Scientists Reject Colossal's 2025 Dire Wolf De-Extinction Claim
Updated
Updated · ScienceAlert · Nov 11
Scientists Reject Colossal's 2025 Dire Wolf De-Extinction Claim
3 articles · Updated · ScienceAlert · Nov 11
Summary
A Biology Letters paper argues Colossal Biosciences' 2025 “dire wolf” was not a true de-extinction but a grey wolf genetically edited to show dire wolf-like traits.
Andrew Davinack and Charlotte Daniels say extinction ends an evolutionary lineage, so recreating selected DNA, bigger teeth or paler fur cannot restore the original species.
The paper also says a few engineered animals cannot recover the lost population, habitat and ecological relationships of dire wolves, which disappeared more than 10,000 years ago.
Rather than dismissing the technology, the authors urge companies and media to use more precise terms such as genetic recovery or phenotypic reconstruction when describing such work.
They add that preserved cells or embryos offer a stronger route to de-extinction, citing the 2003 Pyrenean ibex cloning attempt as closer to biological continuity.
If Colossal's engineered dire wolves are just modern gray wolves in disguise, does the dream of true de-extinction remain scientifically impossible?
Will redefining de-extinction as mere phenotypic reconstruction destroy the massive hype and funding behind biotech companies trying to revive extinct species?
How will modern ecosystems handle genetically engineered dire wolves if the ancient habitats they were designed for disappeared 10,000 years ago?