Moa, one of the most iconic extinct flightless birds of New Zealand that was hunted to extinction many moons ago. Birds endemic to New Zealand have thrived for millions of years, but it only takes a few centuries of human activity to have such an impact on the environment that we unfortunately lose them forever.

There have been many conversations about de-extinction or the reviving of extinct animals such as the Moa by scientists, including an article by popular magazine the National Geographic, that ask us to consider how we would feel about the possibility of this phenomenon.

​Urns in ancient Egyptian tombs are vessels used to aid the transportation of the dead to the afterlife, but this urn is a vessel for loss and signifies that ashes to ashes and dust to dust are absolute; that the Moa has been laid to rest and there it shall remain. Their bones housed in museum collections are there for us to remember, so let the loss of these birds and other extinct animals be a lesson, a guide, a sacrifice to teach us, haunt us and signify change.

We may be on the brink of de-extinction but that is a dangerous concept.  ​The prevention of such tragedies should be the focus of humanity and not reanimation of the deceased.

There have been many conversations about de-extinction or the reviving of extinct animals.