Amongst the fiesta flags, floating fruits and looming cranes, are six troubled species who have been plucked out of existence. The one commonality that ties these frightened animals together, is the simple fact that they all became extinct shortly after being discovered by mankind.
Featured are the likes of Haast’s eagle, the largest eagle ever to have existed. With a wingspan of over three metres it’s commonly acknowledged to have been the very real Pouakai of Maori legend. As well as the elusive Tasmanian tiger, an apex marsupial predator and example of convergent evolution, with many of its physiological features mirroring those of the canine family.
Collectively these species held billions of years worth of unique evolutionary heritage, all of which was erased in a mere matter of decades following over-exploitation by our own species.