Meet the 1st-ever cloned dire wolves
A Texas biotech company, Colossal Biosciences, has used gene editing and cloning to welcome three puppies modeled after the long-extinct dire wolf.
It's a big moment for de-extinction science: think real-life Jurassic Park, but with ancient wolves instead of dinosaurs.
What do we know about ancient dire wolves?
Dire wolves were massive predators that roamed North America over 10,000 years ago, much bigger than today's gray wolves.
They disappeared after the Ice Age megafauna they hunted went extinct, and ancient dire wolf remains have been found at sites such as Sheridan Pit, Ohio, and American Falls, Idaho.
How were the pups created, and what's next?
Scientists made about 20 genetic edits across 14 genes in gray wolf cells using CRISPR tech to create pups projected to reach roughly 6 ft in length and about 68kg at maturity.
The first two, Romulus and Remus, were born in October 2025 via a dog surrogate named Skyla.
But not everyone is convinced: some experts say these are just super-modified gray wolves, not true dire wolves.
The pups won't be released into the wild yet.
Meanwhile, Colossal is already planning projects to bring back wooly mammoths, dodos, and Tasmanian tigers next.