They Used a 72,000-Year-Old Skull to Bring This Animal Back From Extinction

In October 2024, Colossal Biosciences bred two pups using DNA reconstructed from a 13,000-year-old tooth and a 72,000-year-old skull, claiming the first successful de-extinction in history: the dire wolf, gone for over 12,500 years. A third pup followed months later. Now over a year old, all three are described as thriving, though not every scientist agrees they qualify as true dire wolves rather than modified gray wolves. This video covers how the process actually worked, what critics are disputing, and what Colossal is attempting next.