This whimsical oil painting shows two Moa chicks and their mother’s leg walking in a clearing beside a dense forest. Now extinct, this monstrous bird stood 12 feet tall and its footprint could be 20 inches across. When Polynesians settled New Zealand 750 years ago, estimates of the Moa population may have been as high as 2.5 million birds. Before the arrival of humans, the Moa's only predator was the massive Haast's Eagle. They were quickly driven to extinction by hunting and, to a lesser extent, by habitat reduction due to forest clearance. By 1445, all Moa had become extinct, along with the eagles which had relied on them for food.

Local Maori legend has it that when the first Polynesians arrived, some Moa birds fought back to protect their territories. It is said that groups of juvenile males in small packs would hunt humans, not for food but for sport, reminiscent of the famous velociraptors in the Jurassic Park films. Like Scotland’s Nessie, stories of sightings and local folklore since the late 19th century suggest that some Moa may still exist. Framed in a vintage Victorian compo-styled wood frame painted antique gold.