The loss of much of New Caledonia's native forests has caused the numbers of kagus to decline. |
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Standing knee-high to a human and weighing about two pounds, kagus have long fascinated ornithologists. |
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The forests of New Caledonia have been cleared for mining and agriculture, leaving only a few small valleys where the kagus can live. |
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It is believed than less than 1,000 kagus still live in New Caledonia, mostly in the South Province. |
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So the ancestral kagus gave up flying, keeping large wings for display purposes. |
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