What is a moa?

Answer 1

No extinction is as well documented as that of the New Zealand Moa (pronounced mo-ah). It was a large flightless bird of the order Dinornithiformes. Weighing up to 250Kg and 2.5 metres high, it was hunted to extinction by the Maoris by about 400 years ago. The Moa occupied the ecological niche in New Zealand of the antelope, rhinoceros and kangaroo and lived in habitats from forest to alpine tundra. They were abundant when the Maoris arrived in New Zealand about 1,000 years ago. Being so easy to catch and kill, only the best parts of the bird were eaten, the rest being discarded. One site alone shows evidence of 30,000 to 90,000 birds having been butchered over the period of Maori habitation. Dr Tim Flannery's book, "The Future Eaters" gives a good account of the extinction of the Moa and he quotes "Prodigious Birds" by Atholl Anderson as a "splendid work on the Moa".

Answer 2

The Moa is an extinct herbivore flightless bird, endemic to New Zealand, and one of the largest and heaviest birds ever.

They were killed to the very last bird by the Maori people, in the 14th century.

The Moa could reach almost 4 metres in height, and weighed nearly 250 Kg.

Like the Dodo, it was extinct by the stupidity of Homo sapiens sapiens...

Answer 3

No extinction is as well documented as that of the New Zealand Moa (pronounced mo-ah). It was a large flightless bird of the order Dinornithiformes. Weighing up to 250Kg and 2.5 metres high, it was hunted to extinction by the Maoris by about 400 years ago. The Moa occupied the ecological niche in New Zealand of the antelope, rhinoceros and kangaroo and lived in habitats from forest to alpine tundra. They were abundant when the Maoris arrived in New Zealand about 1,000 years ago. Being so easy to catch and kill, only the best parts of the bird were eaten, the rest being discarded. One site alone shows evidence of 30,000 to 90,000 birds having been butchered over the period of Maori habitation. Dr Tim Flannery's book, "The Future Eaters" gives a good account of the extinction of the Moa and he quotes "Prodigious Birds" by Atholl Anderson as a "splendid work on the Moa".