Jeremy Cooper, age 13, of Harrisburg, Penn., for his question:

WHEN DID THE LAST MOA LIVE?

Moa is any one of about 20 species of extinct birds that once lived in New Zealand. Moas existed until the 1600s, and one small kind may have survived until the mid 1800s.

Moas range in size from some which were about the size of large turkeys to some that were 10 feet tall.

Moas could not fly. They had small heads, long necks, stout legs and no wings. They ate green plants and roots.

The Maoris, Polynesians who settled in New Zealand about 600 years ago, hunted moas for food. Historians believe that they may have been responsible for wiping out the bird.

The moa was a bird that looked somewhat like an ostrich.