Game of Thrones dire wolf lives again after 12,500 years

Recent advancements in genetic engineering and cloning have left people speculating that it's theoretically possible to revive extinct species, including the dire wolf.

A species of wolf that died out more than 12,000 years ago has returned to life again as the “world’s first successfully de-extincted animal,” according to Dallas-based biotech company Colossal Biosciences.

This timeframe aligns with the end of the last Ice Age, when dire wolves are believed to have gone extinct.

The dire wolf, an ancient canine species, was a key part of hit fantasy series "Game of Thrones", closely tied to the Stark family.

Colossal scientists, according to reports, have created three dire wolf pups by using ancient DNA, cloning and gene-editing technology to alter the genes of a gray wolf, the prehistoric dire wolf’s closest living relative.

The result is essentially a hybrid species similar in appearance to its extinct forerunner.

The dire wolf, Aenocyon dirus, which was the inspiration for the fearsome canine featured in the HBO TV series was a top predator that once roamed North America. 

Dire wolves, featured in the fiction series, were larger in size than gray wolves and “had a slightly wider head, light thick fur and stronger jaw,” the company said.

Colossal has been working toward resurrecting the mammoth, dodo and Tasmanian tiger since 2021, but the company had not previously publicized its work on dire wolves.

Ben Lamm, Colossal’s cofounder and CEO, said in a news release on Monday: “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 a 2,000-acre site at an undisclosed location enclosed by 10-foot-tall (3-meter-tall) “zoo-grade” fencing, where they are monitored by security personnel, drones and live camera feeds.