Did Scientists Actually Bring Dire Wolves Back From Extinction?

In a secret 2,000-acre preserve somewhere in the US, three enormous pups named Romulus, Remus, and Khaleesi are roaming the woods. No, this isn’t an HBO spinoff or a CGI stunt. These are living, breathing dire wolves, which scientists claim have been brought back from extinction.

Colossal Biosciences, the same biotech company hell-bent on resurrecting the woolly mammoth, announced this week that it has successfully engineered three dire wolf pups using ancient DNA. This is all part of their “de-extinction project.”

According to CEO Ben Lamm, the company used material from a 13,000-year-old tooth and a 72,000-year-old skull to create genetically viable embryos. Those embryos were then implanted into gray wolves, a species already 99.5 percent genetically identical to dire wolves.

“We’ve edited those cells at multiple places in its DNA sequence to contain the dire wolf version of the DNA,” said Beth Shapiro, a paleogeneticist working with Colossal, per ABC.

The first two pups, Romulus and Remus, were born in late 2024, followed by their younger sister Khaleesi, who made her debut in early 2025. All three now live in a secured nature reserve designed to mimic the Pleistocene habitats they once roamed.

Of course, Colossal is leaning into the Game of Thrones vibes hard. Peter Jackson (yes, that Peter Jackson) arranged a photoshoot of the pups on the Iron Throne. And George R. R. Martin himself weighed in: “Many people view dire wolves as mythical creatures… but in reality, they have a rich history of contributing to the American ecosystem.”

Still, not everyone is buying it. Dr. Julie Meachen, who co-authored a 2021 paper on dire wolves, warns that Colossal’s pups may not be as authentic as advertised. Meachen argues that dire wolves and gray wolves diverged millions of years ago—far more than a few DNA tweaks can realistically bridge.

But Colossal isn’t positioning itself as a university lab or a conservation nonprofit. It’s a foundation with a flair for the cinematic. And with the recent cloning of a “woolly mouse,” the company seems to be inching toward even more prehistoric revivals.

Whether this kind of science is awesome or terrifying probably depends on how you feel about what’s coming next—because if dire wolves are just the beginning, creatures like the woolly mammoth might not be far behind.