As if libraries weren't already great for their books, magazines, DVDs, free internet, weekly Justice of the Peace services, baby singalongs, toddler story times and English as a second language classes-my local library has upped the awesome bar by hosting this exhibit of Moa bones on loan from the Canterbury Museum.
Moa were giant emu-like birds that went extinct around 1440.
They were flightless, vegetarian and preyed upon by Haast's eagles and the early Polynesian settlers who probably still hold the record for eating "The World's Largest Drumstick."
Several of their skeletons were traded with other museums to help build up the Canterbury Museum's collection of cool old stuff.
It is my dream to one day uncover the most fantastically preserved specimen ever seen in New Zealand but for now I'm happy to look at these bones and marvel over the creatures they belonged to.
Every now and again, someone will claim to have spotted a Moa somewhere off in the South Island and it will drum up plenty of attention but no one has ever provided proof of these sightings.
One publican claimed to have seen one near Arthur's Pass in 1993. Today this statue stands as a testament to the sighting:
From the library exhibit:
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