Because the Ōpārara cave system has so many openings, large birds have wandered in, perhaps to shelter, or have fallen in. The caves have acted as a graveyard, and contain the skeletons of moa and other animals, some of which became extinct soon after the arrival of humans in New Zealand. This is the skeleton of a little bush moa.
Te whakamahi i tēnei tūemi
Private collection
Photograph by Simon Nathan
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Tāpiritia te tākupu hou