North Island giant moa

The second-largest moa species

This moa species inhabited scrub, grassland and dune landscapes as well as forests on New Zealand’s North Island. The North Island giant moa is considered the second-largest moa species. The largest species is the South Island giant moa, which was endemic to New Zealand’s South Island.

Originally, three moa species were even assigned to the family Dinornithidae. This assumption was based on the fact that male and female animals were considered different species, because they differed greatly in size and weight.

It was therefore believed that the male North Island giant moas represented a separate species and they were classified accordingly as Dinornis struthoides.

North Island giant moa – fact sheet

alternative name	Large bush moa, Kuranui
scientific names	Dinornis novaezealandiae, Dinornis Novae-Zealandiae, Dinornis struthoides, Dinornis struthioides, Dinornis ingens, Palapteryx ingens, Dinornis gigas, Dinornis gracilis, Dinornis firmus, Dinornis excelsus, Dinornis dromioides, Dinornis hercules, Dinornis gazella
original range	New Zealand’s North Island
time of extinction	14th or 15th century
causes of extinction	hunting

All remains come from female animals

Studies have shown that all remains of the North Island giant moa known today come from female animals. These bones were found mainly in swamps or boggy areas. This is also why it is assumed that females were responsible for foraging. Males, on the other hand, presumably guarded the eggs.

Female North Island giant moas weighed between 76 and 242 kilograms, and when standing upright they reached a back height of between 120 and 190 centimeters. In male birds, by contrast, the back height was only 90 to 120 centimeters, and they weighed only 34 to 85 kilograms.

By comparison, female South Island giant moas even reached a back height of up to 350 centimeters, and males up to 240 centimeters.

With the settlement of New Zealand, the moas died out

At the end of the 13th century, Polynesians settled New Zealand and, through hunting, caused these flightless birds to disappear within one or two centuries. This thesis is also supported by a study published in 2014 in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

In addition, the first century after the Polynesians’ arrival on the island is referred to as the moa-hunter period. For humans, moas were easy prey. After the birds went extinct, the Māori switched to obtaining their food from fishing and the cultivation of crops.