Colossal Bioscience’s attempt to de-extinct the dire wolf is a dangerously deceptive publicity stunt

Colossal Biosciences, a Texas-based biotech company, made headlines this April after falsely claiming to resurrect the extinct dire wolf. The company presents this as a breakthrough for conservation biology. However, our team of conservation geneticists at the Western University — along with many other academics views it as a dangerous deception.

Colossal’s so-called dire wolf is not a resurrected species. It’s a genetically modified grey wolf. Its creation is a publicity stunt designed to generate profit, with serious consequences.

Jenga approach to conservation

Conservation aims to safeguard ecosystems by preserving the networks of interaction between animals and their environment. Human activity has caused widespread habitat loss, driving extinction rates to levels estimated to be about 1,000 times higher than the natural background rate. We are living through a biodiversity crisis, and conservation remains our only real defence against further declines.

Colossal proposes de-extinction to combat this crisis, using a Jenga-block metaphor to explain their approach. The ecosystem is a Jenga tower, with each species representing a block — and losing a species weakens the structure, pushing it...