The first Dire Wolf howl in 10,000 years

[Hammock Parties]

SOUND ON. You’re hearing the first howl of a dire wolf in over 10,000 years. Meet Romulus and Remus—the world’s first de-extinct animals, born on October 1, 2024.

The dire wolf has been extinct for over 10,000 years. These two wolves were brought back from extinction using genetic edits derived from a complete dire wolf genome, meticulously reconstructed by Colossal from ancient DNA found in fossils dating back 11,500 and 72,000 years. This moment marks not only a milestone for us as a company but also a leap forward for science, conservation, and humanity. From the beginning, our goal has been clear: “To revolutionize history and be the first company to use CRISPR technology successfully in the de-extinction of previously lost species.” By achieving this, we continue to push forward our broader mission on—accepting humanity’s duty to restore Earth to a healthier state.

But this isn’t just our moment—it’s one for science, our planet, and humankind. All of which we love and are passionate about. Now, close your eyes and listen to that howl once more. Think about what this means for all of us.

SOUND ON. You’re hearing the first howl of a dire wolf in over 10,000 years. Meet Romulus and Remus—the world’s first de-extinct animals, born on October 1, 2024.

The dire wolf has been extinct for over 10,000 years. These two wolves were brought back from extinction using… pic.twitter.com/wY4rdOVFRH

— Colossal Biosciences® (@colossal) April 7, 2025

[Fish]

Originally Posted by suzzer99

Not to be a wet blanket, but my understanding is this is a grey wolf with 14 specific genes tweaked to match dire wolf DNA. It's unclear how close these guys are to an actual dire wolf.

Yes, as with most scientific achievements, the media just has to sensationalize it to the point of borderline misinformation.

They used CRISPR to edit existing grey wolf DNA to mimic dire wolf DNA. Here's a quick explanation:

To be crystal clear, Colossal’s scientists didn’t create these so-called dire wolves by directly copying DNA over from ancient samples. Instead, after reconstructing and analyzing the wolves’ genomes, they made precise edits to the DNA of existing cells taken from a gray wolf. They made 20 edits in total, 15 of which were intended to make genes resemble the variants found in their dire wolf samples.

It’s these variants, the company says, that make dire wolves truly distinct from wolves alive today. Some of these variants, they say, are thought to influence the wolves’ size and facial shape. The nucleus of these reconstructed cells was then transplanted into donor egg cells that had their nucleus scooped out, which gave rise to viable embryos that were implanted into surrogate mothers (large hound mixes).

For context, the gray wolf—the closest living relative of the dire wolf—has a genome of about 2.45 billion base pairs (the fundamental building blocks of DNA). Given that dire wolf DNA differs by roughly 0.5% from that of gray wolves, the researchers have barely scratched the surface. This 0.5% disparity amounts to roughly 12 million base pairs that set the dire wolf genome apart from its gray wolf counterpart. Accordingly—and not to minimize the achievement—Colossal remains very far from capturing the genetic differences between the two species.

https://gizmodo.com/in-a-historic-fi...-of-2000586007

[PHOG]

[Dunerdr]

Between playing god and AI we’re really fast tracking the end times.

[ChiefsCountry]

[Spott]

Originally Posted by jjjayb

They went extinct for a reason.

They were in dire straits.

[Dark Horse]

Originally Posted by dlphg9

Yeah because humans likely hunted the dire wolves prey to extinction.

It’s the prey’s fault for tasting so good

[ChiefsCountry]

Originally Posted by Spott

They were in dire straits.

[Jewish Rabbi]

Darnell and Jerome were making Clay’s girl howl the other night

[Rain Man]

If the company did this, you know that they also experimented with mixing a few human genes in. I bet there's a bipedal dire wolf in a back room of their secret wildlife refuge who's sitting in a recliner and learning to count by watching Sesame Street.

[Imon Yourside]

The Arilou brought them back.

[Raiderhater]

Originally Posted by Rain Man

If the company did this, you know that they also experimented with mixing a few human genes in. I bet there's a bipedal dire wolf in a back room of their secret wildlife refuge who's sitting in a recliner and learning to count by watching Sesame Street.

[Hammock Parties]

Originally Posted by Rain Man

If the company did this, you know that they also experimented with mixing a few human genes in. I bet there's a bipedal dire wolf in a back room of their secret wildlife refuge who's sitting in a recliner and learning to count by watching Sesame Street.

I'd be really interested in knowing if they had to throw out some genetic freaks before they got the process right.

[frozenchief]

It may not happen in my life time, but I hope and pray that my grandson can grow up in a world where he can hunt wooly mammoth in remote Alaska.

[Rain Man]

Originally Posted by frozenchief

It may not happen in my life time, but I hope and pray that my grandson can grow up in a world where he can hunt wooly mammoth in remote Alaska.

I look forward to the first time that a lakeside home is flattened by the tail of a brontosaurus.

[Hammock Parties]

Originally Posted by frozenchief

It may not happen in my life time, but I hope and pray that my grandson can grow up in a world where he can hunt wooly mammoth in remote Alaska.

They should never be hunted.

Rather, set them up in a kind of...biological preserve. Really spectacular. Spare no expense!