Шинэ Зеландын ойд 13-р зуун хүртэл амьдарч байсан аварга моа шувууны ховор өндгийг Америкийн хувийн цуглуулгаас эх нутагт нь буцаан авчирлаа.
АНУ-ын Колорадо мужийн дуудлага худалдаагаар худалдан авсан энэхүү олдвор нь бараг 60 жилийн турш хилийн чанадад хадгалагдаж байсан юм. Кино найруулагч Сэр Питер Жэксон болон “Colossal Biosciences” компани энэхүү ховор өндгийг Шинэ Зеландад эргүүлэн авчрах ажлыг зохион байгуулжээ. Уг өндгийг тус улсын Маори иргэдийн түүхч, овгийн ахлагч, профессор Тэ Майр Тауд хүлээлгэн өгөхөөр төлөвлөсөн байна.
Одоогоор 22х17 см хэмжээтэй, хэлтэрхийнүүдээс бүрдсэн энэ өндөг нь сэргээн засварласны дараа хамгийн сайн хадгалагдсан есөн өндөгний нэг болно гэж судлаачид үзэж байна. Нгаи Таху (Ngāi Tahu) судалгааны төвийн эрдэмтэд олдворын зүйлийг нарийвчлан тогтоохын зэрэгцээ түүнийг шинжлэх ухааны зорилгоор ашиглах эсэхийг Маоричуудын соёл, уламжлалын дагуу шийдвэрлэх юм.
Энэхүү олдвор нь эртний ДНХ-ийн мэдээллийг агуулж байж болзошгүй тул “Colossal Biosciences” компанийн мөхсөн амьтдыг дахин амилуулах төсөлд чухал ач холбогдолтой. Моа шувуу нь 3.6 метр өндөр, 230 кг жинтэй аварга амьтан байсан бөгөөд 13-р зууны сүүл үед хүмүүсийн нөлөөгөөр мөхсөн гэж үздэг. Одоогийн байдлаар дэлхий дахинд моа шувууны 40 хүрэхгүй өндөг бүртгэгдээд байна.
Судлаачид моа шувууг дахин амилуулах боломжийг судалж байгаа боловч үүнд том хэмжээний өндөг гарган авах зэрэг техникийн олон хүндрэл бэрхшээл тулгарч байна. Тус компани энэхүү сорилтыг даван туулахын тулд хиймэл өндөгний систем дээр ажиллаж байгаа бөгөөд энэ оны эхээр анхны дэгдээхэйгээ амжилттай гаргаад байгаа юм.
Дэлгэрэнгүйг эх сурвалжаас харах
↓Эх сурвалжийг нээх ↓
A rare moa egg that spent around 60 years in a private American collection is returning to New Zealand. Filmmaker Sir Peter Jackson and the de-extinction company Colossal Biosciences are behind the move, and the egg will be presented to Māori historian and tribal leader Professor Te Maire Tau.
Moa were giant flightless birds that roamed New Zealand’s forests and grassy plains until the late 13th century. Human settlers are thought to have triggered their extinction, and today the birds are remembered by their fossilized bones and a precious few eggs.
The news came at the 11th International Meeting of the Society of Avian Palaeontology and Evolution. “It is especially fitting to announce the return of this remarkable egg at our conference with the world’s leading experts on ancient birds gathered here in Ōtautahi Christchurch,” said Dr Paul Scofield, Senior Curator of Natural History at Canterbury Museum.
A Rarity That Slipped Abroad
Fewer than 40 eggs are known from collections. Any moa egg discovered in New Zealand today is considered taonga, a treasured possession, and is protected from export by an act established in 1975. Several left the country before it came into force.
This one was bought earlier this year at an auction in Colorado. It measures around 22 by 17 centimeters (8.6 by 6.7 inches) and has been reconstructed from fragments, with several still to be reattached under the approval and guidance of Ngāi Tahu researchers. The species of moa it came from hasn’t been confirmed yet.
“After expert restoration, it will very likely become only the ninth known nearly intact moa egg—probably one of the five best-preserved examples,” according to Sir Peter Jackson.
Who Decides What Happens Next?
Colossal plans to give the egg to Professor Tau, the leader of Ngāi Tūāhuriri, a subgroup of Ngāi Tahu based in the Tuahiwi area of New Zealand’s South Island. What happens next will be up to the Ngāi Tahu Research Centre.
Its researchers will decide whether to examine the egg using scans or take samples, while respecting Māori traditions and customs, known as tikanga. Such artifacts can be surprisingly rich in ancient DNA, which underpins Colossal’s de-extinction projects.
“Fewer than 40 whole moa eggs are known, and each one holds information we can get nowhere else – sometimes even their DNA,” said Beth Shapiro, PhD, Colossal’s Chief Science Officer.
In a statement sent to IFLScience, Scofield said the egg “has far greater scientific and cultural value here than it could ever have in a private collection overseas.” He added that:
“Its homecoming will create new opportunities for research while ensuring that this extraordinary taonga is cared for in the land – and by the people – to which it belongs.”
Shapiro framed the project as a partnership. According to her, each whole egg holds information found nowhere else, and Colossal’s whole moa program works in partnership with the Ngāi Tahu Research Centre and Canterbury Museum, with every result returned to New Zealand.
Could Giant Moa Birds One Day Return?
In 2025, Colossal announced that moa were the fifth species to join its functional de-extinction line-up, alongside the mammoth, dodo, thylacine and dire wolf, all chosen because humans were instrumental to their extinction. The world has already met Romulus, Rhemus and Khaleesi, three animals created with a toolkit that identifies genes coding for key traits in an extinct animal and brings them about in a closely related one, in their case the gray wolf.
Nine species of moa once roamed New Zealand. They ranged from something not far off a turkey to the South Island giant moa, Dinornis robustus, which stood 3.6 meters (11.8 feet) tall and weighed approximately 230 kilograms (507 pounds). They were ecosystem engineers that shaped the country’s grasslands and forests for millions of years, and the knock-on effects of their rapid extinction are still visible in the landscape today.
Whether birds resembling giant moa could one day reappear now depends on the progress of Colossal’s de-extinction program. One of the main obstacles is producing an egg large enough to hold an embryo comparable to that of a real moa. To tackle this challenge, the company is working on an artificial egg system, which successfully hatched its first chick earlier this year.
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