16 Nov 2023

South Island moa footprints millions of years old

From Morning Report, 7:55 am on 16 November 2023

That audio from Te Papa is what scientists think a Moa might have sounded like back when they were roaming the country.

Back in 2019 Ranfurly man Michael Johnston was out walking the dogs when he spotted moa footprints fossilised in the bed of the Kyeburn River.

Since then, they've been studied by scientists to learn about the moa that made the footprints - and what's four years of waiting when it turns out, some of these footprints are at least 3.6 million years old.

Tūhura Otago Museum natural science curator Kane Fleury spoke to Ingrid Hipkiss.