Scientists 'bring back' dire wolves after 10,000 years and pay tribute to Game of Thrones

Scientists claim to have brought the dire wolf species back from extinction after more than 10,000 years.

“De-extinction” company Colossal Biosciences has announced that it has successfully created three wolf pups named Romulus, Remus and Khaleesi, which it claims are dire wolves – an extinct species of wolf last seen thousands of years ago.

Over recent years, the company has become known for its aim of de-extinction, with the goal of bringing back long-lost species like the woolly mammoth.

On Monday (7 April) the genetic engineering company shared a video of two of the cubs, Romulus and Remus, howling on X/Twitter.

They wrote in 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.”

A third pup, named Khaleesi, after the Game of Thrones character, was born on 31 January.

Colossal Biosciences further explained how the pups were “brought back from extinction”, revealing that scientists had used a process of genetic engineering.

They explained they used, “genetic edits derived from a complete dire wolf genome, meticulously reconstructed by Colossal from ancient DNA found in fossils dating back 11,500 and 72,000 years”.

In order to establish cell lines, they used the grey wolf as a donor species, as it’s the closest living relative of the dire wolf.

The DNA of the grey wolf was edited in 20 places in 14 genes to give it the specific features of a dire wolf, making changes such as hair colour and length, body size and musculature. Fertilised eggs were born via surrogate dogs.

But, while the pups may look (and sound) like dire wolves, they are not an exact genetic match and it is unknown just how many gene differences contributed to making the dire wolf distinct from other species.

In the X/Twitter post, Colossal continued: “From the beginning, our goal has been clear: ‘To revolutionize history and be the first company to use CRISPR technology successfully in the de-extinction of previously lost species.’

“By achieving this, we continue to push forward our broader mission on—accepting humanity’s duty to restore Earth to a healthier state.”

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