Chicago – April 08, 2025
A Dallas-based biotech firm, Colossal Biosciences, claims to have brought back a long-extinct species of wolf, marking what it calls the world’s first successful de-extinction.
According to the company, scientists used ancient DNA, cloning, and gene-editing technology to modify the genes of a gray wolf — the closest living relative of the extinct dire wolf to create three pups resembling the prehistoric predator. The result is a hybrid species with physical traits similar to those of the dire wolf, Aenocyon dirus, which vanished around 12,500 years ago.
Famous for inspiring the fictional wolves in HBO’s Game of Thrones, dire wolves were once apex predators in North America. Colossal notes they were larger than gray wolves and had broader heads, dense pale fur, and stronger jaws. While the company has been publicly pursuing the revival of species like the woolly mammoth, dodo, and Tasmanian tiger since 2021, its work on dire wolves had not been disclosed until now.
“This is a major breakthrough that proves our de-extinction platform is viable,” said Colossal cofounder and CEO Ben Lamm in a press release. “We successfully used DNA from a 13,000-year-old tooth and a 72,000-year-old skull to produce healthy dire wolf pups.”
The three animals are currently housed at a secret 2,000-acre location surrounded by 10-foot-high, zoo-grade fencing. The site is monitored around the clock using drones, security personnel, and live cameras. The facility is registered with the U.S. Department of Agriculture and certified by the American Humane Society.
Using DNA from two dire wolf fossils, researchers built two full genomes of the extinct animal and compared them to those of modern canids like wolves, foxes, and jackals. This helped them identify specific genes tied to dire wolf traits, such as white coats and thick, long fur.
Scientists then edited gray wolf cells, making 20 genetic changes across 14 genes, and cloned the best candidates. These altered cells were used to create embryos that were implanted into large, mixed-breed domestic dogs serving as surrogate mothers.
The result: two male dire wolf pups born on October 1, 2024, and a female born on January 30, 2025.
