Animals The story of dire wolves goes beyond de-extinction Genetic tools used to create the fluffy, white pups could be used to help at-risk animals Scientists at Colossal Biosciences announced the de-extinction of dire wolves, animals that lived during the Pleistocene. Colossal Biosciences By Meghan Rosen 4 seconds ago Their names are Romulus, Remus and Khaleesi, and they’re the first dire wolves to walk the Earth in over 10,000 years — or so one biotech company and a flurry of recent headlines say. On April 7, Colossal Biosciences announced what they called the “world’s first de-extinction,” the births of three dire wolves, extinct animals that lived during the ice ages of the Pleistocene. The pups were instant icons. With snowy-white coats and muscular bodies, they looked like they could have walked straight out of the fantasy TV series Game of Thrones. Sign up for our newsletter We summarize the week's science breakthroughs every Thursday.