Animals
The First Howl Of A Dire Wolf: The World's First De-extinct Animal After 10,000 Years!
Romulus and Remus are two genetically modified gray wolves, created at the end of 2024 by the biotechnology company Colossal Biosciences.
Their goal was to replicate the phenotype of the extinct dire wolf, known in Latin as Aenocyon dirus.
The company claims that the male wolves, Romulus and Remus, represent the first living examples of the species since its extinction around 10,000 years ago. In reality, they are genetically modified gray wolves that share some traits with the extinct species. In 2025 they also created a female wolf named Khaleesi.
Colossal Biosciences, Facebook
Using genetic engineering, the company created an approximation of the extinct wolf species that once roamed North America 125,000 years ago. The dire wolves are believed to have gone extinct about 10,000 years ago and were first scientifically described in 1858. These wolves were about the same size as modern gray wolves, weighing an average of 60 kilograms. They had much stronger bites and larger teeth and likely went extinct due to climate change and competition with other species.
The first howl of an extinct dire wolf:
For Romulus and Remus, scientists altered 14 key genes in the cells of gray wolves to express 20 traits associated with the dire wolf - such as larger body size, stronger jaws, and white fur. Despite the company's claims of a "resurrection" of an extinct species, many experts have raised doubts, as only 14 out of approximately 20,000 genes were modified in the gray wolf genome.
Their goal was to replicate the phenotype of the extinct dire wolf, known in Latin as Aenocyon dirus.
The company claims that the male wolves, Romulus and Remus, represent the first living examples of the species since its extinction around 10,000 years ago. In reality, they are genetically modified gray wolves that share some traits with the extinct species. In 2025 they also created a female wolf named Khaleesi.
Colossal Biosciences, Facebook
Using genetic engineering, the company created an approximation of the extinct wolf species that once roamed North America 125,000 years ago. The dire wolves are believed to have gone extinct about 10,000 years ago and were first scientifically described in 1858. These wolves were about the same size as modern gray wolves, weighing an average of 60 kilograms. They had much stronger bites and larger teeth and likely went extinct due to climate change and competition with other species.
The first howl of an extinct dire wolf:
For Romulus and Remus, scientists altered 14 key genes in the cells of gray wolves to express 20 traits associated with the dire wolf - such as larger body size, stronger jaws, and white fur. Despite the company's claims of a "resurrection" of an extinct species, many experts have raised doubts, as only 14 out of approximately 20,000 genes were modified in the gray wolf genome.
