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::Upland moa, ''Megalapteryx didinus''
::Upland moa, ''Megalapteryx didinus''
==Extinction==
Prior to the arrival of man the nine species of moa had one natural predator, [[Haast's eagle]] (''Harpagornis moorei''). In about the year 1280 the Maori arrived and began the first human settlements and the clearing of land for farming. Hunting was also an activity, and the only large animals of any kind in New Zealand were moas. It had been estimated previously that hunting and habitat change caused the gradual extinction of the moas by the late-1700's, however, recent carbon-14 studies on trash middens have shown that all moa species became extinct by 1445, a span of less than 200 years after man's arrival.<ref>http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0277379114003734</ref><ref>http://www.stuff.co.nz/environment/10658261/Moa-extinction-rapid-study</ref>
==References==
==References==
<small><references/></small>
[http://www.teara.govt.nz/1966/M/Moa/Moa/en Encyclopaedia of New Zealand - Moa]<br />
[http://www.teara.govt.nz/1966/M/Moa/Moa/en Encyclopaedia of New Zealand - Moa]<br />
[http://www.terranature.org/moa.htm Moa on TerraNature]
[http://www.terranature.org/moa.htm Moa on TerraNature]
[[Category:Birds]][[Category:Flightless Birds]][[Category:Extinct Birds]][[Category:Extinct Animals]][[Category:Ratites]]
[[Category:Birds]][[Category:Flightless Birds]][[Category:Extinct Birds]][[Category:Extinct Animals]][[Category:Ratites]]