Colossal Biosciences brought its three “dire wolves” together for a playdate.
In April, the biology research company announced the birth of the wolves after using DNA extracted from two fossils as well as 20 edits of the genetic code of a grey wolf — similar to a technique used in the movie Jurassic Park, where dinosaurs are brought back to life by using frog DNA to fill in genetic gaps.
On Tuesday, they brought the two males, Romulus and Remus, together in one habitat with the one female, Khaleesi, to watch them meet for the first time during separate interactions.
In a video shared to the company’s YouTube channel, Khaleesi met her brothers individually, beginning with an introduction to Romulus.
Romulus was brought into a grass yard before Khaleesi entered and ran towards a stack of logs, crawling under while her brother began chasing her.
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“Everybody was showing great behaviours and ended up being comfortable,” a Colossal handler explained in the video. “She smelled him and he smelled her. Then she took off running and he, of course, ran with her.”
They said Khaleesi is small enough to go underneath the logs but Romulus is larger. This helped the female wolf control the interaction.
“Everything was going great and we wanted to make sure she got a chance to meet Remus today so we went ahead and shifted Romulus back in and we let Remus out,” the trainer added. “They were both excited. Everybody was so good and played but Remus is almost more gentle than Romulus.”
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As they observed the wolves, they said the siblings were showing “lots of play behaviours” and kept their ears up and wagged their tails during their first interaction.
“Once we really see her being in control and confident and she might be a little bit bigger, then we’ll decide when the best time is to put them all three together again and see how that goes,” the handler said.
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“We care a lot about these animals and we want to make sure that nobody gets injured, no one is scared. All of those processes and thoughts and needs are being addressed and the team is constantly reassessing.”
Romulus, Remus and Khaleesi are being raised in an undisclosed nature preserve and Colossal has 10 full-time animal care staff to support the wolves’ physical and mental well-being.
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The preserve where the trio lives is on 2,000-plus acres enclosed by 10-foot-tall, zoo-grade fencing with redundant perimeter security. The wolves are monitored through on-site live camera, security personnel and drone tracking to ensure their safety and welfare.
The preserve also includes a smaller, six-acre secure site where the wolves can be further tended to and studied. The smaller area also supports an on-site veterinary clinic, a wolf management facility, an outdoor storm shelter and natural-built dens for the wolves.
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While dire wolves had previously been extinct for more than 12,500 years, many experts claim that Colossal Biosciences’ creation is considered to be genetically modified grey wolves.
“Those slight modifications seemed to have been derived from retrieved dire wolf material. Does that make it a dire wolf? No,” Corey Bradshaw, professor of global ecology at Flinders University, previously told Global News.
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“When you claim all these great, big things and you don’t provide the associated evidence, especially in something as controversial as this, that is a massive red flag.”
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‘Living clickbait’: Experts dispute dire wolf de-extinction claim
Dolf DeJong, Toronto Zoo CEO, told Global National that the news of the so-called dire wolves was a case of “living clickbait.”
He added that it was “rich multimillionaires creating animal GMOs for self-interest” and called the creation “really, really troubling.”
Filmmaker Peter Jackson and Game of Thrones creator George R.R. Martin collaborated with Colossal for the reveal of the wolves in April by lending the company the official 330-pound Iron Throne prop that was used to promote the hit series, Game of Thrones.
“Many people view dire wolves as mythical creatures that only exist in a fantasy world, but in reality, they have a rich history of contributing to the American ecosystem,” Martin said in a statement. “I get the luxury to write about magic, but Ben and Colossal have created magic by bringing these majestic beasts back to our world.”
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