Time Magazine: The Return of the Dire Wolf (Updated with video)

Time Magazine reports on a company called Colossal Biosciences which has "bioengineered" dire wolf pups. 

Relying on deft genetic engineering and ancient, preserved DNA, Colossal scientists deciphered the dire wolf genome, rewrote the genetic code of the common gray wolf to match it, and, using domestic dogs as surrogate mothers, brought Romulus, Remus, and their sister, 2-month-old Khaleesi, into the world during three separate births last fall and this winter—effectively for the first time de-extincting a line of beasts whose live gene pool long ago vanished. TIME met the males (Khaleesi was not present due to her young age) at a fenced field in a U.S. wildlife facility on March 24, on the condition that their location remain a secret to protect the animals from prying eyes. 

In describing the two pups the author was allowed to see, he writes:

At their young age [6 months] they already measure nearly 4 ft. long, tip the scales at 80 lb., and could grow to 6 ft. and 150 lb. Then there’s their behavior: the angelic exuberance puppies exhibit in the presence of humans—trotting up for hugs, belly rubs, kisses—is completely absent. They keep their distance, retreating if a person approaches. Even one of the handlers who raised them from birth can get only so close before Romulus and Remus flinch and retreat. This isn’t domestic canine behavior, this is wild lupine behavior: the pups are wolves. 

The company is also planning to bring back the woolly mammoth, the dodo, and the Tasmanian tiger. The process is not cloning, exactly, but changing certain genes in the wolf genome to match that of the dire wolf. 

Update: I came across this video from Time about the dire wolves:

VIDEO: "No Longer Extinct? Colossal Biosciences' Dire Wolf Project"
TIME (8 min.)