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

[Garcia Bronco]

Originally Posted by wazu

Historically our main predators seem to mostly be each other.

And stones from space.

[loochy]

Originally Posted by listopencil

Life, uh, finds a way.

Now, eventually you do plan to have dire wolves on your, on your dire wolf tour, right? Hello?

[ThaVirus]

Originally Posted by Rain Man

Speaking of mammoths, I read this article a while back and found it fascinating:

https://www.smithsonianmag.com/scien...oth-180983064/

It's really worth the read. As a teaser, it's an explanation of how archaeologists were able to track the exact migratory movements of a specific woolly mammoth in Alaska. It makes my all-time top-ten magazine articles list.

That is very interesting. For those not looking to read it, they cross referenced strontium levels of this particular mammoth’s tusks with the strontium levels in voles across Alaska (since they don’t travel far) to determine where the mammoth traveled throughout his lifetime. Pretty crazy.

Some other interesting tidbits:

-This mammoth’s molars were the size of a man’s shoe
-Each of his tusks weighed 50 pounds
-He rarely traveled less than 10 miles per day throughout his lifetime
-He traveled twice the circumference of the globe in his lifetime yet spent his whole life in what’s today the state of Alaska

Mammoths have an estimated lifespan of 60 years but this guy died of starvation at only 28. RIP, Kik.

[tmax63]

They're cute little puppies but just like humans, they grow up. We have enough grief in CO with the tree huggers reintroducing regular wolves that I'm not sure we need a new (old) and improved wolves to help thin the rancher's herds.

[ThrobProng]

Boring. Bring back dinosaurs or GTFO.

[Bearcat]

I for one welcome our new wolf overlords.

[Kiimo]

Originally Posted by Fish

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:

[kjwood75nro]

If they were named anything other than "dire," nobody would give a ****.

It's just a gray wolf with a dire name.

[Why Not?]

Originally Posted by kjwood75nro

If they were named anything other than "dire," nobody would give a ****.

It's just a gray wolf with a dire name.

Maybe. But gray wolves haven't been extinct for thousands of years. So, if scientists today announced "we can make gray wolves" you would be correct in assuming no one would really care. But what you have here is the perfect combination of extinct animal that has a cool name and was featured in a cool show. Kinda like a bear (minus the show part, I think). If it was announced that they can create a black bear, no one cares. But a cave bear? Now we're talking!

[DTHOF]

This sure seems like some pet cemetery stuff
f

[Bearcat]

TBF, I also wouldn't care about bringing back a Strait unless it was the Dire kind.

[Kiimo]

Originally Posted by kjwood75nro

If they were named anything other than "dire," nobody would give a ****.

It's just a gray wolf with a dire name.

It's more than just a name though they're a few months old and already full grey wolf size. So I'm kind of curious how big these suckers are gonna get.

[wazu]

Originally Posted by Bearcat

TBF, I also wouldn't care about bringing back a Strait unless it was the Dire kind.

What about George?

[TripleThreat]

Interested to see what they do with them, where they told them, and to be honest, a final real live comparison in size between the two.

[Demonpenz]

I saw a dire wolf drinking a Pina colota