Interesting Facts - Page 7

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The thylacine, or Tasmanian Tiger, was a carnivorous marsupial that lived in Australia until it was killed off by humans. The last known member of the species died in 1936.

New Zealand was completely uninhabited by people until around 1250 AD.

New Zealand was once home to the giant moa, a flightless bird that could rise to a height of 12 feet and could weigh up to 600 pounds. It was driven to extinction shortly after the first people arrived in New Zealand.

Elephant birds from Madagascar weighed up to 1,000 pounds, with eggs weighing as much as 22 pounds. They were driven to extinction by humans before 1700 AD.

In the year 874 AD, Ingólfr Arnarson became the first person to permanently settle on the island of Iceland - at least according to the traditional story.

21 Comments

Level 83

Apr 23, 2018

Sixth Mass extinction here we come! :(

Level 53

Apr 24, 2018

It's commonly known as the Tasmanian Tiger rather than Tasmanian Wolf.

Level ∞

Apr 24, 2018

You're right. Tasmanian Tiger is more common so I changed it to that.

Level 72

Oct 7, 2019

The extinction of the Thylacine is more complicated than that. While the bounty on its head probably put the last nail its coffin, and the other factors in its demise, such as land clearing and feral dogs, were mostly caused by humans, it also suffered from a distemper-like disease that played a big part in killing it off. In that respect its like the Tasmanian Devil, which is currently hurtling toward extinction. The devil suffers from pressure caused by human activity, but also from a contagious cancer.

Level 49

Nov 5, 2019

It's a shame the giant moa went flightless and extinct. A flock of twelve foot tall, 600 pound flying birds would definitely add some adventure to our lives.

Level 65

Feb 18, 2020

it didn't 'go' flightless. Many birds just are naturally flightless.

Level 68

Apr 3, 2020

True.

Level 82

Aug 24, 2025

Most flightless birds had ancestors that could fly. Usually they later became flightless either because they gained another adaptation that made it difficult or impossible (like penguins), or went to live on an island where they didn't really have any predators that they had to fly away from (many such cases in New Zealand).

Level 80

May 11, 2020

So you're saying that a twelve-foot tall, 600 pound bird that runs wouldn't add excitement to our lives?

Level 40

Jul 6, 2022

yes.

Level 68

Jul 28, 2022

Yep having flocks of moas would certainly add some excitement. As would velociraptors.

Level 47

Apr 20, 2020

wow so many animals have been driven to extinction in Australia and New zealand

Level 70

May 9, 2020

Not just in Australia and New Zealand, animals around the world have always been threatened by human behaviour, It is only that Australia and NZ were colonised last by mankind, so the animals are better known. Give this planet a few more years of a growing population (now 7+ billion) and nearly all once wild animals will only be found in zoos, such favourites as elephants, rhinos, lions, gorillas, etc etc.

Level 69

May 18, 2022

Australia wasn't settled last by mankind. The indigenous first nations people have been there at least 50,000 years.

NZ had lots of flightless birds because of the almost total absence of mammals until humans arrived

The Moa went extinct because they were delicious ;)

Level 55

Nov 16, 2020

???

Level 80

Feb 5, 2021

What does a 12-foot high, 600 lb bird look like? Something like a big ostrich?

Level 55

Jun 28, 2021

I think it does, but different plumage.

Level 69

May 18, 2022

Much more solidly built than an ostrich as weren't built for speed. Their habitat being forest rather than grasslands with no predators (pre humans) except for the Haast Eagle.

No surprise given that it hunted Moa that the Haast is the biggest eagle ever. Also no surprise that it became extinct shortly after the Moa.

Moa are the only truly wingless bird not having the vestigal wings of other flightless birds, like the Kiwi.

Level 55

Oct 13, 2022

Ostriches are already pretty big...

Level 69

Oct 10, 2022

Ingolfur Arnarson was the first Nordic "permanent" settler in Iceland but the Irish Monks were already there when he arrived. The monks left shortly thereafter, so maybe that's where the "permanent" part comes from. Ingolfur also hunted down the Irish slaves that killed his brother (the slaves were caught in the Westmann Islands, named after them).

Level 69

May 12, 2023

This is not a traditional story--it is fact. His homes have been found and studied by the archeologists. It is recorded in the Sagas and other Norse books. It has been passed down through the generations.