Overview
- Colossal Biosciences disclosed Thursday that its three dire‑wolf‑like pups are healthy, at breeding age, and living on a secured 2,000‑acre preserve in the northern United States.
- The company says it will add more pups this year through assisted reproduction to build enough genetic diversity for a self‑sustaining pack.
- Researchers compared ancient dire wolf DNA from a 72,000‑year‑old skull in Idaho and a 13,000‑year‑old tooth in Ohio with grey wolf DNA, then made about 20 gene edits to restore traits like a pale coat, larger teeth, stronger build, and a distinctive howl.
- Edited cells went into domestic dog egg cells, surrogate dogs carried the pregnancies, and the pups were delivered by caesarean section to reduce birth risks.
- Independent scientists argue the animals are engineered hybrids rather than true resurrected dire wolves, and the company says the animals are not 100 percent identical to the extinct species.