Scientists bring dire wolf back from extinction… almost

Colossal Biosciences posted to X with a video clip of two small wolf cubs barking, "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."

"The dire wolf has been extinct for over 10,000 years. These two wolves were brought back from extinction using genetic edits derived from a complete dire wolf genome, meticulously reconstructed by Colossal from ancient DNA found in fossils dating back between 11,500 and 72,000 years. This moment marks not only a milestone for us as a company but also a leap forward for science, conservation, and humanity. 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."

The Dallas-based company, which has put on challenges to bring back the dodo bird as well as the woolly mammoth, was able to obtain DNA from fossils of dire wolves in 2021 and then edit the DNA of grey wolves in order to weave the key features of the dire wolf in with the grey wolf cubs. The embryos were edited and placed into a surrogate wolf-mother. Three wolves were born as a result, two male and one female, the New York Times reported.

The coats of the wolves are thicker and paler than a grey wolf’s and the cubs are much bigger. “We’re creating these functional copies of something that used to be alive,” Beth Shapiro, the chief scientific officer of Colossal, said of the wolf cubs.

The company was valued at $10 billion in January.