Three dire wolf pups have been resurrected using genetic engineering which became extinct over 10,000 years ago, according to Dallas based Colossal Biosciences. The pups were brought to life on October 1,2024 using ancient DNA extracted from fossilised remains.
Declaring the advancement on X, the company stated “SOUND ON. 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.”
Science Resurrects Extinct Species
While the two males, named Romulus and Remus, were born on October 1, 2024, a female pup named Khaleesi was born on January 31, 2025.
“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 11,500 and 72,000 years,” the company wrote in a post on X.
According to a report by Independent, the process of creating the dire wolf pups included genetically modifying grey wolf blood cells and transferring the material into a dog cell. This was followed by gestation in surrogate mothers. The resultant pups resemble the long-extinct species having white fur and pronounced muscular jaws.
Independent also revealed that the company has cloned four red wolves to ensure genetic diversity in the endangered species’ captive breeding programme. Currently, the dire wolf pups reside in “Zone Alpha”, a 2,000-acre monitored ecological preserve in a secret location. The preserve is certified by the American Humane Society and registered with the US Department of Agriculture, reported ET.
Reacting to the declaration by Colossal Biosciences on X, Elon Musk expressed his desire for the company to create a miniature version of wooly mammoth which is one of the extinct species. Reposting his own X message, Musk wrote, “Please make a miniature pet wooly mammoth”.
