A group of scientists say they have brought the dire wolf, an animal which has been extinct for more than 10,000 years, back to life.
Texas company Colossal Biosciences said on Monday its researchers had used cloning and gene-editing based on two ancient samples of dire wolf DNA to birth three modern dire wolf pups.
They are two six-month-old males named Romulus and Remus and a three-month-old female named Khaleesi, a reference to the Game of Thrones character which featured the wolves.
Colossal’s chief executive Ben Lamm called the development a “massive milestone”.
In a post on X, the company published a video of the pups with the caption: “You’re hearing the first howl of a dire wolf in over 10,000 years. Meet Romulus and Remus—the world’s first de-extinct animals, born on October 1, 2024.”
In a statement, Mr Lamm said: “Our team took DNA from a 13,000 year old tooth and a 72,000 year old skull and made healthy dire wolf puppies.
“It was once said, ‘any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic’. Today, our team gets to unveil some of the magic they are working on and its broader impact on conservation.”
Researchers at Colossal explained the de-extinction process involved taking blood cells from a living grey wolf – the dire wolf’s closest living relative – and genetically modifying them in 20 different sites.
That genetic material was transferred to an egg cell from a domestic dog, then the embryos were transferred to surrogates for gestation and, finally, successful birth.
That has led to some skepticism within the scientific community about how closely the pups resemble dire wolves.
Romulus and Remus were hailed as ‘the world’s first de-extinct animals’ (Colossal Biosciences via AP)The New Scientist reported that the animals “are actually grey wolves with genetic edits intended to make them resemble the lost species”.
“Species concepts are human classification systems, and everybody can disagree and everyone can be right,” Dr Beth Shapiro, Colossal’s chief science officer, told the magazine.
Love Dalén, a professor in evolutionary genomics at the Centre for Palaeogenetics at Stockholm University, and who advised Colossal, said that “across the genome this is 99.9 per cent grey wolf”.
“There is going to be an argument in the scientific community regarding how many genes need to be changed to make a dire wolf, but this is really a philosophical question,” he told CNN.
Colossal said the animals will live their lives on a continuously monitored, secure ecological preserve that is certified by the American Humane Society and registered with the US Department of Agriculture.
The dire wolf is a mainstay of fantasy settings in pop culture, with mentions in role-playing games like Dungeons & Dragons and video games like World of Warcraft.
However, the vehicle which truly shot dire wolves to fame is the HBO series Game of Thrones, based on the works of author George RR Martin.
Mr Martin, an investor in Colossal and cultural adviser for the company, said: “Many people view dire wolves as mythical creatures that only exist in a fantasy world, but in reality, they have a rich history of contributing to the American ecosystem.”
“I get the luxury to write about magic, but Ben and Colossal have created magic by bringing these majestic beasts back to our world.”
Colossal also announced it had cloned four red wolves using blood drawn from wild wolves of the southeastern US’ critically endangered red wolf population.
The aim is to bring more genetic diversity into the small population of captive red wolves, which scientists are using to breed and help save the species.
Additional reporting by the Press Association
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