparently based off elephants). None of canine ancestors from many millenia ago.them tended to be quite so large as modern media portrays them (dire wolves, for example only grew to about 110-175 lbs and were actually shorter at the shoulders than modern wolves), and needless to say they weren't covered in spikes, either.
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* Mothra (and it's parody, [[Film/MonstersVsAliens Insectosaurus]] - the latter even turns into a butterfly).
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* Mothra (and it's parody, [[Film/MonstersVsAliens [[WesternAnimation/MonstersVsAliens Insectosaurus]] - the latter even turns into a butterfly).
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* Mothra (and it's parody, [[Film/MonstersVsAliens Insectosaurus]] - the latter even turns into a butterfly).
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Dire Animals may fit into various subtropes depending on what animals they are: BearsAreBadNews, RodentsOfUnusualSize, , PantheraAwesome, ScaryScorpions, GiantFlyer, GiantEnemyCrab, CreepyCentipedes, FullBoarAction, CanisMajor (particularly giant wolves).
to:
Dire Animals may fit into various subtropes depending on what animals they are: BearsAreBadNews, RodentsOfUnusualSize, , PantheraAwesome, ScaryScorpions, GiantFlyer, GiantEnemyCrab, CreepyCentipedes, FullBoarAction, CanisMajor (particularly giant wolves).
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* In the PennyArcade expansion pack for the game ''{{TabletopGame/Munchkin}}'', one of the treasures is a "Dire Teddy Bear". [[http://www.worldofmunchkin.com/pennyarcade/cards.html]]
to:
* In the PennyArcade ''Webcomic/PennyArcade'' expansion pack for the game ''{{TabletopGame/Munchkin}}'', one of the treasures is a "Dire Teddy Bear". [[http://www.worldofmunchkin.com/pennyarcade/cards.html]]
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Big Badass Wolf is obsolete.
Changed line(s) 4,9 (click to see context) from:
The dire animal: a larger, often more "prehistoric"-looking version of a normal animal. Popular in fantasy works. After all, watching your hero fight a rat the size of ... [[ShapedLikeItself well, a rat]] is hardly impressive, but make it [[RodentsOfUnusualSize the size of a small dog]], now that is amazing. And a wolf is threatening, but a sabre-toothed wolf the size of a bear... Well, that's even more impressive.
Nonetheless, Dire Animals have become a staple of fantasy works, often serving as early game enemies (with Dire Rats ideal for a RatStomp). Dire version of more impressive animals can still pose a challenge later in the story (Dire Bears the size of elephants, [[SomewhereAPalaeontologistIsCrying Dire Tyrannosaurus Rex]]) but most often these form one of the earliest challenge heroes must face.
Dire Animals may fit into various subtropes depending on what animals they are: BearsAreBadNews, RodentsOfUnusualSize, BigBadassWolf, PantheraAwesome, ScaryScorpions, GiantEnemyCrab, CreepyCentipedes, FullBoarAction, CanisMajor (particularly giant wolves).
Nonetheless, Dire Animals have become a staple of fantasy works, often serving as early game enemies (with Dire Rats ideal for a RatStomp). Dire version of more impressive animals can still pose a challenge later in the story (Dire Bears the size of elephants, [[SomewhereAPalaeontologistIsCrying Dire Tyrannosaurus Rex]]) but most often these form one of the earliest challenge heroes must face.
Dire Animals may fit into various subtropes depending on what animals they are: BearsAreBadNews, RodentsOfUnusualSize, BigBadassWolf, PantheraAwesome, ScaryScorpions, GiantEnemyCrab, CreepyCentipedes, FullBoarAction, CanisMajor (particularly giant wolves).
to:
The dire animal: a larger, often more "prehistoric"-looking version of a normal animal. Popular It's popular in fantasy works. After all, watching your hero fight a rat the size of ... [[ShapedLikeItself well, a rat]] is hardly impressive, but make it [[RodentsOfUnusualSize the size of a small dog]], now that is amazing. And a A wolf is might be threatening, but a sabre-toothed wolf the size of a bear... Well, bear...now that's even more impressive.
Nonetheless, Dire Animals have become a staple of fantasy works, often serving as early game enemies (with Dire Rats ideal for a RatStomp). Dire version of more impressive animals can still pose a challenge later in the story (Dire Bears the size of elephants, [[SomewhereAPalaeontologistIsCrying Dire Tyrannosaurus Rex]]) but most often these form one of the earliest challenge heroes must face.
Dire Animals may fit into various subtropes depending on what animals they are: BearsAreBadNews, RodentsOfUnusualSize,BigBadassWolf, , PantheraAwesome, ScaryScorpions, GiantFlyer, GiantEnemyCrab, CreepyCentipedes, FullBoarAction, CanisMajor (particularly giant wolves).
Dire Animals may fit into various subtropes depending on what animals they are: BearsAreBadNews, RodentsOfUnusualSize,
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* Seemingly as a parody, the ''VideoGame/AgeOfWonders'' series has exactly one kind of dire beast: the [[EverythingsBetterWithPenguins Dire Penguin]].
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* Wargs in ''Literature/TheHobbit'' and ''Literature/TheLordOfTheRings'' are perfect examples of dire wolves, even though they are never referred to as such. Also, [[VoluntaryShapeshifter Beorn]]'s animal form could be considered a dire bear, and oliphaunts are, practically, dire elephants (in the films, the book implied they were just ordinary elephants).
to:
* Wargs in ''Literature/TheHobbit'' and ''Literature/TheLordOfTheRings'' are perfect examples of dire wolves, even though they are never referred to as such. Also, [[VoluntaryShapeshifter Beorn]]'s animal form could be considered a dire bear, and oliphaunts are, practically, are essentially dire elephants (in (the films take this last one to a far greater extreme than the films, the book implied they were just ordinary elephants).
books.)
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Dire Animals may fit into various subtropes depending on what animals they are: BearsAreBadNews, RodentsOfUnusualSize, BigBadassWolf, PantheraAwesome, ScaryScorpions, GiantEnemyCrab, CreepyCentipedes, FullBoarAction etc...
to:
Dire Animals may fit into various subtropes depending on what animals they are: BearsAreBadNews, RodentsOfUnusualSize, BigBadassWolf, PantheraAwesome, ScaryScorpions, GiantEnemyCrab, CreepyCentipedes, FullBoarAction etc...
FullBoarAction, CanisMajor (particularly giant wolves).
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[[TabletopGame/DungeonsAndDragons http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/direbear_9305.jpg]]
[[caption-width:350:And you thought [[BearsAreBadNews bears were bad news]] ''before'' you met one the size of an African elephant.]]
[[caption-width:350:And you thought [[BearsAreBadNews bears were bad news]] ''before'' you met one the size of an African elephant.]]
to:
[[caption-width:350:And
[[caption-width-right:350:And you thought [[BearsAreBadNews bears were bad news]] ''before'' you met one the size of an African elephant.]]
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* In ''{{Elsword}}'', there exist giant versions of Phoru creatures that serves as minibosses. There are also giant, mutated rats in the Elder BonusDungeon.
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[[TabletopGame/DungeonsAndDragons http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/direbear_9305.jpg]]
[[caption-width:350:And you thought [[BearsAreBadNews bears were bad news]] ''before'' you met one the size of an African elephant.]]
The dire animal: a larger, often more "prehistoric"-looking version of a normal animal. Popular in fantasy works. After all, watching your hero fight a rat the size of ... [[ShapedLikeItself well, a rat]] is hardly impressive, but make it [[RodentsOfUnusualSize the size of a small dog]], now that is amazing. And a wolf is threatening, but a sabre-toothed wolf the size of a bear... Well, that's even more impressive.
Nonetheless, Dire Animals have become a staple of fantasy works, often serving as early game enemies (with Dire Rats ideal for a RatStomp). Dire version of more impressive animals can still pose a challenge later in the story (Dire Bears the size of elephants, [[SomewhereAPalaeontologistIsCrying Dire Tyrannosaurus Rex]]) but most often these form one of the earliest challenge heroes must face.
Dire Animals may fit into various subtropes depending on what animals they are: BearsAreBadNews, RodentsOfUnusualSize, BigBadassWolf, PantheraAwesome, ScaryScorpions, GiantEnemyCrab, CreepyCentipedes, FullBoarAction etc...
Invariably causes AnimalsNotToScale. Related to {{Whateversaurus}}. Subtrope of BiggerIsBetter. Compare AttackOfTheFiftyFootWhatever when these beasts turn ''gigantic''.
----
!!Examples
[[AC:Film]]
* In ''Film/TheKillerShrews'' relatively giant shrews are attacking and killing. The "giant shrews" are played by German Shepard dogs with not very convincing makeup.
[[AC:{{Literature}}]]
* In ''Literature/ASongOfIceAndFire'', the Dire Wolf is the symbol of house Stark. At adulthood, if the [[Series/GameOfThrones TV show]] is any indication, they grow to the size of a horse. Everyone of Ned Stark's children is given a Dire Wolf pup as a companion early in the first book.
* In ''Literature/ThePendragonAdventure'' "Quigs" take the form of some local wild fauna but are even more dangerous and single-minded to attack Bobby and his friends. On one territory they look like bears, another (undersea) they're sharks, on earth they're dogs, etc. On one territory where man isn't the dominant species they look human.
* Wargs in ''Literature/TheHobbit'' and ''Literature/TheLordOfTheRings'' are perfect examples of dire wolves, even though they are never referred to as such. Also, [[VoluntaryShapeshifter Beorn]]'s animal form could be considered a dire bear, and oliphaunts are, practically, dire elephants (in the films, the book implied they were just ordinary elephants).
[[AC:TabletopGames]]
* ''TabletopGame/DungeonsAndDragons''
** This game is likely the TropeCodifier: Dire Animals are numerous, and Dire Rats, Badgers, Wolves and Bears are staples of the game and many adaptation, but more creative examples include Dire Crocodiles and Dire Sharks. Basically any animal you can think of often has a dire version. Dire animals are distinguished by their size and being covered in spikes.
** In 3.5, even Dire Animals had their own "more dire" counterpart in the form of "Legendary" beasts and "Paragon" beasts.
* ''TabletopGame/SavageWorlds'' includes numerous dire beasties in its core rulebook's list of pre-generated foes.
* ''TabletopGame/{{Exalted}}'' has a bunch of super-sized animals found across the setting. They're usually some kind of [[PrimordialChaos Wyld]] mutant or supernatural creature.
* In the PennyArcade expansion pack for the game ''{{TabletopGame/Munchkin}}'', one of the treasures is a "Dire Teddy Bear". [[http://www.worldofmunchkin.com/pennyarcade/cards.html]]
** While ''Munchkin: Legends'' has the "Dire" monster buff.
[[AC:VideoGames]]
* Dire creatures appear in ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyXII''. Dire Rats and Dire Flans.
* Dire wolves appear in ''Videogame/RuneScape'''s forest of Isafdar as larger-sized versions of their cousins, guarding the entrance to the Elven city of Lletya.
* Dire wolves are a pain in the ass in ''Videogame/AgeOfEmpiresII'', due to their propensity to violently murder your villagers.
* Dire Wolves appear in ''VideoGame/TheBattleForMiddleEarth''. They did not appear in the books however (instead there were Wargs).
* ''VideoGame/WorldOfWarcraft'' has a ton of dire animals: Dire Wolves, Dire Boars, Dire Bats, Dire Apes, Dire Condors and Dire Lions.
* In the ''VideoGame/{{Diablo}}'' franchise, there are often large, mean versions of common animals, especially [[GiantSpider spiders]]. Justified in the cosmology since all animals were originally based on demons, and are easily corrupted.
* ''VideoGame/DragonAgeOrigins'' has the [[TheCorruption "Blighted"]] versions of some animals, such as spiders, wolves, and bears, which are bigger and tougher than their baseline counterparts. The blighted bear (known as "Bereskarn") in particular is much larger and even grows bony spikes all over its body.
* In ''SouthParkTheStickOfTruth'', Canada (in 16-bit top down view) has a whole array of dire woodlands creature like bears, snakes and spiders. Oh, and dire AIDS too, they're like regular AIDS but dire.
[[AC: RealLife]]
*In prehistoric times, there were many larger, meaner, versions of the animals we had today. Woolly Mammoths, Sabre-toothed Tigers to name a few. In fact Dire Wolves are apparently based off of canine ancestors from many millenia ago.
* Another real-life example: [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aurochs Aurochs]], the ancestors of cattle. It took some kind of serious badassery to domesticate them.
[[caption-width:350:And you thought [[BearsAreBadNews bears were bad news]] ''before'' you met one the size of an African elephant.]]
The dire animal: a larger, often more "prehistoric"-looking version of a normal animal. Popular in fantasy works. After all, watching your hero fight a rat the size of ... [[ShapedLikeItself well, a rat]] is hardly impressive, but make it [[RodentsOfUnusualSize the size of a small dog]], now that is amazing. And a wolf is threatening, but a sabre-toothed wolf the size of a bear... Well, that's even more impressive.
Nonetheless, Dire Animals have become a staple of fantasy works, often serving as early game enemies (with Dire Rats ideal for a RatStomp). Dire version of more impressive animals can still pose a challenge later in the story (Dire Bears the size of elephants, [[SomewhereAPalaeontologistIsCrying Dire Tyrannosaurus Rex]]) but most often these form one of the earliest challenge heroes must face.
Dire Animals may fit into various subtropes depending on what animals they are: BearsAreBadNews, RodentsOfUnusualSize, BigBadassWolf, PantheraAwesome, ScaryScorpions, GiantEnemyCrab, CreepyCentipedes, FullBoarAction etc...
Invariably causes AnimalsNotToScale. Related to {{Whateversaurus}}. Subtrope of BiggerIsBetter. Compare AttackOfTheFiftyFootWhatever when these beasts turn ''gigantic''.
----
!!Examples
[[AC:Film]]
* In ''Film/TheKillerShrews'' relatively giant shrews are attacking and killing. The "giant shrews" are played by German Shepard dogs with not very convincing makeup.
[[AC:{{Literature}}]]
* In ''Literature/ASongOfIceAndFire'', the Dire Wolf is the symbol of house Stark. At adulthood, if the [[Series/GameOfThrones TV show]] is any indication, they grow to the size of a horse. Everyone of Ned Stark's children is given a Dire Wolf pup as a companion early in the first book.
* In ''Literature/ThePendragonAdventure'' "Quigs" take the form of some local wild fauna but are even more dangerous and single-minded to attack Bobby and his friends. On one territory they look like bears, another (undersea) they're sharks, on earth they're dogs, etc. On one territory where man isn't the dominant species they look human.
* Wargs in ''Literature/TheHobbit'' and ''Literature/TheLordOfTheRings'' are perfect examples of dire wolves, even though they are never referred to as such. Also, [[VoluntaryShapeshifter Beorn]]'s animal form could be considered a dire bear, and oliphaunts are, practically, dire elephants (in the films, the book implied they were just ordinary elephants).
[[AC:TabletopGames]]
* ''TabletopGame/DungeonsAndDragons''
** This game is likely the TropeCodifier: Dire Animals are numerous, and Dire Rats, Badgers, Wolves and Bears are staples of the game and many adaptation, but more creative examples include Dire Crocodiles and Dire Sharks. Basically any animal you can think of often has a dire version. Dire animals are distinguished by their size and being covered in spikes.
** In 3.5, even Dire Animals had their own "more dire" counterpart in the form of "Legendary" beasts and "Paragon" beasts.
* ''TabletopGame/SavageWorlds'' includes numerous dire beasties in its core rulebook's list of pre-generated foes.
* ''TabletopGame/{{Exalted}}'' has a bunch of super-sized animals found across the setting. They're usually some kind of [[PrimordialChaos Wyld]] mutant or supernatural creature.
* In the PennyArcade expansion pack for the game ''{{TabletopGame/Munchkin}}'', one of the treasures is a "Dire Teddy Bear". [[http://www.worldofmunchkin.com/pennyarcade/cards.html]]
** While ''Munchkin: Legends'' has the "Dire" monster buff.
[[AC:VideoGames]]
* Dire creatures appear in ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyXII''. Dire Rats and Dire Flans.
* Dire wolves appear in ''Videogame/RuneScape'''s forest of Isafdar as larger-sized versions of their cousins, guarding the entrance to the Elven city of Lletya.
* Dire wolves are a pain in the ass in ''Videogame/AgeOfEmpiresII'', due to their propensity to violently murder your villagers.
* Dire Wolves appear in ''VideoGame/TheBattleForMiddleEarth''. They did not appear in the books however (instead there were Wargs).
* ''VideoGame/WorldOfWarcraft'' has a ton of dire animals: Dire Wolves, Dire Boars, Dire Bats, Dire Apes, Dire Condors and Dire Lions.
* In the ''VideoGame/{{Diablo}}'' franchise, there are often large, mean versions of common animals, especially [[GiantSpider spiders]]. Justified in the cosmology since all animals were originally based on demons, and are easily corrupted.
* ''VideoGame/DragonAgeOrigins'' has the [[TheCorruption "Blighted"]] versions of some animals, such as spiders, wolves, and bears, which are bigger and tougher than their baseline counterparts. The blighted bear (known as "Bereskarn") in particular is much larger and even grows bony spikes all over its body.
* In ''SouthParkTheStickOfTruth'', Canada (in 16-bit top down view) has a whole array of dire woodlands creature like bears, snakes and spiders. Oh, and dire AIDS too, they're like regular AIDS but dire.
[[AC: RealLife]]
*In prehistoric times, there were many larger, meaner, versions of the animals we had today. Woolly Mammoths, Sabre-toothed Tigers to name a few. In fact Dire Wolves are apparently based off of canine ancestors from many millenia ago.
* Another real-life example: [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aurochs Aurochs]], the ancestors of cattle. It took some kind of serious badassery to domesticate them.
