The “dire wolf” lie BLOWS UP!

Remember when Colossal proudly announced the birth of three dire wolf pups—Romulus, Remus, and Khaleesi—claiming they had resurrected the extinct dire wolf?

“Colossal Biosciences, the world’s only de-extinction company, today announces the rebirth of the once extinct dire wolf, the world’s first successfully de-extincted animal.” Business Wire, April 7, 2025

With over 23.5 million views, here’s their initial announcement on April 7, 2025:

“The first dire wolf howl in over 10,000 years.” Colossal claimed.

“Meet Remus and Romulus, the first two dire wolves since the Pleistocene Era.” from video footage from Colossal Biosciences.

In the excitement, wolf and wolf dog influencers rushed to fawn over the news, "Game of Thrones creator George R.R. Martin holds the first modern day dire wolf born in over 10,000 years —The Game of Thrones creator is a key advisor and investor in the de-extinction project that used ancient DNA and CRISPR to bring the species back." - Anneka Svenska (FB, April 8, 2025)

They even flew out George R.R. Martin, who was so moved he reportedly cried upon meeting them.

"Pardon my shouting, but... THE DIREWOLF IS BACK," he extolled.

He then described the experience as something that stirred him more than Neil Armstrong's moon walk.

But brace yourselves, Jody-Lynn, because the saga of Colossal Biosciences' so-called "dire wolves" has taken a turn more twisted than a Game of Thrones plotline.

In fact, you may have already heard the outraged howls from the scientific community echoing across the Ice Age tundra.

But as I reported the next day…

It. Was. All. A. Lie.

Here’s what Colossal Biosciences’ lead scientist, Dr. Beth Shapiro, originally told NewScience on the day of the press release:

“We are using the morphological species concept and saying, if they look like this animal, then they are the animal,” – Beth Shapiro, NewScience, April 7, 2025

Here she is again with the same message, “My colleagues in the field of taxonomy are going to be like, ‘It’s not a dire wolf.’ And that’s fine, but to me, if it looks like a dire wolf and it acts like a dire wolf, I’m gonna call it a dire wolf.”

Dr. Shapiro explains the logic this way:

“They’re elephant surrogates that have some mammoth DNA to make them re-create core characteristics belonging to mammoths. Our mammoths and dire wolves are mammoths and dire wolves by that definition. They have the key traits that make that lineage of organisms distinct." Beth Shapiro, Time Magazine, April 7, 2025

Bold claim, right?

Well… cue the peer-reviewed panic!

Because just a month later, under the white-hot glare of enormous scrutiny, she backpedaled faster than a panicked prey animal.

“We didn’t ever hide that that’s what it was. People were mad because we were calling them dire wolves. Then they say to us, but they’re just grey wolves with 20 edits. But the point is we said that from the beginning. They’re grey wolves with 20 edits.” - Beth Shapiro, NewScientist, May 22, 2025

Ohhh. So you’re not recreating dire wolves?

Just genetically altering 14 genes (20 edits) within modern gray wolves…

Calling them something they’re not…

And raking in clicks, cash, and cries from HBO super-fans?

Let’s call this what it is, shall we?

A multimillion-dollar marketing stunt wrapped in a lab coat and sprinkled with wolf fluff!

Even Colossal Biosciences CEO Ben Lamm worked hard to help us understand the logic.

(But by this time, the narrative was already breaking apart.)

Listen to this word salad defense.

“There are about 11 different ways to classify a species. Our definition of de-extinction is on our website. It explains that there’s a thing called functional de-extinction. The IUCN, which is like the Species Council for the world, five years ago, put out a statement saying that de-extinction means developing proxies.” – Ben Lamm, Fast Company, April 14, 2025

Wait, WHAT?!

Can the average human even understand this?

Let me break it down for you…

“Functional de-extinction” - A term that conveniently means: “It kinda sorta looks like it, so let’s roll the cameras and start the funding frenzy.”

That’s not all, though.

Remember when they also claimed dire wolves were white?

This trait was never found in the

ancient dire wolf fossil record.

Where did that come from then?

The Arctic?

No.

Colossal Biosciences CEO Ben Lamm actually claimed a tie to native cultures and the white wolf as a spirit guide.

So now we’ve got indigenous fanfiction masquerading as genetic research, influencing public perception, and undermining real genetic work.

Like ours.

You know, The Dire Wolf Project™?

That little ol’ program backed by over three decades of selective genetic breeding, data collection, canine temperament work, and actual transparency?

Yeah. That one.

The one you’re part of.

The Timeline of Contradictions:

• April 7, 2025: Colossal announces the "de-extinction" of the dire wolf, garnering widespread media attention.
  
  
• April 8, 2025: George R.R. Martin shares his emotional experience meeting the pups, stating, "Extinct for more than ten thousand years, but extinct no longer."
  
  
• Mid-April 2025: Scientific community raises concerns. Evolutionary biologist Vincent Lynch criticizes the claim, saying, "They made clones of gray wolves with 20 genetic changes and they say that makes that transgenic wolf a dire wolf."
  
  
• 2025: Beth Shapiro retracts earlier statements, admitting the animals are not true dire wolves.

Colossal's actions have sparked outrage in the scientific community. Their use of pop culture references and celebrity endorsements, including George R.R. Martin and high-profile investors like Tom Brady, Paris Hilton, and Tiger Woods, has been criticized as a marketing ploy that overshadows genuine scientific discourse.

So, as it turns out, over the ensuing weeks since the first press release, prominent influencers have deleted their initial excited announcements extolling an immediate allegiance to Colossal Biosciences’ narrative that dire wolves have returned.

Instead, nuance and some sense of sanity has returned.

Anneka Svenska, popular YouTube influencer working with Nat Geo’s Animal Watch stated on April 18, 2025 after the controversy exploded, “This is a new creation and if Colossal has chosen to call it a dire wolf, then it becomes a dire wolf in name. So you could argue that the dire wolf pups are a modern version of an ancient dire wolf, or simply you could stick to your belief that they are a hybridized gray wolf. The fact remains that they are the closest living animal we currently have to an ancient dire wolf.”

But it’s probably a little too late to do any good.

Our Stance:

At The Dire Wolf Project™, we are committed to scientific integrity and natural breeding practices. We believe that resurrecting extinct species requires rigorous research, transparency, and respect for the natural order—not sensationalism and marketing gimmicks.

Colossal's approach not only misleads the public but also jeopardizes the credibility of legitimate scientific endeavors. We must hold them accountable for their actions and advocate for responsible science that honors the legacy of the creatures we seek to understand and, perhaps, one day, bring back.

So… were dire wolves white?

Here is an article I wrote for all you budding geneticists out there!

https://direwolfproject.com/dire-wolf/were-dire-wolves-white/

Jennifer Stoeckl is the co-founder of the Dire Wolf Project, founder of the DireWolf Guardians American Dirus Dog Training Program, and owner/operator of DireWolf Dogs of Vallecito. She lives in the beautiful inland northwest among the Ponderosa pine forests with her pack of American Dirus dogs.