Romulus, Remus, and now Khaleesi and Titus are the first living dire wolves in more than 10,000 years. Born through advanced genetic engineering in late 2024 and early 2025, these pups represent a monumental leap in science, one that has long been theorized over and now seems to be reality. Thanks to the work of Colossal Biosciences, a company dedicated to the revival of extinct species, the dire wolf has returned or at least it appears to. And now, a once unthinkable question could be on the table: could one of their next chapter unfold on the prairies or badlands of North Dakota?
Dire wolves once roamed across vast stretches of the Americas, including the Great Plains. Fossil evidence suggests they hunted in what is now North Dakota, living alongside mammoths and giant bison before vanishing around the end of the Ice Age. Using preserved DNA from ancient remains, scientists were able to decode the dire wolf genome and make a precise series of gene edits to gray wolves to fill in the gaps. The result is apparently not a hybrid or approximation, but a true genetic resurrection according to the company. These animals are larger, stronger, and more cautious than modern wolves, with wider skulls, heavier jaws, and behaviors that echo their wild ancestry.
The pups currently live on a secure and secret 2,000-acre preserve, but they aren’t meant to be permanent zoo exhibits. The long-term goal is "rewilding": returning these creatures to the environments they once called home. 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. For the MHA Nation, this isn't something that could happen overnight, but reintroducing these ancient animals could offer a massive insight into a past world, but at what cost?
So reintroducing an apex predator is obviously no small matter. Dire wolves evolved to hunt large Ice Age prey that no longer exists. Could they adapt to a world where deer and maybe elk would likely be their largest readily available prey? Would they pose risks to ranching, wildlife management, and public safety, or would any reintroduction be restricted, carefully managed, and far more limited in scope? And on a broader, more philosophical level, we must ask: is it truly ethical to bring back a species whose extinction reshaped ecosystems thousands of years ago, especially when nature has already adapted and moved on without it? These questions don’t have easy or immediate answers, and any effort to bring dire wolves to North Dakota would require extensive dialogue, oversight, and community consent.
Still, the idea is undeniably tantalizing. It’s a story where modern science meets a historical conundrum once thought to be unresolvable. In a state with limitless landscapes, and that's rooted in natural heritage could help model how to responsibly revive and manage species that once shaped its ecosystems. Or it could create an ecological and ethical nightmare that sees these animals nowhere other than zoos.
The howl of a dire wolf hasn’t echoed across these plains in thousands of years, but whether it ever will again depends on the choices we make in the years ahead. And if that moment comes, North Dakota may not only be ready to listen, but to become a home once more for these creatures resurrected from the ashes.
