Destination Truth

Spirits of Easter Island / The Moa 3 Season 15 Episode

The closest human neighbors to the Rapa Nui of Easter Island are 1,200 miles away. Non-human neighbors? Those may be on the island itself. The Moai statues, one of Easter Island's trademark images, are said to be inhabited by the spirits of the dead island chiefs they represent. Many Rapa Nui report strange feelings, apparitions, even voices speaking the ancient tribal language while in the presence of Moai. On the South Island of New Zealand is said to live a creature straight out of the past. Could one of the largest flightless birds ever to have existed— a species said to have been hunted to extinction 500 years ago by the Maori— be making a comeback? Team Truth heads to the virtually uninhabited 5,000 square mile area of the South Island called the Fiordlands to investigate where recent sightings were reported, and moa bones as well as the remains of nests have been found.