Apr 8, 2025 07:10 PM
Not to be confused with the "direwolf" species in Game of Thrones.
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The Return of the Dire Wolf
https://time.com/7274542/colossal-dire-wolf/
INTRO: Romulus and Remus are doing what puppies do: chasing, tussling, nipping, nuzzling. But there’s something very un-puppylike about the snowy white 6-month olds—their size, for starters. At their young age they already measure nearly 4 ft. long, tip the scales at 80 lb., and could grow to 6 ft. and 150 lb. Then there’s their behavior: the angelic exuberance puppies exhibit in the presence of humans—trotting up for hugs, belly rubs, kisses—is completely absent.
They keep their distance, retreating if a person approaches. Even one of the handlers who raised them from birth can get only so close before Romulus and Remus flinch and retreat. This isn’t domestic canine behavior, this is wild lupine behavior: the pups are wolves. Not only that, they’re dire wolves—which means they have cause to be lonely.
The dire wolf once roamed an American range that extended as far south as Venezuela and as far north as Canada, but not a single one has been seen in over 10,000 years, when the species went extinct. Plenty of dire wolf remains have been discovered across the Americas, however, and that presented an opportunity for a company named Colossal Biosciences.
Relying on deft genetic engineering and ancient, preserved DNA, Colossal scientists deciphered the dire wolf genome, rewrote the genetic code of the common gray wolf to match it, and, using domestic dogs as surrogate mothers, brought Romulus, Remus, and their sister, 2-month-old Khaleesi, into the world during three separate births last fall and this winter—effectively for the first time de-extincting a line of beasts whose live gene pool long ago vanished. TIME met the males (Khaleesi was not present due to her young age) at a fenced field in a U.S. wildlife facility on March 24, on the condition that their location remain a secret to protect the animals from prying eyes... (MORE - details)
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Romulus, Remus, and Khaleesi (wikipedia): Colossal claims that these minor genetic modifications effectively revive dire wolves as a species, though "no ancient dire wolf DNA was actually spliced into the gray wolf's genome". Independent experts disagreed with the Colossal Biosciences' claim that these animals are revived dire wolves, explaining that the animals are merely functional versions of the extinct animal and are genetically modified hybrid grey wolves.
The paleontologist Rawlence noted that ancient dire wolf DNA is extremely fragmentary to make a biological clone and that dire wolves diverged from grey wolves anywhere between 2.5 and 6 million years ago. He also criticized how the company made only 20 changes in only 14 genes to consider it a dire wolf and was concerned about this project giving a wrong message in biodiversity conservation.
Jeremy Austin, Director of the Australian Centre for Ancient DNA, asserted that these genetically modified animals are "not a dire wolf under any definition of a species ever", stating that hundreds of thousands of critical genetic changes are required to create a genetically precise dire wolf. He also questioned whether the purported dire wolves have any ecological place left in the modern world or will merely become zoo animals...
- - - - - - - - - -
The Return of the Dire Wolf
https://time.com/7274542/colossal-dire-wolf/
INTRO: Romulus and Remus are doing what puppies do: chasing, tussling, nipping, nuzzling. But there’s something very un-puppylike about the snowy white 6-month olds—their size, for starters. At their young age they already measure nearly 4 ft. long, tip the scales at 80 lb., and could grow to 6 ft. and 150 lb. Then there’s their behavior: the angelic exuberance puppies exhibit in the presence of humans—trotting up for hugs, belly rubs, kisses—is completely absent.
They keep their distance, retreating if a person approaches. Even one of the handlers who raised them from birth can get only so close before Romulus and Remus flinch and retreat. This isn’t domestic canine behavior, this is wild lupine behavior: the pups are wolves. Not only that, they’re dire wolves—which means they have cause to be lonely.
The dire wolf once roamed an American range that extended as far south as Venezuela and as far north as Canada, but not a single one has been seen in over 10,000 years, when the species went extinct. Plenty of dire wolf remains have been discovered across the Americas, however, and that presented an opportunity for a company named Colossal Biosciences.
Relying on deft genetic engineering and ancient, preserved DNA, Colossal scientists deciphered the dire wolf genome, rewrote the genetic code of the common gray wolf to match it, and, using domestic dogs as surrogate mothers, brought Romulus, Remus, and their sister, 2-month-old Khaleesi, into the world during three separate births last fall and this winter—effectively for the first time de-extincting a line of beasts whose live gene pool long ago vanished. TIME met the males (Khaleesi was not present due to her young age) at a fenced field in a U.S. wildlife facility on March 24, on the condition that their location remain a secret to protect the animals from prying eyes... (MORE - details)
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Romulus, Remus, and Khaleesi (wikipedia): Colossal claims that these minor genetic modifications effectively revive dire wolves as a species, though "no ancient dire wolf DNA was actually spliced into the gray wolf's genome". Independent experts disagreed with the Colossal Biosciences' claim that these animals are revived dire wolves, explaining that the animals are merely functional versions of the extinct animal and are genetically modified hybrid grey wolves.
The paleontologist Rawlence noted that ancient dire wolf DNA is extremely fragmentary to make a biological clone and that dire wolves diverged from grey wolves anywhere between 2.5 and 6 million years ago. He also criticized how the company made only 20 changes in only 14 genes to consider it a dire wolf and was concerned about this project giving a wrong message in biodiversity conservation.
Jeremy Austin, Director of the Australian Centre for Ancient DNA, asserted that these genetically modified animals are "not a dire wolf under any definition of a species ever", stating that hundreds of thousands of critical genetic changes are required to create a genetically precise dire wolf. He also questioned whether the purported dire wolves have any ecological place left in the modern world or will merely become zoo animals...
