Humans and rats arrive
Then, approximately 800 years ago, humans from Polynesia settled in New Zealand, hunting birds such as moa and huia as well as seals. They began to deplete some of the species around them (eventually bringing about the extinction of moa) while the establishment of the Polynesian rat, kiore (Ratus exulans), saw several native species facing extinction.
European sailing ships later brought with them the Norway rat and the terribly successful ship rat and began to clear vast tracts of land. A multitude of pests were introduced, the worst of all being stoats and possums.
Since human arrival, over 50 native species of bird, frog, reptile, bat, fish, invertebrate, and plant have become extinct, some as recently as the 1960s.