The Dire Wolf | Opinion
Category: News & Politics
Via: kavika • last year • 29 commentsBy: Professor Victoria Sutton (Native News Online)
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Details By Professor Victoria Sutton April 16, 2025
Guest Opinion. The Dire Wolf is said to have become extinct about 10,000 years ago. It was a true North American carnivore, unlike the Eurasian wolf that we have today. Its prey was bison, horses, mastadons, camels, sloths and other extinct animals, which led to its own extinction.
Having written here about creating a dragon, and resurrecting endangered species, it would be hard not to comment on the announcement that a biotech company in Dallas, Colossal Biosciences, has resurrected a dire wolf. I would like to think they found enough DNA from an insect embedded in amber (Jurassic Park plot) to fill in the blanks with modern wolf DNA, but it was really a semblance of the corollary that happened. Modern wolf DNA was the base of the genome, and 14 replacement characteristics were made from a variety or species, none of which was the Dire Wolf. Recoverable DNA from a Dire Wolf was found in two bones — a tooth and an ear bone. They extracted the genome to compare it to the modern wolf.
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The Dire Wolf pups were born on October 1, 2025.
The Dire Wolf puppies are super cute. George R.R. Martin (author of Game of Thrones that had Dire Wolf characters) came out to be part of the announcement, while Peter Jackson, who bought the iron throne, loaned it for the photo op. It was fun.
Not everyone was amused.
The Wolf Conservancy has criticized the claims of Colossal Biosciences for claiming to have resurrected a Dire Wolf which they find to be incorrect; but especially for claiming to be helping with conservation by cloning Red Wolves. Colossal Biosciences also cloned Red Wolves, the most endangered species of wolf in the world. But the spokesperson for the Wolf Conservancy disputes even that claim, saying what they cloned were coyotes. Dr. Hinton, of the Wolf Conservancy said:
The cloned "Red Wolves" are not Red Wolves. They were derived from coyotes captured in southwest Louisiana for the Gulf Coast Canid Project. I know these were coyotes because I served as field supervisor and captured 44 coyotes for the project during 2021-2022.
Dr. Hinton points out that there are 200 Red Wolves in captivity looking for places to go in the wild, and not all of them are suited for release. So cloning Red Wolves (even if they were Red Wolves) would not be helpful to the conservation effort. A solution in search of a problem.
Patenting
It appears that Colossal Biosciences has done something unique and advanced the scientific arts. In August 2024, Colossal Biosciences was issued a patent for a gene editing tool that is an improvement over the CRISPR/Cas-9 editing tool that can change nucleotides in genes to make them produce different enzymes. The purpose in summary, is to do gene editing more precisely and at greater speed. Given the timing of the publication of this patent, they may have used their own patented tool. However, I have not heard the company articulate the details of what tools they used, so I would still speculate that they may have been trying their newly patented tool.
The company has not tried to patent the Dire Wolf, it appears, and that may be a good thing. If they patented it, we would be able to see every genetic engineering step that was taken, and by definition, be able to reproduce the results. Instead, they may be identifying the Dire Wolf as a "trade secret" under Texas state law. Colossal Biosciences has said the Dire Wolves they created will live out their lives on a 2,000 acre preserve. The owner will need to make sure they are monitored and no one seeks to clone one, thereby misappropriating their trade secret. To have a trade secret and defend it under Texas state law, the genome of this Dire Wolf (1) is not generally known or readily ascertainable; (2) derives independent economic value from not being generally known; and (3) is protected by reasonable measures to maintain its secrecy. If I advised Colossal Biosciences on how to protect their invention, this would be my legal tool of choice. (I am not advising Colossal Biosciences, but I do advise other biotech clients.)
Regulation of Genetically Engineering Animals—is this Dire Wolf creation regulated?
If Colossal Biosciences was claiming to cure a wolf disease or alter it to avoid genetic diseases, then they would be required by policy to contact FDA to obtain a letter to allow them to proceed with development. Since this area is not regulated, FDA is gathering data as well as trying to keep aware of this developmental area that is increasingly undertaken in the United States by startups to large companies.
However, like the GloFish(R) the Dire Wolf is an altered animal that is not released into the wild without any claims to cure anything. The Dire Wolf project likely used U.S. tissues that did not require importation and so they were safely within a non-regulated space. I wrote about transgenic animals in this article.
In 2021, Colossal Biosciences announced they were pursuing the "de-extinction" of the mammoth. They have disclosed they intend to obtain elephant DNA or embryos and alter the genome of an elephant with morphological characteristics of the mammoth. This is the same technique used for the Dire Wolf. However, in this case, if they are unable to obtain elephant tissues or extracted DNA from mammoths within the U.S. that will present a regulatory issue requiring a USDA permit for importing the tissues. In this case, I wrote in October 2024, the developer imported embryos and tissue for cloning without a permit resulting in a criminal conviction, not the cloning.
The Lives of the Dire Wolves
Bioethicists talk about the unintended consequences of genetic engineering, which might result in secondary effects that cause pain, injury or death to the animal. Related to that question is what is the quality of life that this animal will have? Leaving two litter mates alone in a preserve for life, may afford them a protected life, but perhaps not a natural one. It is their plan to return them to the wild, and if it is not a government action or funded by the government, it will not require an Environmental Impact Statement, and so no legal assessment of this release would be required. However, the Animal Damage Control Act, permits destruction of predators that cause economic damage — like wolves; however Tribes are exempt for compliance.
In the case of the mammoth de-extinction proposal from Colossal Biosciences, there is a habitat waiting for them that has all the right ecology, in Siberia. Based on George Church's proposal they want to test the hypothesis that when mammoths disappeared, scrub brush began to overgrow on the plains, choking out the grasses. Mammoths cleared out the scrub brush. The de-extincted mammoths are assumed to act like original mammoths, and have an appetite for scrub brush, and thus they can test this hypothesis
Native Nations and the Dire Wolf
Extinction of animals is the extinction of a relative for Native Nations. Not all Native Nations have the same beliefs, but some are well known, like the Lakota who knew their fates were tied to that of the bison. The re-introduction of the bison to the Plains is a sign of life and the restoration of life.
The wolf is part of the Ojibway creation story and so wolves are to be protected.
Today, The Dakotan reported that:
The Mandan, Hidatsa, and Arikara (MHA) Nation has expressed interest in hosting dire wolves on tribal lands, viewing the effort not only as a groundbreaking scientific collaboration but also as a meaningful act of cultural restoration rooted in ancestral connections and ecological stewardship. According to Colossal Biosciences, discussions with MHA leaders have begun, and tribal representatives have highlighted connections between dire wolves and ancestral oral histories.13
I believe the MHA Nation will be consulting with their Elders in this decision because that kind of wisdom will be needed.
Apex predators being re-introduced to an ecosystem that has evolved for 10,000 years without them, may carry unintended consequences. The large Ice Age prey the Dire Wolf once ate is no longer available, and deer and elk (and horses) will be the closest species to fill that ecological hole for them. They will need to be protected from poachers and if they are "trade secrets" they will need significant protection from theft (misappropriation).
I have confidence that the people whose ancestral stories are intertwined with the Dire Wolf of 10,000 years ago are the best people to accompany it in this world's existence.
To read more articles by Professor Sutton go to: https://profvictoria.substack.com/
Professor Victoria Sutton (Lumbee) is a law professor on the faculty of Texas Tech University. In 2005, Sutton became a founding member of the National Congress of American Indians, Policy Advisory Board to the NCAI Policy Center, positioning the Native American community to act and lead on policy issues affecting Indigenous communities in the United States.
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There are differences between the Dire Wolf and the modern gray wolf, size, strength, bite force etc.
What say you did they really clone or re introduce the Dire Wolf into today’s environment?
It's just a matter of size apparently, so only time will tell.
Re introducing a species that has been extinct for 10,000 years could upset the balance of nature again.
As I understand it, there are significant differences in skulls, articulations, spinal columns. The Colossal "Product" seems to be a slightly modified grey.
Are we heading towards a real emulation of Jurassic Park?
Avoid the park for now, too many unknowns for my taste.
The Dire Wolf had it's chance, had it's day in the sun and nature, natural selection, got rid of it.... Let it be.
All they did was genetically modify existing grey wolf genes and manipulated some for size and color .
they have a genetically modified designer grey wolf , not the dire wolf of the past and usurped the name .
consider dire wolves died out long before humans became a thing and a concern , i would have to wonder where they could realistically exist in a world of today and what would their prey species be that wouldnt upset the ecological balance that so precariously exist today ? what niche would they fill that already isnt being filled ? and could they realistically survive ?
in the wild these would be an apex predator that would affect everything below them , they would be free thinking and would know no restraints , even human imposed ones , they will go where they want , and do what they want if released , so outside a zoo type environment , its a doomed idea.
sometimes , just because one can , doesnt mean one should .
Its prey was bison, horses, mastodons, camels, sloths and other extinct animals, which led to its own extinction.
So it was so successful, it brought on it's own extinction, do we actually need it around again.
I talked with a park ranger from Yellowstone National Park a few years back and he didn't like the idea of the grey wolves brought back to the park because he witnessed the wolves in the winter take on the strongest bison in a herd and ran it till it dropped each taking turns chasing it, after they killed it they turned on the next strongest and did the same. They were hunting for sport not food and if the Dire wolf is the same it would be a big mistake.
Kavika my friend...I hope this finds you well. I have the choker you made and wear it on 'SPECIAL' occasions. I see...like me, it's been awhile since you've been 'playing'. It's all good my friend. Ah'm atta place where ah'm wonderin...whas next...? Life is MUCH different since ah frequented Timeys Place 10-1 2 years ago...such as it is. The only constant on this plane is change...hope this finds you well...
TL, I am so sorry to say that David passed last year. He & Red went to Australia for several months in 2026 to share his final days with family.
he lives in the hearts of his friends here ...
One of my very best friends on NT, now so very much missed. He lives on in every beautiful sunset, like this one that he himself photographed.
Well said.
Kavika is the Gray Wolf now.
I firmly believe that.
he's already established a world wide territory in his physical life ...
And missed by all of us
And a universally wide territory in his spiritual/leadership lives.
What a mentor
Kavika impressed me as a man respectful of full and prosper truths. Nuff said!
I was thinking about my fellow 'traveler' today when I saw the image before opening it. How 'familiar' that image appeared to me without knowing how.
Good memory. Kavika - AYE!
We should be careful of fooling around with unknowns, as in we really do not know how these animals behaved naturally in their own day and age. . . at the practical ground level and do we really want the challenge for the animals of today to get familiar and compete with them?
And, as Kavika and I have discussed in the past - the biggest and most fearful unknown animal is - the human being.
How many of our versions have become "extinct"? Are we even close to finding a proper measurement as to what will either decline or cultivate?
Sorry, I don't mean this to come off cynical. I would not like to see any 'ancestors' back in this world we live! It's hard enough now as it is for us! And, who knows what kind of problems another human. . . animal can 'gurgitate' up to make our lives more miserable, and of course laws would be needed (and desired) to keep "them" safe from. . . well,. . . people like US!
And that is same/similar problem for other animals for whom time is 'no more' are they really 'fit' for today? How will they function? How will we function around them?
And the biggest problem of all is this: 99.99 percent of any thing that is living. . . will desire to live and do everything in its power to stay alive. . .making for an 'awful' existence if it can not 'fit in' to today's natural order?
And that is next: We will need to discuss and debate what the meaning of "Natural order" is.
No need to "discuss and debate" a scientific principal that has been proven time and time again - the strong will survive - that is what "natural order" is.
'Member that guy named Charles Darwin? Bet he hadn't the foggiest idea what he was gonna unleash
Is it natural order that mankind should regenerate the 'dead' from 'lost' cells? I am not sure how you are processing what I wrote. . . so if you elaborate further maybe we can 'mesh' it.
...
How about we just quit killing the wolves we have now? They seem to be making a go of it. I saw 3 wolves a couple years ago in the Safeway parking lot in Zephyr Cove NV one night.
they are very organized hunters ...
the ranchers in the maga territories of my state have convinced the fake fuhrer to allow them to go back to using cyanide bombs. proactive conservationists help them learn the financial differences between mother nature's natural attrition bordering the wild, versus never ending property insurance claims and a different mother within earshot.
Number of videos on YouTube showing how the wolf populations have increased, tremendously, the bio-systems they claim as home. Wolves are a fantastic benefit to nature and to the human species
- 44 minute video