Dire Wolves Back from Extinction: Inside Colossal’s Revolutionary Animal Welfare and Care Protocols

The resurrection of the dire wolf by Colossal Biosciences isn’t just a scientific breakthrough—it represents a new frontier in animal welfare and ethical care for de-extinct species. As the Dallas-based company announced the successful birth of three dire wolf pups on April 7, 2025, particular attention has been paid to how these Ice Age predators, absent from Earth for approximately 12,000 years, are being reintroduced to the modern world.

A Protected Environment for Ancient Predators

The three dire wolf pups—Romulus and Remus (males born in October 2024) and Khaleesi (female born in January 2025)—currently reside on a sprawling 2,000+ acre secure expansive ecological preserve. This isn’t simply a research facility but a carefully designed habitat created to meet the unique needs of an animal that hasn’t walked the Earth since the Pleistocene era.

“The wolves are thriving on a 2,000+ acre protected wildlife facility maintained by Colossal,” the company announced. This secure reserve includes an “on-site veterinary clinic, a wolf enrichment team, and natural built dens for the care of the wolves.”

The facility has received certification from the American Humane Society, a notable endorsement of Colossal’s welfare standards. Robin Ganzert, Ph.D., CEO of the American Humane Society, praised the company’s approach: “Colossal has achieved American Humane Certification for their extensive animal welfare program and is a shining example of excellence in humane care. The technology they are pursuing may be the key to reversing the sixth mass extinction and making extinction events a thing of the past.”

Round-the-Clock Specialized Care

Colossal employs a full-time animal care team dedicated to the dire wolves’ wellbeing. This includes veterinarians with expertise in canid health, animal behaviorists, and wildlife management specialists who provide round-the-clock monitoring and care.

The company reports that the pups are in excellent health and are meeting developmental milestones as they mature from newborns to adolescents. At approximately six months old, Romulus and Remus already weigh around 80 pounds and display the characteristic thick white fur, broad heads, and hefty builds of their Ice Age ancestors.

Their behavior confirms their wild nature—unlike domestic puppies, they maintain their distance from humans, flinching or retreating even from familiar caretakers. This natural wariness is considered a positive sign that the animals retain the instinctual behaviors that would have been crucial to their survival in the wild.

Ethical Transparency: The Dire Wolf Development Tracker

In an unprecedented move for a biotechnology company, Colossal has established an interactive “dire wolf development tracker” that allows scientists, conservationists, and the public to follow the pups’ progress. This transparency tool documents physical development, behavioral milestones, and health indicators.

“Like all mammals, dire wolves undergo a progression of development from birth to maturity. Colossal maintains a progressive approach to animal welfare, dedicated to both the physical and behavioral well-being of our animals. We track the development of our cohort of dire wolves born in 2024-2025 to ensure their continued health and well-being,” Colossal explains in its public materials.

This transparent approach stands in stark contrast to the secretive nature of many biotechnology projects and demonstrates Colossal’s commitment to addressing ethical concerns surrounding de-extinction. By sharing detailed information about the wolves’ development and care, the company invites scientific scrutiny and public engagement with its work.

Ethical Considerations in De-Extinction

The dire wolf project raises profound ethical questions about humanity’s responsibility toward species we’ve played a role in eliminating. Colossal has approached these questions with notable care, developing what might be considered the first comprehensive ethical framework for de-extinction.

Key aspects of this framework include:

1. Humane Birth Processes: All three dire wolf pups were delivered via scheduled cesarean sections to ensure safe delivery both for the pups and the surrogate mothers. Remarkably, Colossal reported no miscarriages or stillbirths during these trials, indicating exceptional attention to reproductive health.
2. Non-Invasive Research Methods: The dire wolf project employed less invasive techniques than traditional cloning. Rather than taking tissue biopsies from living wolves, scientists drew blood and isolated endothelial progenitor cells (EPCs), reducing stress on the donor animals.
3. Surrogate Welfare: The domestic dogs that served as surrogate mothers received comprehensive veterinary care throughout pregnancy and after delivery. This care extended beyond the dire wolf pups to ensure the wellbeing of all animals involved in the project.
4. Natural Behavioral Development: The facility is designed to allow the wolves to develop natural behaviors despite their artificial origin. The reserve includes natural built dens and enrichment features that stimulate instinctual behaviors.
5. Long-term Planning: Colossal has established a comprehensive life-cycle plan for the dire wolves, considering their potential 15-20 year lifespan and evolving needs as they mature.

Conservation Applications and Welfare Standards

Alongside the dire wolf project, Colossal announced it had successfully cloned two litters of critically endangered red wolves (Canis rufus), producing four healthy pups using the same animal welfare protocols developed for the dire wolf work.

This parallel conservation effort demonstrates how de-extinction technologies can directly benefit endangered species while maintaining high welfare standards. The red wolf, with only a handful remaining in the wild, represents one of North America’s most endangered mammals. Colossal’s cloning success could significantly bolster recovery efforts while establishing new benchmarks for ethical care in conservation breeding programs.

“The same technologies that created the dire wolf can directly help save a variety of other endangered animals as well. This is an extraordinary technological leap for both science and conservation,” stated Dr. Christopher Mason, a Colossal scientific advisor.

Cultural and Spiritual Dimensions of Responsible Care

Beyond scientific and animal welfare considerations, Colossal has acknowledged the cultural and spiritual significance of bringing back a species that once held an important place in North American ecosystems.

Mark Fox, Tribal Chairman of the MHA Nation, reflected on this dimension: “The de-extinction of the dire wolf carries the echoes of ancient knowledge that everything in nature is connected. We must respect this balance and understand our responsibility to restore what has been lost. This technology can help heal our planet in species diversity and ecosystem health.”

This perspective emphasizes that responsible care for de-extinct species extends beyond physical welfare to include respect for their ecological and cultural significance. By incorporating indigenous perspectives on the relationship between humans and wildlife, Colossal demonstrates a holistic approach to the ethical dimensions of de-extinction.

Setting Standards for Future De-Extinction Projects

As Colossal advances its other de-extinction efforts—including plans to reintroduce the woolly mammoth by 2028 and to revive the thylacine (Tasmanian tiger) and dodo thereafter—the welfare protocols established for the dire wolf project will likely serve as a template.

The dire wolf care program establishes several principles that could become industry standards:

1. Certified Facilities: Third-party certification of care facilities by established animal welfare organizations.
2. Specialized Care Teams: Dedicated staff with expertise specific to the species’ needs.
3. Transparency Mechanisms: Public tracking tools that document development and welfare indicators.
4. Natural Environment Design: Habitats engineered to accommodate species-specific behaviors and needs.
5. Ethical Reproductive Practices: Minimizing stress on surrogate animals and optimizing birth outcomes.

Conclusion: A New Chapter in Animal Welfare

The successful resurrection of the dire wolf opens a new chapter not just in genetic engineering but in animal welfare. For the first time, humans face the responsibility of caring for a species that evolved in a world vastly different from our own—requiring innovative approaches to ensure these animals thrive in the modern era.

Colossal’s comprehensive welfare protocols for the dire wolf pups demonstrate that de-extinction can proceed with careful attention to ethical considerations and animal wellbeing. As CEO Ben Lamm stated: “I could not be more proud of the team. This massive milestone is the first of many… Today, our team gets to unveil some of the magic they are working on and its broader impact on conservation.”

That “magic” includes not just the technological feat of bringing back an extinct species but the commitment to ensuring these animals receive care that honors their remarkable journey from extinction to revival. In an era when species continue to disappear at an alarming rate, Colossal’s approach offers a model for how humanity might take responsibility not just for preventing extinctions but for thoughtfully reversing them.