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Moas Moas were giant flightless birds that
became extinct in 1770. They
lived on the islands of New Zealand.
Moas weighed over 200 kilograms and stood from 2-4 meters high.
There were said to be at least a dozen different types of moas.
Each type became extinct at a different time and each type had no
wing bones. Moas never
really became familiar with other mammals during their lifetime. The main reason why moas became extinct is that while they were happily living on the islands of New Zealand about a thousand years ago, Maori people came to New Zealand from the eastern side of Polynesia, and stole moa eggs. They also set fires on the lowland forests, which was where some of the moas had their homes in the area. Moas mainly ate twigs, leaves and fruit. Europeans did not know anything about moas until the 1830’s when scientists researched the moa bone fragments. During the process, the scientists discovered that these giant flightless birds lived on the islands of New Zealand. There was great excitement as soon as the news was out. The public and scientists themselves hoped that they could find a living moa on the islands. They actually believed that there were giant birds roaming the islands at that very moment! But, they could never find a living moa. As said earlier, the moas became extinct in 1770. There was a rumor that there were moa sightings from the 1830’s to the 1880’s. But once again, there was no real proof or evidence that the moas had survived that long. Citations Web Sites Craig Kasnoff and Electroglyph,
"In the Wild: Islands" Moas "Moas and Their
Extinction" The Canadian Museum of Nature Online. (1977-1981) Images Image of bugs on some leaves from "Microsoft Office Design Gallery Live" <http://dgl.microsoft.com/?CAG=1> Images free for non-profit and personal use. (December-March, 2003). Image of moas from "ArtToday.com" <http://members.clipart.com/en/index> (2003). |
