In a breakthrough straight out of science fiction, three genetically engineered wolf pups—designed to resemble the long-extinct dire wolf—are alive and thriving in a secure, undisclosed location in the United States, according to Colossal Biosciences, the biotech company leading efforts to resurrect lost species.
The pups, aged between three and six months, already weigh around 80 pounds and are expected to reach a massive 140 pounds at maturity. With their long white fur and powerful jaws, the trio are strikingly reminiscent of dire wolves, a prehistoric predator that roamed North America over 10,000 years ago.
Dire wolves, once significantly larger and more robust than modern gray wolves, disappeared during the last Ice Age. But Colossal’s scientists have tapped into ancient DNA and cutting-edge genetic engineering to bring some of their traits back to life.
“This isn’t full de-extinction,” said Vincent Lynch, a biologist at the University at Buffalo unaffiliated with the project. “All you can do now is make something look superficially like something else.”
Using DNA extracted from a 13,000-year-old dire wolf tooth found in Ohio and a 72,000-year-old skull fragment from Idaho, researchers identified key genetic traits and inserted them into gray wolf cells using CRISPR technology. Those modified cells were then fused with egg cells from domestic dogs, and the embryos implanted into surrogate dogs.
The pups were born 62 days later.
Colossal’s lead geneticist, Beth Shapiro, said the process involved editing 20 specific genes to recreate dire wolf-like features, such as enhanced muscle mass and fur type.
This isn’t Colossal’s first foray into synthetic resurrection. The company has also launched projects to recreate traits of woolly mammoths, dodos, and other extinct species. However, the team acknowledges that their dire wolf-inspired animals won’t behave exactly like their ancient counterparts.
“What they will probably never learn is the finishing move of how to kill a giant elk or a big deer,” said Matt James, Colossal’s chief animal care expert. “They don’t have dire wolf parents to teach them.”
The company also announced Monday it had successfully cloned four red wolves, using blood drawn from critically endangered individuals in the southeastern U.S. The goal: to boost genetic diversity in the tiny population of captive red wolves being bred for conservation.
“This technology could revolutionize conservation biology,” said Christopher Preston, a wildlife ethicist at the University of Montana. “It’s less invasive than other cloning techniques, but it still relies on access to wild animals, which poses challenges.”
Colossal CEO Ben Lamm revealed that the company met with officials from the U.S. Department of the Interior in late March. On Monday, Interior Secretary Doug Burgum praised the project on social media, calling it a “thrilling new era of scientific wonder.”
Yet some scientists urge caution.
“Whatever ecological function the dire wolf performed before it went extinct, it can’t perform those functions on today’s landscapes,” said Lynch. “The world has changed.”
Still, for now, three ghostly white pups—part wolf, part past—are howling under the stars, embodying the tension between nostalgia, innovation, and the uncertain future of engineered evolution.
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