One of the dire wolves brought back to life
Credit: X/@BenLamm
The internet was recently taken by storm as a US-based startup claimed that it has brought back dire wolves, a species that had been extinct for over 10,000 years.
Colossal Biosciences, a US-based “de-extinction” startup, aims to bring back more extinct species like the woolly mammoth and the dodo bird.
In a recent breakthrough, the organisation was able to clone three dire wolf puppies using genetic editing derived from a complete dire wolf genome found in ancient fossils dating back to 11,500 and 72,000 years.
The pups have been named Remus. Romulus and Khaleesi. Remus and Romulus have been named after the mythological twins who founded Rome whereas the female pup Khaleesi has been named Khaleesi in homage to a Game of Thrones character.
The animals first garnered interest due to the representation of dire wolves in the fantasy TV series Game of Thrones, based on the works of George R R Martin. Images of the pups on the “Iron Throne” as seen in the series went viral online.
Ben Lamm, co-founder of Colossal, stated that being in presence of the dire wolves had a significant impact on Game of Thrones creator George RR Martin. “I did fly George out to meet the Wolves, and he cried! He completely cried. He said this was like one of the greatest things that he's ever seen.” he said in an interview with CBR.
He also explained how dire wolves are different from the wolves we see on earth today. “They have this super thick fur, their tail is a little longer, they are taller.” he said. Dire wolves are larger, heavier and more muscular than the species of wolves currently present on Earth.
When asked about the growth of the wolf pups Lamm said "I'd say initially that they were more playful and kind of more puppy-like up until recently. Now they're acting more like wolves.” The co-founder said that they are slowly growing up and displaying more wolf-like behaviour. "They're getting to the point that I wouldn't try to pet them or anything anymore," he added.
As of now, a 10 person team is closely monitoring the growth and behaviour of the wolves and are analysing how they can help the environment. The founders of Colossal Biosciences also claimed to be in conversations with the government to see how they could leverage the animals and put them back in the wild.