Geneticists at the U.S. company Colossal Biosciences stated on April 7 that they “remade” the dire wolf, a species that has been extinct for about 13,000 years. This breakthrough has been a part of an ongoing process to “restore biodiversity through the de-extinction of species,” according to Colossal Biosciences.
Using DNA extracted from two dire wolf fossils, Colossal’s team made 20 targeted gene edits to the DNA sequence of a gray wolf, which shares a common ancestor with the dire wolf. The DNA produced three pups, named Romulus, Remus and Khaleesi, with a lighter coat and larger size than gray wolves. The pups are being raised at a large, undisclosed wildlife area in the U.S.
“Those 20 gene edits bring back some of what we think are the key traits that embody the dire wolf,” Colossal Biosciences’ Chief Science Officer Beth Shapiro said. “But there’s about 30 different species concepts that are circulating in the biological community, and by some of them you’d say it is a dire wolf; by others, you wouldn’t.”
The three pups conceived from this project are not actually dire wolves and labeling them as such downplays the serious threat of extinction for many species, especially the gray wolf.
Making 20 edits to the gray wolf does not make a dire wolf, especially considering the gray wolf has a genome of 2,447,000,000 individual bases. Falsely claiming that species can be brought back from extinction instills a false hope that humans can easily undo the environmental damage they are inflicting. De-extinction is not a substitute for conservation.
While this scientific achievement is remarkable, and the dedication of the Colossal team should be acknowledged, it cannot distract from reality: countless species alive today are teetering on the brink, and they will not be saved with genetic science afterwards.
Gray wolf populations in North America remain under threat from habitat loss, hunting and increasingly hostile legislation. By drawing public attention toward a “resurrected” cousin, we risk undermining the urgency of protecting its still-living counterpart. This kind of thinking endangers not just wolves, but the entire field of conservation biology.
Technological innovation in genetics can and should be part of the broader effort to protect biodiversity, but it cannot be the cornerstone. Rewilding habitats, enforcing protections for endangered species and mitigating climate change are far more effective paths forward.