By Abdullahi Lukman
In a groundbreaking scientific achievement, Texas-based biotech company, Colossal Biosciences, has announced the successful de-extinction of the dire wolf, an iconic predator that vanished over 10,000 years ago.
The company revealed it has produced three live dire wolf pups through a combination of ancient DNA extraction, gene editing, and cloning technology.
The announcement marks the first time in history that dire wolves, made popular in modern culture through HBO’s Game of Thrones, have returned to life.
The pups include two six-month-old males, Romulus and Remus, and a three-month-old female named Khaleesi.
“This is a massive milestone,” said Colossal CEO Ben Lamm. “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 shows our de-extinction technology stack truly works.”
The process involved taking blood cells from a grey wolf, the dire wolf’s closest living relative, and editing them at 20 specific genetic sites to match ancient dire wolf DNA.
The edited nuclei were transferred into domestic dog egg cells, implanted into surrogates, and successfully carried to term.
Dr. Beth Shapiro, Colossal’s Chief Science Officer, emphasized the scientific innovation behind the achievement.
“Our approach to refining the ancient genome without a perfect reference sets a new benchmark for paleogenome reconstruction.
It allowed us to confidently identify and select dire wolf-specific genetic variants.”
Dire wolves were larger and more muscular than modern grey wolves, with distinct thick, light-colored fur and powerful jaws.
The animals will now live on a secure ecological preserve monitored by the U.S. Department of Agriculture and certified by the American Humane Society.
The de-extinction project also attracted the support of *Game of Thrones* author George R.R. Martin, who is both a cultural adviser and investor in Colossal. “Many people think dire wolves only exist in fantasy,” Martin said.
“But Colossal has brought them back into our reality, creating magic from science.”
In addition to the dire wolf revival, Colossal announced the successful cloning of four critically endangered red wolves using blood samples from wild populations in the southeastern United States.
The aim is to improve genetic diversity in captive red wolves, which are vital to ongoing conservation efforts.
Colossal’s latest advancements signal a transformative shift in both de-extinction science and species conservation, blending biotechnology and ecology to restore lost species and bolster endangered ones.