The dire wolf was one of the most formidable predators in the Americas during the last Ice Age, possessing a body more stout and a skull more robust than those of modern wolves. The species went extinct along with many others as the Ice Age ended.
Roughly 13,000 years later, a U.S. company has taken a step aimed at bringing the dire wolf back from oblivion — aside from the TV versions in the popular "Game of Thrones" fantasy series. Dallas-based Colossal Biosciences has announced the birth of three genetically engineered wolf pups — all with striking white fur — created with the help of ancient DNA obtained from fossilized remains of dire wolves.
The company is calling them dire wolves and is referring to this as the world's first successfully "de-extincted" animal. The same approach can be used to resurrect other extinct species for which ancient DNA is available, according to the company.
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