Imagine a real-life version of Jurassic Park, but with ancient wolves instead of dinosaurs. That’s what a U.S.-based company called Colossal Biosciences is trying to do. The startup claims to have created the first living dire wolves in over 12,000 years using gene-editing technology. But not everyone agrees on whether these animals are truly “dire wolves” or just modified grey wolves.
Let’s take a look at what’s really going on.
What Are Dire Wolves?
Dire wolves were large, powerful wolf-like animals that lived thousands of years ago and are now extinct. You may have heard of them from shows like Game of Thrones or Jurassic Park-like science fiction. They were bigger and more muscular than today’s grey wolves.
Who Made These New Wolves?
Colossal Biosciences is a company working on “de-extinction”—bringing back extinct species using modern science. Backed by $400 million in funding, the company’s mission includes recreating animals like the woolly mammoth, dodo, and now, the dire wolf.
The company recently introduced three wolf pups—Romulus, Remus, and Khaleesi—as its first step toward bringing back dire wolves. These pups were born through C-section surgeries to hound-dog surrogates due to their unusually large size.
Are These Real Dire Wolves?
This is where things get complicated. The company says these pups carry multiple edited genes from ancient dire wolves. Scientists used DNA samples from very old bones and teeth to create a “partial” dire wolf genome. Then, they edited 14 genes in grey wolves to give them key traits like larger size, white fur, and muscular legs—features believed to be part of the dire wolf’s look.
However, many scientists disagree. Some say these animals are just genetically modified grey wolves and not real dire wolves.
Why the Disagreement?
Experts argue that editing a few genes doesn’t make these pups true dire wolves. Some even compare it to calling a chimpanzee with a few human genes a human. Without a full dire wolf genome, it’s impossible to recreate the original animal exactly.
Others say Colossal’s animals are more like a “Dire Wolf 1.0”, a first version. More genetic editing may be needed to come even closer to the real thing. Also, the company hasn’t published its research in a scientific journal yet, so many researchers want to see more evidence.
What’s the Purpose of De-Extinction?
Colossal says its goal is not just to bring back extinct animals for fun. It wants to restore the ecological roles that extinct species once played. For example, it believes that bringing back the woolly mammoth could help fight climate change by reshaping frozen landscapes.
In the case of dire wolves, the idea is to create an animal that could behave like its ancient version and help restore balance in certain ecosystems.
Concerns and Criticism
Some scientists worry about unexpected effects. These wolves may not behave like ancient ones because behavior is not just about genes—it’s also learned from parents and the environment. Others are concerned about ethics, safety, and ecological risks of introducing genetically edited animals into the world.
Colossal’s CEO compares the process to Jurassic Park, where scientists used frog DNA to recreate dinosaurs. But as we saw in the movie, things didn’t go as planned.
