If you are a fan of HBO's Game of Thrones, you are probably familiar with the direwolves of House Stark. But, did you know that the real animal species went extinct around 12,500 years ago? Now, thanks to genetic engineering, they’ve been brought back to life.

Advertisment

In the fantasy world of Game of Thrones, dire wolves have been fan favorites since the very first episode of the Emmy-winning show. Apart from their wild nature, one could not deny that these furry creatures added a pinch of cuteness to the series.

How have dire wolves been brought back to life?

After over 10,000 years, the dire wolves have been brought back to the living world by Colossal Biosciences Inc., a Dallas-based biotech firm. On Monday (April 7), the company announced the birth of three dire wolves - named Romulus, Remus and Kheleesi (after the character in Game of Thrones). These are the world’s first de-extinct animals, born on October 1, 2024.

Advertisment

In detail shared on the X handle of Colossal Biosciences, they shared the photos of Romulus and Remus, revealing that they were 
brought back from extinction using genetic edits derived from a complete dire wolf genome and ancient DNA found in fossils dating back 11,500 and 72,000 years. 

Dr. Beth Shapiro, the company’s chief science officer, said they have taken DNA  from a 72,000-year-old skull in Idaho and a 13,000-year-old tooth in Ohio for the project. 

Check the post here:

Advertisment

As per Bloomberg, the dire wolf pups are living in a fenced-in nature preserve at a secret location in the US.  Their diet included a mix of beef, deer and horse meat along with a specially formulated kibble.

The company has previously announced their efforts to bring extinct animals like the mammoth and the dodo. 

What are dire wolves?

The furry carnivores were apex predators that roamed North America during the Late Pleistocene and Early Holocene epochs (approximately 125,000 to 9,500 years ago). As per National Geographic, weighing around 150 pounds, they were much heavier than today’s and their evolutionarily distant cousins, gray wolves. They preyed on Ice Age horses and ground sloths.