Dire Wolf Pups Born Using 72,000-Year-Old DNA

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Scientists have brought back dire wolves after 12,500 years of extinction using ancient DNA and modern gene-editing tech.

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Three pups named Romulus, Remus, and Khaleesi now live in a 2,000+ acre preserve with 10 full-time staff monitoring their development.

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The wolves were created by extracting DNA from 13,000 and 72,000-year-old fossils, then making 20 precise edits to gray wolf genes

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These genetically modified animals are 99.5% gray wolf but carry key dire wolf traits like larger size, broader heads, and light-colored fur

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Dire wolves weren’t just Game of Thrones fantasy—they were real Ice Age predators 25% larger than modern wolves that hunted horses and bison

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The same tech has already helped clone critically endangered red wolves, using a new less-invasive blood sampling method.

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Scientists debate whether these animals truly count as "de-extinct" and question if they could ever safely return to the wild

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The company plans to eventually place these wolves in ecological preserves on indigenous lands, though full rewilding faces major challenges

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[{"selector":"#anim-c5ed1ce0-824a-4336-9001-905c73ae5c73","keyframes":{"opacity":[0,1]},"delay":200,"duration":3000,"easing":"cubic-bezier(0.4, 0.4, 0.0, 1)","fill":"both"}] [{"selector":"#anim-da634526-4d69-4d20-96cd-1861477a2f5b","keyframes":{"opacity":[0,1]},"delay":200,"duration":3000,"easing":"cubic-bezier(0.2, 0.6, 0.0, 1)","fill":"both"}] [{"selector":"#anim-ac6ac4a8-be01-4d38-b169-2bc50b1a3089","keyframes":{"transform":["translate3d(-114.50152%, 0px, 0)","translate3d(0px, 0px, 0)"]},"delay":200,"duration":3000,"easing":"cubic-bezier(0.2, 0.6, 0.0, 1)","fill":"both"}] [{"selector":"#anim-a32aa2bd-dc2e-456b-961c-0e3517d55da0","keyframes":{"opacity":[0,1]},"delay":700,"duration":3000,"easing":"cubic-bezier(0.2, 0.6, 0.0, 1)","fill":"both"}] [{"selector":"#anim-78a6b479-0e3e-4b57-9090-e11e51fe4228","keyframes":{"transform":["translate3d(115.2381%, 0px, 0)","translate3d(0px, 0px, 0)"]},"delay":700,"duration":3000,"easing":"cubic-bezier(0.2, 0.6, 0.0, 1)","fill":"both"}] Washington Wolf Count Down 9% with 25% Breeding Drop Learn more