Dire Wolves Turn One on October 1, 2025
DALLAS--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Colossal Biosciences, the world’s only de-extinction company, today celebrates the first birthday of dire wolves Romulus and Remus, the first living dire wolves in thousands of years. Thought to be lost to time, the dire wolves were born one year ago, marking them as the world’s first successfully de-extinct animals in history. Colossal announced the dire wolves to the world in April when Romulus and Remus had just hit 6 months old and their sister Khalessi was 3 months.
The dire wolf, largely assumed to be a legendary creature made famous from the HBO hit series Game of Thrones, was an American canid that had previously been extinct for over 12,500 years. With the dire wolves, Colossal took DNA from a 13,000 year old tooth and a 72,000 year old skull and made healthy dire wolf puppies. The team made 20 unique precision germline edits including 15 edits from the ancient gene variants, setting a new bar for precision germline editing in any animal.
As Romulus and Remus turn one, everyone at Colossal will celebrate a year of growth, play, exploration, and thriving.
- Romulus and Remus are both over 120 lbs and currently eat over 5 lbs of meat a day. It is expected that the wolves will continue to grow through 15-18 months of age and they will continue to add on weight until about 2 years of age. Romulus is tracking to be north of 140lbs.
- The dire wolves are fed once daily with a varied diet that includes ground meat, stew-sized chunks, and portions of carcasses such as deer, cattle, or whole rabbits. They also receive bones like ribs or leg sections to chew. Training rewards include freeze-dried beef liver, about ½ to 1 cup per day depending on motivation and behaviors being trained. In addition, the wolves occasionally hunt small rodents within their preserve.
- The dire wolves thrive on a 2,000+ acre ecological preserve certified by the American Humane Society and registered with the USDA. Ten full-time animal care staff support their physical and mental well-being. The preserve features specialized engagement zones and diverse habitats, all enclosed by 10-foot zoo-grade fencing with redundant security. A six-acre secure area houses an on-site veterinary clinic, wolf management facility, storm shelter, and natural dens for closer care and study.
- Within the preserve, the wolves are monitored by live cameras, security staff, and drone tracking to ensure safety and welfare. Colossal also tracks their weight and body condition using a standard canid scoring system to guide dietary needs.
- The dire wolves have a full time vet and vet tech. They are weighed weekly when they are brought into the husbandry building for visual exams.
- Eventually, Colossal will create a pack of 6-8 dire wolves.
To celebrate the wolves’ birthday, Colossal partnered with Emmy Award–winning legends Stan Bush and Lenny Macaluso—creators of iconic anthems like The Touch and Never Surrender—to produce a new power rock track, Happy Birthday Dire Wolf. Featuring driving riffs, soaring solos, and unforgettable melodies, the song is paired with a video showcasing never-before-seen footage from the wolves’ first year.
Colossal partnered with Mishka, a luxury dog bakery in San Francisco, to create a three-tier, wild-themed cake crafted by founder and head chef Olia Rosenblatt. Her team spent 15 hours designing a custom 3D wolf mold and assembling the cake, made from beef pâté, broth, liver, and other organic ingredients carefully introduced to the dire wolves’ diet by Colossal’s Animal Husbandry team.
Chief Animal Officer Matt James, who was present for their birth a year ago, said, “We’ve witnessed their physical, emotional, and social growth—something no one has seen in 12,500 years. Remus is fearless and bold, while Romulus is inquisitive, cautious, and confident.”
“The dire wolves are thriving—beyond anything we could have imagined,” said Beth Shapiro, Chief Science Officer at Colossal. “Over the past year, we’ve learned so much from Romulus, Remus, and Khaleesi. Most importantly, the edits worked as expected and the animals are healthy. You can see it in their size, strength, and their striking white coats. Watching their development has been extraordinary.”
“We’ve seen the excitement from the world after the birth of the dire wolves which captured the world’s imagination, and we want to share this milestone with everyone who has followed their journey,” said Ben Lamm, CEO and co-founder of Colossal. “Romulus, Remus and Khalessi are the first animals ever brought back to extinction. They represent hope in the fight against biodiversity loss and proof that we can begin to restore what has been lost. The dire wolf’s story is a banner of possibility—for science, for conservation, and for humanity.”
ABOUT COLOSSAL
Colossal was founded by emerging technology and software entrepreneur Ben Lamm and world-renowned geneticist and serial biotech entrepreneur George Church, Ph.D., and is the first to apply CRISPR technology for the purposes of species de-extinction. Colossal creates innovative technologies for species restoration, critically endangered species protection and the repopulation of critical ecosystems that support the continuation of life on Earth. Colossal is accepting humanity's duty to restore Earth to a healthier state, while also solving for the future economies and biological necessities of the human condition through cutting-edge science and technologies. To follow along, please visit: www.colossal.com.
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