Moas are an extinct group of nine species (in six genera) of flightless birds endemic to New Zealand.  The two largest species, Dinornis robustus and Dinornis novaezelandiae, reached 3.6 meters in height with their necks extended and weighed around 230 kg.  When the Polynesians settled in New Zealand around the year 1280, the moa population numbered around 58,000 individuals.

The nine species of moa had no wings and no traces of wings, the latter being a characteristic common to all other ratites.  They were the dominant herbivores in New Zealand's forests for thousands of years and, until the arrival of the Maori, were hunted only by the Haast's Eagle (which also became extinct during the same period).  Moas became extinct at the beginning of the 16th century, the reasons for their disappearance are related to the Maori people who inhabited New Zealand and consumed their meat.

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Moas are an extinct group of nine species (in six genera) of flightless birds endemic to New Zealand.  The two largest species, Dinornis robustus and Dinornis novaezelandiae, reached 3.6 meters in height with their necks extended and weighed around 230 kg.  When the Polynesians settled in New Zealand around the year 1280, the moa population numbered around 58,000 individuals.
 The nine species of moa had no wings and no traces of wings, the latter being a characteristic common to all other ratites.  They were the dominant herbivores in New Zealand's forests for thousands of years and, until the arrival of the Maori, were hunted only by the Haast's Eagle (which also became extinct during the same period).  Moas became extinct at the beginning of the 16th century, the reasons for their disappearance are related to the Maori people who inhabited New Zealand and consumed their meat.

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