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They genetically modified some gray wolves, as Carl Zimmer explains in detail.

As this layperson understands it, DNA breaks down fairly quickly. This is why no 65-plus-million-year-old nonavian dinosaur DNA will ever be found in the real world.

Experts sometimes do come across genetic material from late-Paleocene critters but it is never the complete blueprint necessary for cloning.

Over on the “cat” side of Order Carnivora, for example, enough DNA has been found to establish that Pleistocene sabercats were indeed members of Family Felidae, but it is fragmented enough to give wiggle room to both sides of the paleontology controversy over whether Miracinonyx was an American cheetah or an ancestral puma.

Here is a video that explores the “is it a dire wolf?” issue:

Speciation is a topic that it’s very easy to get lost in, as I found out while reading up on cat and carnivore evolution, but you might find this article helpful.

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A little lagniappe:

This excerpt from “Ice Age Giants” suggests that anyone who is seriously trying to bring back ice-age predators might take an Ian Malcolm break to ask themselves whether they should, just because they could:

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Featured image: Subareesh Krishnan/Shutterstock

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