The global company headquartered in Dallas announced it has successfully been able to de-extinct an animal — the first breakthrough of its kind — with a pair of dire wolf cubs born last year. The animal has been extinct for more than 10,000 years.

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Three genetically engineered wolves that may resemble extinct dire wolves are trotting, sleeping and howling in an undisclosed, secure location in the U.S., according to the company that aims

Three genetically engineered wolves that may resemble extinct dire wolves are trotting, sleeping, and howling in an undisclosed secure location in the U.S.

Dire wolves, made famous by “Game of Thrones,” went extinct some 13,000 years ago. Now, researchers have bred gray-wolf pups that carry genes of their ancient cousins.

The dire wolf is a relative of the now-common grey wolf, with clear differences apparent between the two species' skeletons. Based on the sequence of two new dire wolf genomes, the researchers at Colossal conclude that dire wolves formed a distinct branch within the canids over 2.

Unlike most fantasy creatures, dire wolves actually existed once upon a time. They patrolled North America hunting giant ground sloths, bison, and other megafauna until about the end of the last ice age.

They are the first dire wolves to be born since their extinction over 12,000 years ago, according to NPR. “Our team took DNA from a 13,000-year-old tooth and a 72,000-year-old skull and made healthy dire wolf puppies,