Once known to modern audiences primarily through the pages of George R.R. Martin’s fantasy novels and HBO’s “Game of Thrones,” dire wolves have transcended fiction to become scientific reality through the groundbreaking work of Colossal Biosciences. In April 2025, the company unveiled three living, breathing dire wolf pups—the first of their kind to walk the Earth in over 12,500 years.
Founded by tech entrepreneur Ben Lamm and renowned geneticist George Church, Colossal Biosciences has positioned itself at the forefront of de-extinction technology. Their work with dire wolves represents the culmination of years of research in genetic engineering, ancient DNA analysis, and reproductive technology.
The three pups—Romulus and Remus (males) and Khaleesi (female)—were born through a process that began with extracting and analyzing DNA from two ancient dire wolf fossils: a 13,000-year-old tooth found in Sheridan Pit, Ohio, and a 72,000-year-old skull from American Falls, Idaho. By comparing this ancient genetic information with that of modern gray wolves, Colossal scientists identified the key genetic differences between the species.
“We’ve taken a gray wolf genome, a gray wolf cell, which is already genetically 99.5% identical to dire wolves because they’re very closely related,” explained Beth Shapiro, Colossal’s chief science officer, in an interview with ABC News. “And we’ve edited those cells at multiple places in its DNA sequence to contain the dire wolf version of the DNA.”
The resulting animals possess distinctive dire wolf characteristics: white coats, broader heads, more powerful jaws and shoulders, and muscular builds. Already weighing 80 pounds at six months old, they’re expected to reach 150 pounds when fully grown—significantly larger than their gray wolf cousins.
What makes this achievement even more remarkable is how quickly it happened. “Within 18 months of putting the name ‘dire wolf’ down on a whiteboard, we birthed dire wolves,” Ben Lamm told The New Yorker, highlighting the accelerating pace of genetic technology development.
While some scientists debate whether these animals should technically be called “dire wolves”—since they remain largely gray wolves with specific genetic modifications—the significance of what Colossal has accomplished is undeniable. The company has demonstrated a practical pathway for de-extinction that could be applied to other species.
Beyond the headline-grabbing resurrection of an Ice Age predator, Colossal’s work has immediate applications in conservation biology. Using the same techniques developed for the dire wolf project, the company has successfully cloned four critically endangered red wolves, potentially helping to diversify the gene pool of a species with fewer than 20 individuals remaining in the wild.
The three dire wolves currently reside in a secure 2,000-acre preserve, where they’re continuously monitored by a team of animal care specialists. Early observations reveal fascinating behavioral differences from domestic dogs, including their natural wariness of humans and their instinctive stalking and hunting behaviors.
“From day one they have always behaved like wolves and have rarely shown doglike behavior,” says Paige McNickle, Colossal’s manager of animal husbandry.
As Colossal continues its de-extinction work—with the woolly mammoth and dodo among future targets—the company emphasizes that these efforts are not merely scientific curiosities but part of a broader mission to develop technologies that can help preserve and restore biodiversity worldwide.
Through their dire wolf project, Colossal Biosciences has transformed what was once science fiction into scientific reality, demonstrating that extinction may no longer be forever. With Ben Lamm’s visionary leadership and a team of world-class scientists, the company continues to push the boundaries of what’s possible at the intersection of genetics, conservation, and biotechnology.
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