Dire wolves are an extinct species of canines that lived in the Americas approximately 10,000 to 125,000 years ago. Dire wolves were a larger and heavier canid compared to the modern-day gray wolf. Though similar, dire wolves are genetically different compared to the gray wolf, with their lineage branching off from other historic canids. Numerous dire wolf remains have been found throughout the Americas, opening up an opportunity for a company named Colossal Biosciences.
With the aid of genetic engineering and preserved DNA, the Colossal scientists were able to decipher the dire wolf genome, rewrite the genetic code of a gray wolf and use domestic dogs to birth three dire wolf pups. This brought Romulus and Remus six months ago, and later their 2-month-old sister Khalessi. This is the first human-controlled de-extinction of an animal whose gene pool was previously erased.
This is not the only animal Colossal Biosciences plans on bringing back from extinction. Some examples of animals they are working to bring back are the woolly mammoth, dodo and the Tasmanian tiger.
“Colossal claims that the same techniques it uses to summon back species from the dead could prevent existing but endangered animals from slipping into extinction themselves. What they learn restoring the mammoth, they say, could help them engineer more robust elephants that can better survive the climatic ravages of a warming world,” Jeffery Kluger said in a TIME article.
As a society, we have learned something from the “Jurassic Park” movies and we are not just bringing back animals because we can. I understand the concern about what this means for the future of our world and the advancements we are making at such a rapid pace with genetic intelligence and innovations. With that being said, I appreciate the significance of this incredible scientific breakthrough and how this can be helpful to endangered animals in a constantly changing climate.
As the dire wolves continue to grow, their existence amazes scientists. These pups represent a new era of technology, their existence is proof of society achieving something most people believed was just a fantasy.
