"Hey, everyone. Polly here to bring you another episode of Animalia Ambassadoria. But first, a little bit of non-Animalian news. Don't worry, it's not political."
"Scientists have been to successfully recreate a species that hasn't existed in over 10,000 years, the dire wolf." Here there was a clip of two howling white wolf pups. "Yes, they're very cute and don't look like much, but when they grow up, Romulus and Remus will be different from wolves you'll see at sanctuaries and zoos." Another clip showed a picture of the pups 6 months old and roughhousing with each other. "Ok, maybe it won't be that obvious for a while, but there's only a 99.5% difference between grey wolves and dire wolves. And that's how they were essentially created, by taking grey wolf DNA, editing it to activate long-dormant genes and duplicate genes found in fossils, and having them gestate inside surrogate mothers."
"Now, some of you may be asking 'What's the big deal? Animalians have been recreating extinct species for years now.' And that is true, we even have some dire wolf Animalians. But these Animalians were originally human before their conversion, or in some cases, birds. Which isn't the same as bringing back animals that used to exist ages ago as they were. I'm not saying to expect real dinosaurs, but the dire wolves represent another step towards bringing back the woolly mammoth, which might be happening as soon as 2028."
"As such, we've got a few more new stories relating to dire wolves."
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"Hey, everyone, I'm Al and this is Chris who is a... a... I'm sorry, I can't really tell what you are," said Al.
Chris was a rather unusual-looking Animalian with brown fur and features that looked mainly canine, but the small round ears, stockier body frame, and plantigrade feet made it seem more ursine. The long catlike tail confused things even more. "Yeah, it's hard to tell," said Chris, "I'm an Amphicyon ingens, more commonly known as a bear-dog."
"So are you a bear or a dog?" asked Al.
"Neither, apparently," said Chris, "The bear-dog is one of those earlier members of the Carnivora order that became its own group. It was one of those predators whose descendants didn't survive after the rest of the megafauna died out with the end of the ice age."
"So why become one?" asked Al.
"Well, to be honest, I was just short of funds to get an Animalian conversion when Project Cenozoic approached me about becoming this. I wanted to be a dog anyways and I wouldn't have to pay for it, so it seemed like a win-win," said Chris.
"And how have you been adjusting to it afterwards?" asked Al.
"Well, the main problem I have right now is people trying to what the heck I am. I'm hoping this interview helps. Maybe I should just wear a shirt that says 'I'M A BEAR-DOG' on it," said Chris.
"I'm sure people will become more familiar with it soon," said Al.
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"Hi, I'm Ted, and now it's time for another Animalia Declassified. With me are Grove, Carnelia, and Scout who want to tell about how they first met." The view shifted to show three wolf Animalians. There was a male wolf with grey fur, a female wolf with blue-grey fur, and another female with sandy brown fur. The two females had tresses to show they had been human before and both of them had bellies that were showing some roundness.
“So, I presume that Scout was one of the wolves that was uplifted during the Outbreak, but who were you ladies before that?” asked Ted.
“Well, I have a picture of us before the Outbreak right here,” said the blue-grey wolf, holding up a picture. It showed a woman that looked around her 60’s wearing a green dress and had her black hair. The woman looked like she could have some Asian blood in her, though it wasn’t clear how much. Next to her was a girl with sandy-blonde hair who looked to be 12-14 who was wearing a red hoodie and jeans. “Carnelia was a bit upset to outgrow her favorite hoodie, but we got her a replacement,” said the blue-grey wolf, evidently Grove.
“I’m sorry, but are you her grandmother?” asked Ted.
“No, she was a close family friend,” said the sandy-brown wolf, evidently Carnelia, “I did tend to call her Granny Grove when I was younger.”
“And I was actually close to becoming her legal guardian,” said Grove.
“How was that?” asked Ted.
“My parents were going through a nasty divorce at the time,” said Carnelia, “I didn’t really want to stay with either of them. So, Grove was keeping me until it settled. And apparently, the judge was considering that neither of my parents were fit to keep custody of me. Grove almost became my foster mother, if not my adoptive mother.”
“But then I assume Scout got involved,” said Ted.
Scout shrugged and said, “I was recently uplifted and confused. In wolf years, I was only a year or two older than Carnelia at the time. I stumbled across Grove’s house not long after I was uplifted. Thankfully, she reacted a lot better than most people who’d see an anthro wolf come out of the woods.”
“I saw he was lost and confused so I let him in,” said Grove, “Of course, we didn’t know he was contagious so when I drank from his teacup by mistake, well…”
“Not long after that, I came back from school,” said Carnelia, “I saw there was a wolf boy there and Grove was a wolf too. And then I wanted to be a wolf, so I let Scout change me.”
“Why did you want that?” asked Ted.
“Because being a wolf looked cool and I was hoping I’d be able to stay with Grove,” said Carnelia.
“And we got a little overenthusiastic and started licking each other,” said Grove, “That’s when we got double-dosed. And Scout was double-dosed soon after.”
“And that worked out pretty well for me,” said Carnelia, “My parents weren’t exactly wanting to accept me back as a wolf, let alone when I came out as being bi. But since double-dosed are considered legal adults, I could just move in with Grove and Scout.”
“So what’s your relationship now?” asked Ted.
“Well, I was a closeted bisexual as well,” said Grove, “So the three of us have been a strong steady relationship. We finally got married last year and we’re expecting our first pups.”
“I thought it was lions who kept multiple mates,” said Ted.
“Not strictly them,” said Scout, “I couldn’t really choose one over the other and they weren’t wanting to part anyways. So, it made more sense to have them both. Fortunately, Nevada’s laws allow Animalians to have marriages like this.”
“Well, I’m glad things are working out for you and your pups will have a stable household to grow up in,” said Ted.
“A lot more stable than mine was,” said Carnelia, rubbing her belly.