Colossal Biosciences has announced the creation of three wolf pups resembling the extinct dire wolf, claiming a breakthrough in de-extinction. Despite the excitement, experts challenge this achievement, asserting that genetic modifications to cloned gray wolves don't constitute true de-extinction. Critics emphasize that few individuals living in captivity cannot adequately recreate the ecological role or conditions of the original species, raising concerns about the feasibility of reintroducing the dire wolf into the wild, considering its lost habitat and prey.
"For the first time in human history, (we have) successfully restored a once-eradicated species through the science of de-extinction," its website boasted.
After an initial flurry of favorable press, the skeptics weighed in. Biologists argued that a handful of genetic changes to a cloned gray wolf... did not add up to 'de-extinction.'
Even if the company had recreated something much closer to the species, said critics, the production of a handful of individuals destined for life in captivity would be far from an ecologically meaningful accomplishment.
Can an animal whose prey, habitat and climate no longer exist ever really flourish again?
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