“Winter has come.” That’s what George R.R. Martin, the author whose novels inspired the hit show “Game of Thrones,” said on his blog after meeting once-extinct dire wolves.
Martin said he got to meet the three dire wolves, which are considered to be the world’s first de-extinction of an animal species, and has been holding his tongue ever since.
The monumental scientific feat by the Dallas-based Colossal Biosciences resulted in two adolescent males named Romulus and Remus and a female puppy named Khaleesi, the company said.
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His blog features a photo of him holding one of the wolves.
Dire wolves have been extinct for over 12,000 years but were once native to the Americas. They are relatively similar in size to modern-day gray wolves.
The award-winning HBO series based on Martin’s “A Song of Ice and Fire” fantasy novels featured dire wolves.
The animals are being housed on an ecological preserve certified by the American Humane Society and registered with the U.S. Department of Agriculture, according to Colossal.
The facility reportedly includes zoo-grade fencing, live camera surveillance, on-site veterinary care and natural dens. The wolves will remain at the facility for the duration of their lives.
The company said it plans to assess the wolves’ readiness to move into other managed care facilities and hopes to restore the species in large, protected ecological areas, potentially on indigenous lands.
