How were the extinct dire wolves Romulus, Remus, and Khaleesi brought back by Texas Lab?

The news of the extinct dire wolves being brought back to life by the Texas-based genetic engineering company, Colossal Biosciences, has made waves on the internet.

On April 7, 2025, Colossal took to their official X (formerly Twitter) handle to announce that they had successfully revived the extinct dire wolves using the genetic edits from an 11,500- and 72,000-year-old fossil.

The male pups born in October 2024 are named Romulus and Remus, and the third female born in January 2025 is named Khaleesi. Aenocyon dirus, or the dire wolf, is a canine that became extinct around the end of the last Ice Age, which was nearly 12,000 years ago.

How were the extinct dire wolves bought back?

The extinct dire wolves Romulus, Remus, and Khaleesi were brought back to earth by the biotechnology and genetic engineering company Colossal Biosciences through CRISPR. It is a gene-editing technology through which scientists can cut and modify DNA sequences.

This process began with the researchers finding fossil remains, which included a 13,000-year-old tooth and a 72,000-year-old inner ear bone. After finding these fossils, they extracted the DNA from them, followed by sequencing the genomes and then identifying genes that were unique to the dire wolves and using the CRISPR technology to add those genes into the DNA of the modern gray wolves.

In this process, the scientists were able to alter 20 genes in total, out of which 15 came from the ancient samples and 5 were substituted. The reason for substitution was that the scientists found out that the gene responsible for the white fur in dire wolves was linked to blindness and deafness; hence, a safer alternative was chosen.

The edited cells were then implanted in domestic dogs that gave birth to four pups, out of which three survived. While Romulus, Remus, and Khaleesi are not the exact copies of the dire wolves, they have a few traits of the dire wolves, including their thick manes, bushy tails, and their fur, which is white and dense.

Where do Romulus, Remus, and Khaleesi live?

The pups now live in an ecological reserve in North America that is registered with the USDA and certified by the American Humane Society. As per Colossal, the preserve has 10-foot-tall, zoo-grade fencing, and there are on-site live cameras, security, and drone tracking as well for the well-being of the wolves.

There is a veterinary clinic and a full-time animal staff also present at the site to ensure the wolves are in their best health. The MHA Nation Tribal Chairman, Mark Fox, expressed his views. He said:

''The de-extinction of the dire wolf is more than a biological revival. Its birth symbolizes a reawakening – a return of an ancient spirit to the world. The dire wolf carries the echoes of our ancestors, their wisdom, and their connection to the wild.''

Colossal Biosciences is a de-extinction and conservation company in Texas and, as of 2025, is valued at $10.2 billion.

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