Moa were perfectly adapted to thrive in New Zealand. With the lack of many predators, these birds lost the ability to fly. In fact, they have no wing bone remnants at all. Their only predator for thousands of years was the Haast’s Eagle, which could take down even the giant moa. When the Maori people arrived in New Zealand between 1280 AD - 1320 AD, they had a massive impact on the wildlife of the two islands. The Maori successfully, and efficiently hunted the moa. Their moa hunting was so effective, that within two hundred years of arriving in New Zealand, all nine moa species were extinct. Scientists believe that the Upland moa went extinct around 1500, but they may have survived in the isolated mountains even until Europeans first arrived in New Zealand in 1796. Could the Upland moa live in New Zealand today? Although Jurassic Park is fiction, scientists are working on several de-extinction projects. In fact, in 2003 scientists did bring back the extinct Pyrenean ibex, a type of wild goat, for 7 minutes before it died, showing de-extinction is possible. The Upland moa might be a good candidate for this. There are several soft tissue specimens and a buried egg which have been discovered. An Upland moa claw was found in a cave in New Zealand that did have soft tissue. This claw was found to be 3,300 years old. In 1971, an egg, thought to be from an Upland moa, was discovered that was dated to around 1300 - 1400 AD which was much more recent. The good news is that New Zealand has been making great progress in protecting its native wildlife. In 1953, New Zealand established the Wildlife Act, which protected animals from illegal hunting by enacting a $100,000 fine. In 1977, it established the Reserves Act which formed the Department of Conservation. In 1980, the National Parks Act was established to set aside land for government protection. The Conservation Act of 1987, gave even greater protections to native wildlife and their population management. New Zealand was an island dominated by birds, the moas being the largest and most well known. Today’s conservation efforts have helped many critically endangered bird species survive extinction. The kiwi is the most well known example, but the saddleback, brown teal, North Island kōkako, and the black robin (which are all descendents of a single female) have been rebounding with these recent conservation efforts. If the Upland moa was brought to life, could it ever be reintroduced to its native homeland in New Zealand?