By Rayees ul Islam
In what has been hailed as a major scientific milestone, the American biotechnology company Colossal Biosciences claims to have brought back an extinct species — the Direwolf, which vanished from Earth some 13,000 years ago. This attempt at de-extinction marks a bold step in genetic science, though it has sparked controversy, ethical questions, and scientific scrutiny.
Colossal, co-founded by tech entrepreneur Ben Lamm and renowned geneticist Dr. George Church, has ambitious plans to resurrect long-lost species such as the Tasmanian tiger, the Dodo bird, and the Woolly Mammoth — a species of giant elephant-like creatures that roamed snowy landscapes over 4,000 years ago.
Their first successful effort, according to the company, is the Direwolf — a predator made popular by the TV series Game of Thrones. Inspired by the show, Colossal has named the first two pups Romulus and Remus, and a third female pup born later was christened Khaleesi. The animals were reportedly born through Cesarean section at a secret facility in the United States and are now five months old.
Ancient Beast, New Questions
At first glance, the achievement seems remarkable — the rebirth of a species lost to time. But scientists and critics have cast doubt on the claim, suggesting that these animals may not be “true” Direwolves but rather genetically modified versions of grey wolves with engineered traits.
To understand the roots of this claim, one must trace the Direwolf’s history. Fossils of the species were first discovered in 1854 near the Ohio River. Initially classified by American scientist Joseph Leidy as Canis dirus (meaning “terrifying dog”), the Direwolf was long believed to be a close cousin of the modern grey wolf. However, a groundbreaking study published in Nature in 2021 revealed that Direwolves diverged from the grey wolf lineage around 5.7 million years ago, sharing no genetic overlap and coexisting with coyotes and grey wolves in ancient North America.
So why did the Direwolf vanish while other canines survived? Theories include failure to adapt to climatic shifts, inability to interbreed with other canids, or extinction of their prey. Unlike today’s adaptable grey wolves, Direwolves may have been evolutionary specialists — and that specialization might have led to their downfall.
Science Behind the Resurrection
Three primary methods are being explored to “de-extinct” animals:
1. Back-Breeding: This involves selectively breeding animals with traits resembling extinct species. The Quagga Project in Africa used this method to recreate the extinct quagga, a zebra-like animal.
2. Cloning: This technique, perfected with the famous “Dolly the Sheep” in 1996, requires an intact cell nucleus from the extinct species — something that is incredibly rare, making cloning difficult for ancient animals.
3. Genetic Engineering: This is Colossal’s chosen method. Using advanced CRISPR gene-editing, scientists extract preserved DNA from fossils — in this case, a Direwolf tooth over 13,000 years old and a 70,000-year-old skull. They then edit the DNA of a close relative — the grey wolf — to reintroduce traits lost to extinction. In the Direwolf project, 14 genes were altered to produce the current pups.
On October 1, 2024, Romulus and Remus were born. Khaleesi followed on January 30, 2025. These pups now live in a high-tech, controlled environment — far removed from the wild terrain their ancestors once ruled.
But this raises a fundamental question: Is this true de-extinction or just genetic mimicry?
Ecological Concerns and Ethical Questions
Reviving a species is one thing — reintegrating it into the wild is another. Can these Direwolves play the same ecological role their ancestors once did? Would they even survive outside a laboratory?
Experts warn of potential ecosystem disruptions. The Direwolf was a large apex predator — reintroducing it could lead to competition with existing carnivores like grey wolves or even threaten prey populations. Given that they went extinct naturally, some argue that bringing them back may disturb the current ecological balance rather than restore it.
Dr. Peter Marra of Georgetown University puts it bluntly: “We can’t look to recover species that have gone extinct in the past before we conserve species in the present.”
And he has a point. The Northern White Rhinoceros, for example, now has only two individuals left. There are over one million plant and animal species on the verge of extinction, according to a 2019 UN report. Should our focus not be on saving endangered species that still have a chance, rather than investing millions in resurrecting lost ones?
The Bigger Picture
The resurrection of the Direwolf reflects our growing ability to manipulate life at a genetic level — a field filled with wonder, promise, and peril. But with such immense power comes immense responsibility.
Are we ready to shape nature with such precision? Can we rebuild not just the bodies of extinct species but their behaviors, instincts, and roles in the environment? Or are we simply building biological replicas — fascinating, but ultimately artificial?
As the debate around de-extinction continues, one truth remains: Preventing extinction in the first place is always better than trying to reverse it. As the old saying goes, “Prevention is better than cure.”
The author works in the Department of Education and can be reached at rayeesulislam7@gmail.com.