Background
Type Australian Ratite
First Sighting 40,000 years ago
Last Sighting 2008<a name=\'more\'></a>
Country New Zealand, (Maybe Australia)
Habitat Remote Forests of New Zealand
Possible Population Unknown


When people first arrived in New Zealand, they encountered giant wingless birds known as Moas (the family Dinornithidae). These birds were distinct from their relatives (tinamous, cassowaries, emu, ostriches. though their closest relatives are flighted south american tinamous) which possessed wings, whereas Moas had lost the bones completely. The largest Moa species could reach up to 4m in size, larger than any other bird on the islands.
History

Due to what many believe to be over hunting by early Maori, Moas became extinct sometime between the late 1300s and early 1500s.
Sightings

However, in the 1840s, Australian bird painter John Gould reported seeing what he described as "giant kiwis" on the South Island of New Zealand, that were around a meter tall and had spurred feet. Gould\'s spurred feet description had matched those of fossilized Moa footprints found on the North Island. In 1978, a Japanese research team investigated the South Island to see if Moas were still living in the area, but didn\'t gain any evidence of continued survival. It has been suggested that the people reporting have seen Moas were exaggerating, or seeing large individuals of known birds, such as cassowaries or emu. Others however, still argue that some small species of Moa have survived to the present.
Explanation
Genyornis Newtoni - An extinct species of large bird similar to the Moa, but resided in mainland Australia.
Dinornis - One of many Genus of Moa
Gallery




A painting of moa.




A painting of Moa being hunted by the Haast\'s Eagle, an extinct species of giant raptorial bird.




A painting of the head of a Moa.




A supposed photograph of a modern Moa, taken in 1993. (most likely fake, resembles more of a hawk or or flying raptor)


A "mummified" Giant Moa foot.







A Megalania attacking a Genyornis

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