Tahiti rail plantations. Its diet appears to have consisted mainly of insects and occasionally copra (coconut meat). The extinction of the Tahiti rail was probably due to predation by humans and introduced cats and rats. It appears to have become extinct some time after 1844 on Tahiti, and perhaps as late as the 1930s on Mehetia. The Tahiti rail was found on the South Pacific island of Tahiti (part of the Society Islands archipelago) by naturalists who were part of the British explorer James Cook's second voyage around the world (1772–1775). The bird was illustrated by Georg Forster, who accompanied his father,
Air Tahiti Nui Air Tahiti Nui Air Tahiti Nui is a French airline with its head office in Papeete, Tahiti, French Polynesia, France. It operates long-haul flights from its home base at Faa'a International Airport. Air Tahiti Nui was established on 31 October 1996 and commenced flight operations on 20 November 1998. It is the first international airline based in Papeete, Tahiti, formed to develop inbound tourism. The government of French Polynesia is the major shareholder (84.4%) along with other local investors. Currently, Air Tahiti Nui has 782 employees. In May 2015, Air Tahiti Nui announced its intention to replace its entire fleet,