[Image: Needpix]
A species of wolf that went extinct about 12,500 years ago has been brought back to life as the “world’s first successfully de-extincted animal,” according to Colossal Biosciences, a biotech company based in Dallas.
Colossal scientists have created three dire wolf pups by using ancient DNA, cloning, and gene-editing technologies to modify the genes of the gray wolf, the closest living relative of the extinct dire wolf, the company announced on Monday.
The result is a hybrid species that closely resembles the prehistoric creature in appearance.
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The dire wolf, Aenocyon dirus, which was the inspiration for the fearsome canines featured in HBO’s Game of Thrones, was a top predator that once roamed North America.
Dire wolves were larger in size than gray wolves and “had a slightly wider head, light thick fur and stronger jaw,” the company said.
Colossal has raised at least $435 million since it first announced plans to resurrect the mammoth and has been working toward also resurrecting the dodo and Tasmanian tiger since 2021.
“This massive milestone is the first of many coming examples demonstrating that our end-to-end de-extinction technology stack works,” said Ben Lamm, Colossal’s co-founder and CEO, in a news release. “Our team took DNA from a 13,000-year-old tooth and a 72,000-year-old skull and made healthy dire wolf puppies.”
The three dire wolves are living on an 800-hectare site at an undisclosed location enclosed by 3-meter-tall “zoo-grade” fencing, where they are monitored by security personnel, drones and live camera feeds.
Colossal said the facility had been certified by the American Humane Society and registered with the US Department of Agriculture.
We’ve now really entered God-mode.
[Source: CNN]