In Dire Straits: The Resurrection and Extraction of the Dire Wolf, and the Current Colonial Basis of De-extinction Science

  • August D. Hoffman Department of Anthropology, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, Champaign, USA. American Indian Studies Program, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, Champaign, USA. Center for Indigenous Science, Carl R. Woese Institute for Genomic Biology (IGB), University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, Champaign, USA. https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8442-8685
  • Amanda Daniela Cortez Department of Anthropology, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, Champaign, USA. Center for Indigenous Science, Carl R. Woese Institute for Genomic Biology (IGB), University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, Champaign, USA. https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2660-9474
  • Jenny L. Davis Department of Anthropology, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, Champaign, USA. American Indian Studies Program, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, Champaign, USA. Center for Indigenous Science, Carl R. Woese Institute for Genomic Biology (IGB), University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, Champaign, USA. https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9643-1435
  • Katelyn J. Bishop Department of Anthropology, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, Champaign, USA. Center for Indigenous Science, Carl R. Woese Institute for Genomic Biology (IGB), University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, Champaign, USA. https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8401-2337
  • Alida de Flamingh Center for Indigenous Science, Carl R. Woese Institute for Genomic Biology (IGB), University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, Champaign, USA. https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1223-6654
  • Ripan S. Malhi Department of Anthropology, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, Champaign, USA. Center for Indigenous Science, Carl R. Woese Institute for Genomic Biology (IGB), University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, Champaign, USA. https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1484-0292
DOI: https://doi.org/10.14237/ebl.17.1.2026.1975
Keywords: Dire wolves, De-extinction, Conservation, Indigenous Knowledge, Colonialism, Relationality

Abstract

In April of 2025, the for-profit biotech company Colossal Biosciences garnered mass media attention by announcing they had “de-extincted” the dire wolf (Aenocyon dirus) with the use of CRISPR gene-editing technology. Colossal and others heralded it as the future of endangered species conservation. In response, many in the larger scientific and conservation communities qualified or dismissed the claims to de-extinction based on sound genomic, phylogenetic, and taxonomic evidence. This debate, however, has occurred almost entirely within the confines of Western science and epistemology. We expand these critiques by highlighting the colonial, eugenic, and anthropocentric ideologies prevalent in Colossal’s approach to de-extinction, exemplified by what we call a “colonial grabbag” mythological framing of wolves. We argue that this is reflective of the larger colonial basis of current de-extinction science. Grounded in the fields of Indigenous Science and Animal Studies, we invite further reflection on the strategic, ethical, and moral considerations of de-extinction. Rather than arguing that such technologies and aims should be categorically rejected, we offer recommendations toward an anti-colonial and anti-anthropocentric science of de-extinction that is based in equity, reciprocity, and collective social good. We propose 1) a shift away from the isolationist approach that “resurrects” a species without regard for the larger ecosystem in which they existed in favor of a holistic ecology; 2) focusing the tools of de-extinction on currently threatened and endangered species and ecosystems; and 3) centering Indigenous Science and place-based knowledges by practicing transparent and sustained consultation and collaboration with Indigenous Nations.

Author Biographies

August D. Hoffman, Department of Anthropology, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, Champaign, USA. American Indian Studies Program, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, Champaign, USA. Center for Indigenous Science, Carl R. Woese Institute for Genomic Biology (IGB), University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, Champaign, USA.

August D. Hoffman is a PhD Candidate in Anthropology at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. Their dissertation examines interspecies relations and care in captive-canid sanctuaries in the US Southwest.

Amanda Daniela Cortez, Department of Anthropology, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, Champaign, USA. Center for Indigenous Science, Carl R. Woese Institute for Genomic Biology (IGB), University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, Champaign, USA.

Amanda Daniela Cortez is an Assistant Professor of Anthropology at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. Her work explores the politics of Indigeneity and multispecies relating.

Jenny L. Davis, Department of Anthropology, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, Champaign, USA. American Indian Studies Program, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, Champaign, USA. Center for Indigenous Science, Carl R. Woese Institute for Genomic Biology (IGB), University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, Champaign, USA.

Jenny L. Davis is an Associate Professor in American Indian Studies and Anthropology at the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign. Her research and creative work involves animals of all kinds, a few of whom are human.

Katelyn J. Bishop, Department of Anthropology, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, Champaign, USA. Center for Indigenous Science, Carl R. Woese Institute for Genomic Biology (IGB), University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, Champaign, USA.

Katelyn J. Bishop is an Assistant Professor of Anthropology at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. Her research focuses on the relationship between people and non-human animals in the ancient past.

Alida de Flamingh, Center for Indigenous Science, Carl R. Woese Institute for Genomic Biology (IGB), University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, Champaign, USA.

Alida de Flamingh (Postdoc, Center for Indigenous Science, UIUC) studies genomes of ancient and living organisms to explore drivers of evolution in response to ecological and anthropogenic change.

Ripan S. Malhi, Department of Anthropology, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, Champaign, USA. Center for Indigenous Science, Carl R. Woese Institute for Genomic Biology (IGB), University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, Champaign, USA.

Ripan S. Malhi is a Professor in Anthropology and director of the Center for Indigenous Science at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. His research group uses genomics and collaborative practices to address community needs.

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Ethnobiology Letters Cover, Volume 17, Issue 1, 2026
Published
2026-04-13
How to Cite
Hoffman, A. D., Cortez, A. D., Davis, J. L., Bishop, K. J., de Flamingh, A., & Malhi, R. S. (2026). In Dire Straits: The Resurrection and Extraction of the Dire Wolf, and the Current Colonial Basis of De-extinction Science. Ethnobiology Letters, 17(1), 53-66. https://doi.org/10.14237/ebl.17.1.2026.1975
Issue
Vol 17 No 1 (2026)
Section
Perspectives

Copyright (c) 2026 August D. Hoffman, Amanda Daniela Cortez, Jenny L. Davis, Katelyn J. Bishop, Alida de Flamingh, Ripan S. Malhi

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