South Island geese

South Island geese

Evidence from fossil bones shows that giant flightless geese (Cnemiornis calcitrans) once roamed South Island grasslands, as illustrated in this painting. They stood about 70 centimetres tall, similar in size to the smallest moa.

Goose bones have been found in some of the oldest human middens (ancient rubbish sites), and extinction is thought to have been caused by early human hunting.