Pūkaha National Wildlife Centre has unveiled a rare display of moa bones at its Visitor Centre this week.
Visitors can view the Moa bones for free in the Pūkaha Visitor Centre. The Centre is open 9:00am – 5:00pm seven days a
week. To celebrate the occasion, a variety of moa books for adults and children, soft toys, puzzles and games can be
purchased with all proceeds contributing to the conservation mahi (work) at Pūkaha.
The Moa hakahaka (Euryapteryx curtus) or Coastal moa bones have been loaned to Pūkaha by a local man, who found them on a Wairarapa farm in the 1970’s.
The bones on display are from both legs including the tibia, fibula and foot bones.
Emily Court Pūkaha National Wildlife Centre General Manager says “We are so grateful to be able to display these
beautiful bones, so everyone in the community can learn about our the natural history of our manu (birds).”
Moa hakahaka was one of the smallest of the Moa and was a stout, short-legged bird with a broad, blunt bill. There were
nine species of Moa. Female Moa hakahaka were at most about 800mm at the back and could stretch up to 1.5 metres to
feed, while the males were often only 600mm tall at the back.
Before the arrival of people, the extinct Eyles’ Harrier probably preyed on moa chicks, but the adults were safe from
attack. The first people arrived in Aotearoa sometime around 1200 AD, and all Moa were quickly driven to extinction by
hunting and, to a lesser extent, by habitat reduction due to forest clearance. It is believed that by 1445, all Moa had
become extinct.
As its name suggests, Moa hakahaka was most common in the dune habitats around the coast from the Wairarapa to North
Cape and only lived in the North Island.