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Before humans arived, moas ruled New Zealand
Not long ago, giant wingless birds like this moa paced New Zealand's
open country and brushy woodlands. Without large native predators
to threaten them, moas evolved to be the biggest land
predators on their island home.
But moas couldn't stand up to human hunting
Humans first reached New Zealand by canoe about 1000 years ago.
These settlers quickly learned to hunt the defenseless moas.
In fact, they learned too well--in only about 700 years, every last
moa was gone.