Game of Clones: When is a wolf not a wolf?

Global headlines have been made by the birth of three pups—Romulus, Remus and Khaleesi—genetically engineered to exhibit traits of the extinct dire wolf, which vanished over 10,000 years ago. But are these pups truly members of a resurrected species, or just current day wolves with an (ethical) twist?

Exactly what happened?

By analysing ancient DNA from fossils retrieved from tar pits, scientists at Colossal Biosciences identified 20 key genetic differences across 14 genes distinguishing dire wolves from their closest living relatives, grey wolves.

Using CRISPR gene-editing technology, these edits were introduced into grey wolf egg cells. Wolf embryos were then created and implanted in domestic dogs, which carried them to birth. The result was pups with dire wolf traits like larger size, muscular builds and white coats.

However, some experts argue these pups are just grey wolves some tweaks. In some ways, it begs the question: where does grey wolf end and dire wolf begin?

So, what is CRISPR?

CRISPR (Clustered Regularly Interspaced Short Palindromic Repeats) allows scientists to make precise alterations to DNA. This gene-editing tool set the scientific and ethical world alight when it launched in 2009.

Picture CRISPR as a highly accurate find-and-replace tool in a Word document. This compares to earlier methods which were more like editing a paper document with blunt scissors—less precise and more prone to errors.

CRISPR has researchers excited because of its potential to edit genetic code in ways that could treat inherited diseases such as sickle cell anaemia, and even bring extinct species back to life.

But it does raise concerns.

Does this get Frankenstein-freaky on us?

The ethical implications of using CRISPR to achieve de-extinction are complex. To address concerns, Colossal Biosciences has implemented strict measures.

These engineered wolves are raised in secure reserves with no plans for breeding, ensuring controlled observation and minimising ecological disruption. As Colossal’s Beth Shapiro said, “They can’t get a splinter without us knowing.” (source)

But even these guardrails are not enough to satisfy some people who fear this could be a slippery slope.

Is this a step towards a world where certain traits are deemed unseemly and edited out of children, or where we breed cross-species animals that evolution alone would never have created?

And there is another, in some ways independent, argument—what does it say about our priorities that we are spending millions of dollars ‘resurrecting’ extinct species, while at the same time doing such an amazing job at driving beautiful existing species into terminal decline?

So are these dire wolves?

Supporters argue the pups are dire wolves in all but name—engineered to mirror their extinct counterparts in appearance and potentially behaviour. Morphological traits, not genetic lineage, define their identity, they say.

Critics counter that a mere 20 changes among billions of DNA base pairs doesn’t make a new species. As one researcher noted, "This is a grey wolf with an edited genome, not a dire wolf."(source)

The eye of the (Tassie) tiger?

Colossal Biosciences is also working to de-extinct other extinct animals, including the woolly mammoth and dodo.

Closer to home, they are leading efforts with the University of Melbourne to resurrect the Tasmanian tiger, or thylacine.

Scientists have reconstructed 99.9% of its genome using preserved specimens. That near-complete blueprint means the thylacine is a leading candidate for de-extinction.

Fascinating times

Regardless of where you stand on “is this a dire wolf?” the reality is we’re witnessing scientific advances and facing ethical questions in 2025 that, even in 2000, would have seemed firmly in the realm of science fiction.

Indeed, we live in fascinating times.

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Yours in geekiness,

Adam