'A revolutionary milestone': Colossal Biosciences announces de-extinction of the dire wolves
AUSTIN (KXAN) -- Dire wolves are back from the dead after Dallas-based company, Colossal Biosciences, effectively performed the world's first de-extinction.
The company brought back a species of wolf that roamed the earth more than 12,000 years ago with a 13,000-year-old tooth and a 72,000-year-old skull, which rebirthed the wolves, according to a news release from Colossal Biosciences.
"The successful birth of three dire wolves is a revolutionary milestone of scientific progress that illustrates another leap forward in Colossal’s de-extinction technologies and is a critical step on the pathway to the de-extinction of other target species," the company said in the release.
The three litters of dire wolves include two males, Romulus and Remus. The other was one female puppy, Khaleesi.
The dire wolf was made famous from HBO's series "Game of Thrones," according to the release.
“I could not be more proud of the team. This massive milestone is the first of many coming examples demonstrating that our end-to-end de-extinction technology stack works,” said CEO of Colossal Ben Lamm.
The dire wolf roams more than 200,000 acres of a secured preserve certified by the American Human Society and is registered by the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
"The conservation property will provide lifetime care, feeding, and protection for the wolves. The wolves will be monitored and observed to assess their readiness to move into larger protected and managed care facilities," the company said.