I've Never Seen That on Seseme Street

Moa Skeleton, Ben More, New Zealand

With a height of up to three metres, equivalent to the size of a set of traffic lights, the Moa were one of the tallest birds that ever lived. Originating from New Zealand, these birds thrived on the North and South Islands with no other mammals to contend with.

Unfortunately for the Moa, it was to fall victim to human interference and most species of Moa were hunted to extinction some 500 years ago. This was largely due to Polynesian settlers arriving in New Zealand about 1,000 years ago and hunting the Moa for meat. The bones of the Moa were also used as spear points, hooks and even ornaments. In addition to that the eggs of the Moa were also ideally used to carry water.

To a lesser extent the only other real predator of the Moa was the Haast Eagle. A rather vicious and extremely large species of eagle which thankfully no longer exists.

Our own specimen of a Moa is actually a cleverly constructed example from numerous Moa remains. It originates from Ben More on the South Island of New Zealand and was donated to the Perthshire Natural History Museum in 1888.

Though not currently on display it serves as a firm reminder that species extinction is by no means a modern phenomenon.