NEED TO KNOW
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Colossal Biosciences shared a growth update on the world’s first “de-extinct” dire wolves
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Male pups Romulus and Remus weigh over 90 pounds at six months, outgrowing standard gray wolves
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Slightly younger female pup, Khalessi, currently weighs 35 pounds and will likely join Romulus and Remus’ pack soon
The world’s first revived dire wolves are growing up, and fast.
The three dire wolves, two males named Remus and Romulus and one female named Khaleesi, are showcased in a six-month growth report from Colossal Biosciences, published on June 20. Colossal brought back the species as part of its ongoing de-extinction project.
Matt James, Colossal’s Chief Animal Officer, shared in the update video that the project is going to plan, with the new dire wolf pups hitting all their milestones. Romulus and Remus are preparing for their first annual vet appointments.
The medical check-ins are exciting and necessary for the Colossal team, as they provide an opportunity to draw blood from the dire wolves and perform CT imaging, which will grant the team a more in-depth picture of what is happening with the animal’s skeletal and muscular systems.
“Today, Romulus and Remus, at a little over six months old, weigh a little more than 90 pounds, which is about 20% larger than a standard gray wolf,” James shared in the video update. “So we can really tell that the dire wolf genes are kicking in and we’re getting these nice large wolves that are much more representative of what we see in the ancient specimens.”
The two male dire wolves are well over double the size of the pups the public first met when Colossal introduced the animals in April.
Khaleesi, who James noted is a bit younger (about three months old) and more petite than her brothers, currently weighs around 35 pounds, making her roughly 15% to 20% larger than a standard gray wolf at that age.
According to Paige McNickle, who manages the dire wolves’ daily care team, Remus has begun to take on the role as leader of the pack, and Romulus is effectively “stepping down and being more subordinate.”
“Remus really likes to watch things, and he figures stuff out,” explained McNickle. “He’s also a little bit smaller, so sometimes that’s interesting to think that the smaller of the two would be the more dominant. But he’s crafty and he’s always watching.”
Romulus, whom McNickle described as “the beta,” likes to go out first when the dire wolves eat and play, which McNickle called “very much a beta trait,” since it allows pack leaders to lead from the back.
“It may not stay that way as they continue to grow up,” McNickle added. “That may change. It could change when we add Khaleesi into the mix. As they’re still young, that pack dynamic isn’t set. It’s still very fluid.”
As for the dire wolves’ eating habits, McNickles reported that the animals are eating adult-sized portions of high-quality dog kibble, ground meat, and organ meats.
As the animals get older, McNickle confirmed, they’ll be given whole prey items to assist in nurturing “their abilities and instincts” of eating in the wild.
For now, Khalessi is being kept separate from Remus and Romulus and will join the pack as soon as she’s big enough to do so safely. In the meantime, the animals can see and smell each other through a gate, to give the team an idea of the collective temperament.
“Before we make the introduction of bringing Khaleesi into the group with the boys, we’re going to be looking for really strong indicators that they are socially compatible,” explained James. “We’re really excited about that.”
Following their de-extinction of the woolly mouse, Colossal announced the arrival of its dire wolves in a statement on Monday, April 7.
“Our team took DNA from a 13,000-year-old tooth and a 72,000-year-old skull and made healthy dire wolf puppies,” Colossal CEO and co-founder Ben Lamm said at the time. “It was once said, ‘Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic.’ Today, our team gets to unveil some of the magic they are working on and its broader impact on conservation.”
Before the public met the animals, True Blood alum Joe Manganiello, 48, was granted access to Colossal Biosciences’ laboratory in Dallas to learn more about the genetics company’s plans.
“I’ve had a lifelong obsession with biology and genetics. It’s a bit of a hobby of mine,” shared Manganiello. “Because of that obsession, mixed with the fact that, yes, I played a werewolf for many years, I was contacted by Ben Lamm at Colossal.”
Although he acknowledged understanding the public’s mistrust of Colossal’s de-extinction science, Manganiello expressed his support for Lamm and the company following his lab visit.
“One of the beautiful things about the dire wolf … is that it was done 100% cleanly and successfully,” the Deal or No Deal Island host shared.
Read the original article on People
