Scientists have resurrected the dire wolf, which went extinct 12,000 years ago.

For the first time in the entire history of genetic engineering, scientists have managed to resurrect a completely extinct species of wolf that roamed the planet about 12 thousand years ago. Today many people are discussing not only the scientific point of view but also the impact such progress has on social and ethical norms!

From a scientific standpoint everything is clear: it is a tremendous breakthrough. But does the planet, humanity, and wild nature really need this? And what possible consequences could such “experiments” bring?

A year ago I wrote a book defending wolves entitled “Right to Life”; I had to study hundreds of scientific papers, investigations, and historical references to form a complete picture of the global extermination of wolves. Therefore, when the data on genetic experiments with a long‑extinct wolf emerged, it caught my attention.

I tried to gather all the source data to understand what exactly we are dealing with. Let’s figure out whom the scientists actually “created”!

RESURRECTING THE DIRE WOLF

The first and most important thing to know: I have not found any peer‑reviewed scientific article containing the details of this experiment. All information comes from the company’s press release and interviews with journalists!

In other words, a genetic‑engineering company literally came out to journalists and showed white wolves: “We resurrected the dire wolf,” — and the news spread through media outlets worldwide.

In the scientific community a full‑fledged study must, as a rule, undergo peer review and have its results confirmed by independent researchers. Perhaps this will appear soon, but for now there is no such data!

So.

Twelve thousand years ago the “dire” wolf lived on the planet — there was, of course, nothing dreadful about it; that is simply the name given by scientists. It inhabited North and South America, was larger and more massive than today’s gray wolf, and weighed up to 70 kilograms. This wolf had powerful jaws capable of crushing bones. It hunted bison, wild horses, and young mammoths.

The color of such a wolf cannot be determined, since its remains reached us without soft tissues. Based on DNA, scientists suggested that the wolf was dark or reddish‑brown, something similar to the coat of red or brown wolves.

I found no guesses about white fur: that coloration is usually typical of animals living in constant snowy conditions, whereas dire wolves lived in warm and temperate climates — present‑day California, Mexico, Florida, and even Peru.

Yet scientists have now presented white pups, claiming they are the very dire wolf they managed to resurrect.

In the spring of 2025, the U.S. biotechnology company Colossal Biosciences officially announced the birth of three live pups genetically recreated from the extinct species. The pups were named Romulus, Remus, and Khaleesi — after the legendary twins suckled by a she‑wolf and the heroine from “Game of Thrones,” underscoring their semi‑mythical status.

I suppose the company’s marketers used the pop‑culture reference for maximum media impact; this largely helped the news fill the world’s headlines.

The wolf pups shown by the scientists are snow‑white and outwardly resemble Samoyed puppies. The company invited a TIME correspondent so he could personally verify the wolves’ existence. They are in a closed reserve, the location kept secret to protect the animals.

Thus, if the wolves have truly been brought back, this became the first case of “de‑extinction” of a large predator: humans recreated animals whose natural population completely disappeared thousands of years ago.

HOW WERE THE WOLVES “RESURRECTED”?

Colossal Biosciences recreated the extinct species by combining paleogenetics, gene editing, and reproductive cloning.

First, scientists analyzed DNA extracted from fossil remains of the extinct wolf. They used samples from a 13 000‑year‑old tooth and a skull more than 72 000 years old.

The closest relative of the dire wolf is our gray wolf, which humans are mercilessly exterminating today. Scientists compared the genome obtained from the extinct wolf’s remains with the genome of modern wolves and identified about 20 key differences affecting 14 genes.

Essentially these are genomic mutations that encode distinctive traits: significantly larger size and body mass, light (whitish) coat color, a broader massive head, enlarged teeth and jaws, more powerful shoulders and paws, and special vocalizations (howl and whine of a different timbre). In other words, from the many genetic discrepancies between the species, researchers selected those they believe are responsible for the phenotypic characteristics that made the dire wolf unique.

Next the scientists pinpointed the target genes and began reconstructing the dire wolf genome. Endothelial progenitor cells (EPCs) — precursors of vascular wall cells — were isolated from the bloodstream of living gray wolves. Using CRISPR/Cas9 technology, they edited 14 genes in the nuclei of these cells, inserting 20 ancient edits identified in the dire wolf genome.

The edited nuclei were then transferred into donor gray‑wolf oocytes whose own nuclei had been removed. The resulting “zygotes” with the rewritten genome began dividing in a nutrient medium, after which they were implanted into surrogate mothers. Large mixed‑breed domestic dogs were used as surrogates, and, according to the researchers, an ordinary dog is capable of carrying wolf pups.

The scientists obtained several dozen embryos; 45 were transferred to two surrogate dogs. In each of the two females one embryo successfully implanted, and about 65 days later the male pups Romulus and Remus were born. Several months later the procedure was repeated with a third surrogate, leading to the birth of the female Khaleesi.

The pups were delivered by Caesarean section because they were large. The company states that no animal was harmed during the experiment.

Thus, three wolves resembling the extinct dire wolf were “resurrected.” In reality we are dealing with a synthetically recreated genome of an extinct species. Simply put, Romulus, Remus, and Khaleesi are gray wolves whose genome has been deliberately edited so they express dire‑wolf traits. That’s all.

This means they are not completely identical genetic copies of the extinct species but hybrids of the “gray” and the “dire” wolf.

Romulus and Remus — males, litter‑mates — were born in October 2024 and by April 2025 were about six months old. Khaleesi — a female from a later litter — was born in January 2025, roughly three months younger than her brothers. All three have snow‑white fur, which, of course, puzzles me a bit.

Their eyes, according to descriptions, are light yellow or amber like those of some modern wolves. Their muzzles appear larger and more elongated than those of ordinary wolves, and their foreheads are broad. Already at six months Romulus and Remus noticeably outsize typical pups: their nose‑to‑tail length is about 120 cm and their mass around 36 kg. Scientists estimate that adults may reach ~180 cm in length and weigh up to 68 kg (about one‑third heavier than large modern gray wolves).

In principle all this corresponds to paleontological data on the extinct wolf; I specifically studied all the information and scientific research conducted.

Colossal does not disclose the pups’ location but says they are in a countryside enclosure in the USA on the grounds of a wildlife center. The company also plans to promote the wolves’ lives as widely as possible: they are launching a “pup development tracker” that will post photos and videos in real time. This is a good publicity move, so their marketers will certainly “push the topic” as effectively as possible.

REACTION OF SCIENCE AND SOCIETY

The resurrection of the wolves immediately sparked debate in the scientific community and elicited a mixed reaction in society. On one hand it is, of course, a “triumph of genetic engineering,” yet on the other, a number of specialists view the project skeptically and say such initiatives are more of a show distracting from real conservation issues.

“We have technologies capable of editing DNA to increase the resilience of species on the brink of extinction or even restore lost genetic diversity and vanished species. We are witnessing the de‑extinction of the dire wolf — a scientific miracle in itself — and this is only the beginning: we can bring back many species to create a more balanced world. I am thrilled that these technologies are also being applied to prevent the disappearance of existing species such as the red wolf,” says Bridgett von Holdt, evolutionary biologist (Princeton University).

“I believe the focus on de‑extinction and genetically modified organisms as a conservation tool distracts from the work that really needs to be done to preserve species,” counters Dr. Gabriela Mastromonaco of the Toronto Zoo. She notes that the hundreds of millions of dollars spent on resurrecting extinct animals could be directed toward protecting endangered species — the same red wolves, snow leopards, or tigers.

Simply put, instead of playing with genetic engineering, it would be better to tackle real problems.

“They are going to experiment on a very large scale. I don’t know where this will lead. They don’t know either. They cannot assure me that ‘everything will be fine, everything will be like in the Pleistocene.’ I’m not ready to play God in that way,” comments paleobiologist Carl Flessa of the University of Arizona.

OPINION OF PAVEL PASHKOV

We live in a capitalist world where everyone chases money, and to earn it, it is important to give people “bread and circuses.” Genetic engineering today is not about saving wild animals or helping the planet. It is rather a “game of God” at a time when the world is on the verge of ecological collapse!

Having studied all the data on the “resurrection” of the dire wolf, I can say unequivocally that this is not the extinct species we are talking about. It is a hybrid: a gray wolf whose genome was skillfully edited to mimic the extinct wolf. That’s all.

Moreover, the return of a large predator whose ecological role no longer exists in the modern world is akin to opening “Pandora’s box.” No one can say with complete certainty how these animals will behave if released into the wild: whether they will develop hidden health or behavioral problems, or how existing ecosystems will react to them.

But I can say with 90 rtainty that ecosystems will receive yet another dangerous invasive species. Just the other day I published how Canada created a hybrid of domestic pig and wild boar — the result was a “super‑pig.” Now millions of individuals are attacking Canada and the USA, ravaging crops, devouring all natural food supplies, and displacing wild animals from an already degraded habitat.

U.S. authorities say the annual damage from super‑pigs amounts to billions of dollars, and even the army is involved in their eradication, running them over with off‑road vehicles and shooting them with machine guns.

Now imagine releasing super‑wolves into a natural environment already in steady decline; they would inevitably suppress the last gray wolves (as competitors) and begin rapidly expanding their range. The effect would be the same as with the spread of super‑pigs in the USA and Canada.

Modern nature differs from that of the Pleistocene; we live in a completely different time. And our world is already immersed in a global ecological crisis — an era of mass species extinction on the planet!

At the same time, I cannot ignore the importance of new knowledge and technologies. Of course, this is a methodological result demonstrating the possibilities of genome editing and interspecies cloning.

But! We are talking about money and nothing more. The capitalist world.

I think there is no need to remind what is happening to gray wolves in our world: the extermination continues right now. Wolves are also considered a “prestigious trophy” for sport hunting, and every hunter dreams of killing the largest wolf to prove their coolness and strength.

Moreover, super‑pigs were created and released into the wild specifically for trophy hunting! To this day in the USA there is an entire industry: since there are no limits or licenses for shooting them, many offer tourists a safari to shoot pigs. They were bred deliberately so they could later be killed.

I am convinced that when wolves, mammoths, or saber‑toothed tigers are resurrected, the first thing companies will do is lease huge areas and announce trophy hunting for the wealthy!

That is exactly where all these “experiments” will end up.

Afterwards, the release of species into the wild will follow, and the final displacement of biological systems, which no one will ever be able to stop.

© Pavel Pashkov