I'm against dinosaurs, I prefer fury and cuddling animals. I would like to see the return of lions to Europe (extinct since 100 AD).
I like the Pleistocene megafauna. Lots of fluffy and cuddlies...
Dire Wolf (Canis dirus)
Height: 5ft (1.5m)
Lived: 1 million years ago - 10,000 years ago
Huge cousins of the modern wolf and coyote. Once ranged over the entire
western hemisphere. (Great Grateful Dead tune too.)
Sabertooth Cat (Smilodon fatalis)
Height: 4ft (1.2m)
Lived: 1.5 million years ago - 10,000 years ago
Wonderfully named giant cat. One of several species cats during this time with
massive canines. Its jaw open very wide, allowing it to literally stab its preywith 7-inch teeth. Sabretooths ranged throughout North and South America looking for dentists.
Giant Beaver (Castoroides ohioensis)
Height: 3.3ft (1m)
Lived: 1.5 million years ago - 10,000 years ago
Not much different from modern beavers, except in size. Castroides was a
massive rodent, weighing up to 450 pounds. Ranged widely, but exclusively
throughout North America. (Still does in remote Canadian bars...)
Bone-crushing Dog (Osteoborus cynoides)
Height: 3ft (.9m)
Lived: 8 million years a go - 1.5 million years ago
Small powerful primitive dog, built to do as its name implies,
to crush and devour bones. Just what you want in a family pet - Teething problems. ("oh snap!" "What?" "Your &*%@#@ dog just bit a hole in my car!" "He must be hungry")
Giant Irish Elk (Megalocerous giganteus)
Height: 7ft (2.1m)
Lived: 500k- 10,000 years ago
Megalocerous' impressive rack of antlers has been a collecters item
for humans. Some can be found mounted in ancient European castles -
falsely implying the owner had killed the long-extinct animal.
Woolly rhinoceros (Coelodonta antiquitatis)
Height: 6.5ft (2m)
This rhino ranged throughout Northern Europe and Asia, and overlapped with
mammoths and mastodons in Northern Russia as well.
Lived: 500,000 years ago - 10,000 years ago
2 m tall at the shoulder and built like present-day rhino? Get out of the way...