When did dire wolves go extinct and literally why are they back?

Colossal Biosciences has reportedly achieved what many would think impossible: bringing back the dire wolf.

Between October 2024 and January 2025, three dire wolf pups were born to surrogate mother dogs at an undisclosed wildlife facility in the United States. The male twins, Romulus and Remus (a nod to Rome’s mythical founders), arrived first on October 1st, followed by their sister Khaleesi on January 30th. 

The company, founded in 2021 with the explicit mission of “de-extincting” vanished species, extracted DNA from ancient remains — a 13,000-year-old tooth and a jaw-dropping 72,000-year-old ear bone — and identified 14 crucial genetic differences between dire wolves and their modern gray wolf cousins. Using CRISPR gene-editing technology, they essentially retrofitted gray wolf cells with these ancient genetic markers, creating embryos that were then implanted in carefully selected surrogate mother dogs.

Dire wolves that lived during the late Pleistocene epoch, roughly 250,000 to 10,000 years ago. They first appeared in North America and later spread into parts of South America. Unlike their smaller modern cousins, dire wolves were built for power, not speed. They were larger, stockier, and deadlier, with jaws designed to crush bone and bodies built to take down massive prey. Despite their long reign, dire wolves vanished from Earth approximately 12,500-13,000 years ago.

The precise cause of their disappearance remains debated, but it likely resulted from a perfect storm of challenges: rapid climate change at the end of the last ice age, the loss of their preferred large prey species, increased competition with gray wolves (which were better adapted to hunting smaller, faster game), and possibly the arrival of humans with their hunting skills and accompanying dogs.

The dire wolf resurrection marks another milestone in humanity’s growing mastery of genetic engineering. We’re no longer just tweaking existing life forms — we’re rebuilding those that nature itself eliminated. The technical challenges overcome in this process — extracting viable DNA fragments from samples tens of thousands of years old, identifying the genetic differences that made dire wolves unique, and successfully expressing those traits in living organisms — represent staggering advances in genomic technology. The CRISPR-Cas9 gene-editing system, often described as “genetic scissors,” has revolutionized our ability to precisely modify DNA sequences. If we can bring back dire wolves, what’s next? Colossal is already working on woolly mammoths and enger pigeons. Other researchers dream of reviving the Tasmanian tiger, the dodo, and even Neanderthals.

For some, bringing back extinct species is a way to right the wrongs of the past. Humans played a role in the extinction of many species, and de-extinction offers a chance for redemption. For others, it’s about biodiversity — resurrecting lost species could help restore ecosystems and combat the effects of climate change.

The technical barriers are falling rapidly, leaving only ethical boundaries. Could we create mermaids by combining human and fish DNA? Technically challenging but increasingly conceivable. Super-humans with enhanced strength, intelligence, or longevity? Many scientists believe it’s not a matter of if but when. Entirely new species designed from scratch to fulfill specific ecological or economic roles? The building blocks are already in our hands. For better or worse, we’ve entered an era where extinction itself has become negotiable.