Joe Rogan has seen his fair share of incredible scientific advancements on the JRE show, but even he was unprepared for this one. A recent episode took an unexpected turn when the conversation switched to something straight out of a fantasy novel: dire wolves. The ancient species, thought to be extinct for almost 10,000 years, appears to have returned, courtesy of a genetic engineering business named Colossal Biosciences. And now, even Elon Musk has reacted to it, giving the bizarre development his stamp of curiosity by sharing a post that’s already gone viral.
Regarding JRE #2301. Joe Rogan addressed the elephant in the room by stating that Colossal founder Ben Lamm and his team had succeeded in creating three dire wolves. “You made a f—— dire wolf,” he said, then asked Jamie to immediately pull up pictures. The moment the wolf cubs came up on the screen, the UFC commentator couldn’t help but say, “Yeah. That is a pup.” Lamm gave them names based on folklore and pop culture: Romulus, Remus, and Khaleesi. If that wasn’t enough, Rogan then cracked up and called them “nature’s cute little m——–.”
Meanwhile, Elon Musk fueled the fire by tweeting a TIME magazine cover photo with a dire wolf with “Extinct” scratched out in red and the caption, “This is Remus. He’s a dire wolf. The first to exist in over 10,000 years.” He also posted a photo of the three pups relaxing and howling. With Rogan labeling it the “craziest s— I’ve ever seen” and Musk silently cheering it on, the future of science—and even evolution itself—has just become a lot more unpredictable.
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) April 7, 2025
The tale behind the wild reactions, however, was even crazier. These are not real clones of the extinct Aenocyon dirus, but rather gene-edited gray wolves with 12 crucial dire wolf features. That includes muscle mass, jaw form, and the distinctive fur coat. Last October, Romulus and Remus were born via surrogate hounds, while Khaleesi was delivered via C-section, which was fittingly dramatic. Joe Rogan, in awe of the science, said on his podcast, “This is next-level s—. This is not just science fiction anymore.” However, it seems like Elon Musk isn’t satisfied, as the Tesla CEO has now asked the company to make him a new pet.
Elon Musk asks Joe Rogan’s guest to revive another extinct species
So, dire wolves have returned—or come near enough to make Joe Rogan’s jaw drop—and Elon Musk wants in on the next chapter. The Tesla CEO did more than just react after sharing the viral TIME cover introducing Remus and showing the pups sat on the Iron Throne like Westerosi royalty. He took a step further. Because of course he did. The billionaire has a new request for Colossal Biosciences’ de-extinction specialists: a pet-sized woolly mammoth. Yes, you read it right.
This wasn’t an offhand joke, either. Musk really tagged the company and begged, “Please make a miniature pet woolly mammoth.” To be fair, this was not entirely unexpected. Colossal’s original ambition was to bring back the woolly mammoth long before Romulus, Remus, and Khaleesi were genetically made. The company has already created what they call “woolly mice,” which are miniature proof-of-concept models genetically altered with features borrowed from the real mammoth DNA. It’s not yet the beast everyone knows, but it’s not science fiction anymore either.
While scientists outside the company are suspicious, claiming that making something “look” like an extinct species is not the same as really restoring it, it’s difficult to deny how close things are getting. Joe Rogan has already been stunned bythe dire wolf comeback, and now that Elon Musk is pushing for more, the bar has been significantly raised. What began as a wild podcast moment has now evolved into a serious discussion on which animals humans should—or should not—reintroduce. And if Musk gets his way, your grandchildren could grow up with small prehistoric pets running around the home. But what do you think? Will the scientists be able to achieve this feat? Let us know in the comments.
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