• The dire wolf species has been brought back to life, according to an article
  • Time Magazine did a magazine cover featuring one of the wolves
  • The wolf on the cover is called Remus
Dire Wolf
Robb Stark and Ned Stark holding dire wolf puppies in Game Of Thrones season 1. Credit: IMAGO/ Mary Evans

Animal lovers will be pleased to know that the formerly extinct species of wolf, the dire wolf, is back to life, or so one company says. Dire wolves are featured heavily in Game of Thrones, which is where you may recognize them. In season 1 episode 1, Winter Is Coming, the five Stark children each adopt a dire wolf puppy to become their own. They are seen as protectors of the Starks, who at the time have a lot of power. Now the species are back in real life, and have featured on a magazine cover.

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The wolf species has lived in various habitats but has been extinct since around  10,000 years ago, as far as reports and fossils say. As a species, they were very similar to grey wolves, with similar predators. Now it’s claimed the formerly extinct species is back, but how is it possible? Stay tuned to find out!

Is the dire wolf back?

On 6 April, Time Magazine released a feature about two existing dire wolf puppies, Romulus and Remus, named after the twin brothers and founders of Rome. The piece delves into how the supposed dire wolves were made through genetic engineering by Colossal Biosciences.

Through “genetic engineering and ancient, preserved DNA,” the scientists figured out the genetic coding of the animal and rewired it to match the DNA for a gray wolf.

The animals live in a wildlife facility in the US. Time reports that the company aims to bring back extinct species such as the dodo bird through similar processes.

On the matter, Beth Schaprio the company’s chief science officer said: “If we want a future that is both bionumerous and filled with people, we should be giving ourselves the opportunity to see what our big brains can do to reverse some of the bad things that we’ve done to the world already.”.

The article also details the highlighted criticisms of cloning and genetically engineering animals, such as abnormal genes.

The process is explained of how the scientists said they got the wolves, “Creating the dire wolves called for making just 20 edits in 14 genes in the common gray wolf,” the article claims. However, the two wolves still had genetic differences such as their size and coat color.

We won’t bore you with the scientific process, but it is pretty cool.

The dire wolf magazine cover

Adorably, Remus became a shining star and graced the cover of Time’s latest issue. The outlet shared a photo of the young white wolf on the cover.

They wrote in a post, “TIME’s new cover: The dire wolf is back after over 10,000 years. Here’s what that means for other extinct species”.

How did the internet react to the cover?

Users on X were surprised at the cover, with the reactions being very mixed. One user straight up denied the existence of the wolf and said, “No it isn’t lol that’s not the same thing”.

Another user argued the process wasn’t necessary and wrote, “Do we really need him? Most extinct species are done away with by the act of nature, and they don’t have a place here at all. Don’t glorify an unnecessary event”.

Agreeing with other users, one person said humans should stop “playing God” with animal species. In a post, they said: “Humans need to stop playing god. Over 99% of all species are extinct. We don’t need to create another problem.”

Good point, lots of animals have become extinct due to human intervention.

The Game of Thrones of it all

Jokingly, many users referred to Game of Thrones, with replies like, “Winter is coming”.

Following that theme, one user wrote: “The Starks will be pleased”. Of course they will, they are getting their companions back!

Pleased by the cover, a user wrote, “That’s awesome.”

Referring to Remus, one user said, “What a stunner”. Undoubtedly, Remus is beautiful, even if he is genetically engineered.

However, another user argued that Remus wasn’t a dire wolf at all; he is just a “very good boi”. That he is, that he is.

Regarding whether the species is still extinct is a mystery, and is up for debate.

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Sophie Humphrey
Sophie Humphrey is a freelance writer and journalist. Sophie has seven years experience in journalism and has a keen interest in pop culture and entertainment. Sophie has worked for the likes of Time Out London, The Upcoming and Screen rant.
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