Man-eating giant Haast's eagle legend backed by new study

September 11, 7:48 PMManchester Bird Watching ExaminerBrad Sylvester

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Haast's Eagle may have killed and ate humans. photo credit: Sergio Alexandro, CC-BY-2.0

In New Zealand, both the fossil record and Maori legend tell us of a giant raptor known as Haast’s eagle (Harpagomis moorei) that was once the largest predator in New Zealand. The giant Haast’s eagle, it is believed, attacked and killed the 300 pound moa, a flightless bird reminiscent of an ostrich or emu though much larger, as one of its main food sources. Both the Haast’s eagle and the moa are now extinct. The oral legends of the Maori people, however, recall the Haast’s eagle, called pouakia or kokioi in their language, as a flying beast of fearful hunting prowess, and, if they are to be believed, the giant Haast’s eagle may have been hunting and killing human beings around the same time as Columbus was discovering America.

• Slide show: Pictures of Haast's eagle and the giant moa

Legends say that Haast’s Eagle could and did kill and eat human beings. If it fed on 300 pound moas regularly, then perhaps this legend is not so far-fetched. Most adult humans, especially those with a handy weapon, would have been able to fend off the Haast’s eagle without too much difficulty, if they saw it coming, even though the Haast’s eagle was much bigger than even the biggest eagle of today. The forty pound giant Haast's eagle swooping down silently from behind and striking at the head and neck of an unaware human, however, would have been an extremely serious, if not fatal, blow.

As Maori legends relate, it is not hard to imagine that a determined raptor as big as the Haast’s eagle could kill a child of even medium size without too much difficulty. Paul Scofield and Ken Ashwell of the Canterbury Museum of New Zealand and the University of New South Wales, respectively, have recently completed a new study of the Haast’s eagle in which they used CAT scans to create visual representation of the nervous systems and sensory organs of Haast’s eagle and compared these to modern raptors in an attempt to learn more about its behavior.

Based on this new research, they concluded that the Haast’s eagle, the legendary pouakai of the Maori, probably perched high above its hunting grounds searching for prey before swooping down upon them for a killing blow. This matches the Maori legend of the Pouakai swooping down on people and lends some scientific validity to the ancient stories. The Haast’s eagle became extinct about 500 years ago, yet such is the power and longevity of the oral record among the Maori people that seemingly accurate accounts about the behaviors of Haast’s eagle have persisted through the centuries.

Imagine the power of a 40 pound raptor swooping down at speeds of up to 45 miles per hour (assuming a hunting flight speed similar to today’s eagles) and striking out at its prey with powerful, sharp claws, each of which could strike home like a three inch long dagger. Killing the 300 pound moa with a single strike to the head or neck, Haast’s eagle was almost certainly capable of killing  human children or even adults.

Haast’s eagle lived and hunted in New Zealand long before humans began colonizing the island about 750 years ago. It is believed that within a relatively short span of time, human hunting and habitat encroachment, including the burning of large areas of New Zealand’s forests, killed off the Haast’s eagle, which was by far the largest predator on the island of New Zealand while it lived. The Haast's eagle's range was sharply reduced almost as soon as the Maori arrived and it may have encountered humans only rarely during its last century.

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Sources:
Narena Olliver, “Pouakai, The Haast Eagle," New Zealand Birds Limited , Greytown, New Zealand. Retrieved from http://www.nzbirds.com/birds/haasteagle.html on September 10, 2009.

Scofield, R. P., and K. W. S. Ashwell. 2009. Rapid somatic expansion causes the brain to lag behind: the case of the brain and behavior of New Zealand’s Haast’s eagle (Harpagornis moorei). Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology, volume 29, No. 3 retrieved from http://www.newswise.com/articles/view/555948/?sc=swhr;xy=5048405 on September 10, 2009

Peter Nye, NY State Dept of Environmental Conservation, Bald Eagle FAQ retrieved from http://www.learner.org/jnorth/www/critters/eagle/826572782.html on September 10, 2009.

águila de haast