For the first time in history, scientists bring back the dire wolf, extinct for over 12,000 years

HORNBILL TV

Scientists have revived the dire wolf, a species that went extinct nearly 12,500 years ago, through genetic engineering. The two pups, named Romulus and Remus, are just six months old.

Delhi (India), April 8 (HBTV): Scientists have revived the dire wolf, a species that went extinct nearly 12,500 years ago, through genetic engineering. The two pups, named Romulus and Remus, are just six months old but already measure nearly four feet and weigh over 36 kg.

The company behind this breakthrough, Texas-based Colossal Biosciences, reportedly created the dire wolf pups using ancient DNA, cloning, and gene editing. The dire wolf, once a top predator across North America, was made popular by the HBO series Game of Thrones. Compared to gray wolves—its closest living relative—the dire wolf is larger, with thicker fur and a more powerful jaw.

'The idea that we could just take a vial of blood, isolate EPCs, culture them, and clone from them, and they have a pretty high cloning efficiency, we think it's a game changer,' said George Church, Colossal co-founder and professor of genetics at Harvard University and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), in an interview with Time Magazine.

Billionaire Elon Musk reacted to the development by posting on X: 'Please make a miniature pet wooly mammoth,' resharing his own previous post.

Following their birth, the pups were fed by a surrogate for a few days, after which the Colossal team began bottle-feeding them. According to the company, they are now growing into healthy young dire wolves.

However, their behaviour differs from modern wolf species. As reported by Time, the typical exuberance seen in puppies around humans is absent. Romulus and Remus maintain a distance and retreat when approached. Even the handler who has raised them from birth can only get so close before the pups flinch. Scientists say this behaviour may be inherent to the species, suggesting that dire wolves were naturally more solitary.

The dire wolf is only one of several species Colossal Biosciences aims to bring back. Other candidates include the woolly mammoth, the dodo, and the Tasmanian tiger. While progress in other de-extinction projects has been limited, scientists remain optimistic.

(Inputs from NDTV)