[Netherrealmer]

This is a Moa, It was a bird that was plenty in New Zealand before white people colonized it. This bird have 9 species, the smallest one is size of a Turkey and the biggest one is 12 feet tall. The Scientist who brought back Direwolves and working on cloning mammoths will bring it back.

The Moa they will bring Southern Giant Moa which is the biggest bird in New Zealand before it got extinct. Its closest living relative is chicken sized bird called Tinamou.



I thought closest relative of Moa will be an Ostrich or an Emu but no its closest relative is a tinamou. They will edit tinamou eggs and convert them into Moa. Moa got extinct because the they are overhunted by the Mauri people. Imagine riding these giant birds like a horse.

[Tendz]

Amazing how scientists are using gene editing to bring back extinct species.

[Netherrealmer]

Imagine riding them like horses? I mean people do ride ostrich like its a horse

[Tendz]

I’d rather just watch them from a distance. Riding a giant bird feels a bit weird.

[Netherrealmer]

There are 9 species of moa but they will only revive the biggest one. The smallest one is the size of a turkey and the biggest is 12 feet.

[arunima]

A 12 feet tall bird walking around would be interesting, weird and a bit scary too. We are used to smaller birds, they could have tried with the smallest one of Turkey size. It would have been not odd. Is there any specific reason for them to try to bring the tallest one out of the 9 species?

[Netherrealmer]

I guess there is more hype to a giant wingless bird. Yes moah have no wings.


The technology used to revive moas will be use to save endangered birds

[Jem Smith]

Ostrich riding looks cruel to the ostriches.

I doubt the the Moa will actually be brought back, since dire wolves weren't really. More likely they'll tweak a couple of genes in a similar species and create something that looks a bit like one again. I suppose we will see.

Edit: re. ostrich riding yep, it's cruel.

"Ostriches are the heaviest and tallest birds in the world, but they are not domesticated animals and are not suitable for carrying human weight.

It is generally not considered ethical to ride ostriches, as it can be physically demanding and potentially dangerous for the rider, and ostrich riding can be extremely stressful and harmful for the bird.

Ostriches have a unique skeletal structure that is not suitable for carrying the weight of a rider.

Their legs and are not strong enough to support the weight of an adult person.

In addition, ostriches do not have a backbone that is suitable for carrying a rider, as their spine is flexible and adapted for running."

https://sand-boarding.com/ostrich-riding-ethical/

[arunima]

Even I agree that birds are not suitable for human rides. They are not naturally made for it and it can be really stressful for them.
I also ponder over the question...what benefit would it bring to bring back some creature that has been extinct a long ago? They could not survive because they couldn't adapt to the changing environment. Will they be able to survive after they are brought back? It's better to save the ones who are endangered now and can be extinct in coming times.

[Netherrealmer]

The technology they used for direwolves is now used for redwolves. So birds like kakapos and kiwi will benifit, its just the Moa gives them more publicity. They were known to be fast seed spreaders

[eldavis]

All these are fun and cool though, but let's hope we don't create a real life Jurassic Park event.

[Netherrealmer]

All these are fun and cool though, but let's hope we don't create a real life Jurassic Park event.

to be fair Moa is not carnivorous it eats grass and fruits and its a known seed spreader. They got extinct because Mauris find them easy to kill as they lack survival instinct

[eldavis]

All these are fun and cool though, but let's hope we don't create a real life Jurassic Park event.

to be fair Moa is not carnivorous it eats grass and fruits and its a known seed spreader. They got extinct because Mauris find them easy to kill as they lack survival instinct

Lol yea that's true, but who knows they might one day decide to try bringing back one of those predators since these projects are successful, or what if something goes wrong with these ones, maybe a slight alterations in their DNA and it turns them aggressive. Lol i guess am watching too many movies.

[Netherrealmer]

From what i know the predators they want to bring back first is thylacine. It's around the size of a golden retriever dog but they don't really kill humans they feed on wallaby tasmanian devils and scientists were hoping that they will kill rats cats and rabbits which are pest in australia right now. Thylacine got extinct because because farmers thought that they are the ones who were killing their sheep but the truth is the ones were killing their sheep are their pet dogs. It was too late when they realized that. The other extinct predator they want to bring back is the barbary lions and captivity but they are not pure barbary lies they are cross breed with african lions and by using the dna of those mix barbary lions they will try to make pure barbrary lions again.

[eldavis]

That's awesome though, lets see how their experiments go though.

[mrki444]

Why they choose Moa? It can affect on ecosystem as others. Probably less than some fish when it goes in wild or some predator.

[Netherrealmer]

Its a seed spreader... They poop seeds

[Jem Smith]

All these are fun and cool though, but let's hope we don't create a real life Jurassic Park event.

to be fair Moa is not carnivorous it eats grass and fruits and its a known seed spreader. They got extinct because Mauris find them easy to kill as they lack survival instinct

Maori.
I would think that birds that can fly would be more efficient at spreading seeds. Certainly over longer distances. I dunno though. Maybe they fulfilled a special niche.

--- 19 Jul 2025, 10:41 ---

From what i know the predators they want to bring back first is thylacine. It's around the size of a golden retriever dog but they don't really kill humans they feed on wallaby tasmanian devils.

No they didn't. They ate mostly birds and small wallabies and bandicoots. They competed with Tasmanian Devils (another predator) for prey. If they did eat them that would be a reason NOT to bring them back since Tasmanian Devils are critically endangered. The fact that they are a competitor species already makes that a bad idea.

I don't believe any scientists in Australia are actually calling for the Thylacine to be brought back. It seems to be just this company and some people who want them for tourism purposes.

--- 19 Jul 2025, 10:59 ---

I thought closest relative of Moa will be an Ostrich or an Emu but no its closest relative is a tinamou. They will edit tinamou eggs and convert them into Moa. Moa got extinct because the they are overhunted by the Mauri people. Imagine riding these giant birds like a horse.

The largest species of Tinamou (the ones from the Amazon, not the ones from New Zealand) lay eggs about the size of a duck egg. Great Moa eggs are the size of a football. How do you 'edit' an existing egg to make it fit a much larger bird inside? Or, conversely, 'edit' a bird to make it lay an egg bigger than its own body?

--- 19 Jul 2025, 11:14 ---

All these are fun and cool though, but let's hope we don't create a real life Jurassic Park event.

to be fair Moa is not carnivorous it eats grass and fruits and its a known seed spreader. They got extinct because Mauris find them easy to kill as they lack survival instinct

Don't assume that just because something is a herbivore means it won't kill humans. Hippos don't eat meat but they kill people all the time. But yeah, if these things are like the Dodo it would be fine.

[Treborika]

I think it's very interesting to ride on the giant birds like that for sure. However they should make sure they don't disappear completely as time goes by.

[ptrikha21]

Instead of doing such experiments one after another, why not work more on conserving existing animals.
Or making Governments do more in environmental conservation.