Haast's Eagle
Skull and restoration
Conservation status
Extinct  (1400) (IUCN 3.1)
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Aves
Order:	Accipitriformes
Family:	Accipitridae
Genus:	†Harpagornis
Species:	†H. moorei
Binomial name
Harpagornis moorei Haast, 1872

Haast's Eagle (Harpagornis moorei) was a species of massive eagle that once lived on the South Island of New Zealand. The species was the largest eagle known to have existed. Its prey consisted mainly of gigantic flightless birds that were unable to defend themselves from the striking force and speed of these eagles, which at times reached 80 km/h (50 mph). The Eagle's massive size may have been an evolutionary response to the size of its prey, as both would have been much smaller when they first came to the island, and would have grown larger over time due to lack of competition (see Island gigantism). The Haast's Eagle became extinct about 1400, when its major food sources, the moa, were hunted to extinction by Maori living on the island and much of its dense-forest habitat was cleared.

Classification[link]

Comparative morphology of Haast's Eagle with its closest living relative, the Little Eagle

DNA analysis has shown that this raptor is related most closely to the much smaller Little Eagle as well as the Booted Eagle (both of these two species were recently reclassified as belonging to the genus Aquila ^[1]) and not, as previously thought, to the large Wedge-tailed Eagle.^[2] Thus, Harpagornis moorei may be reclassified as Aquila moorei, pending confirmation. H. moorei may have diverged from these smaller eagles as recently as 700,000 to 1.8 million years ago. Its increase in weight by ten to fifteen times over that period is the greatest and quickest evolutionary increase in weight of any known vertebrate. This was made possible in part by the presence of large prey and the absence of competition from other large predators^{[citation needed]}.

Etymology[link]

Haast's Eagle was first classified by Julius von Haast in the 1870s,^[3] who named it Harpagornis moorei after George Henry Moore, the owner of the Glenmark Estate where bones of the bird had been found.

The genus name is a compound crassis word of the Greek word "harpax," meaning "grappling hook," and the Greek "ornis," meaning bird.

Size and habits[link]

Artist's rendition of a Haast's Eagle
attacking moa

Haast's Eagles were the largest known true raptors, slightly larger even than the largest living vultures. Female eagles are significantly larger than males. Females of the Haast species are believed to have weighed 10–15 kg (22–33 lb) and males 9–12 kg (20–26 lb). They had a relatively short wingspan, measuring roughly 2.6–3 m (8 ft 6 in–9 ft 10 in). This wingspan is similar to that of some extant eagles (the wingspan now reported in large specimens of Golden Eagles and Steller's Sea Eagles). Even the largest extant eagles, however, are about forty percent smaller in body size than the size of Haast's Eagles.

Short wings may have aided Haast's Eagles when hunting in the dense scrubland and forests of New Zealand. Haast's Eagle sometimes is portrayed incorrectly as having evolved toward flightlessness, but this is not so; rather it represents a departure from the mode of its ancestors' soaring flight, toward higher wing loading.^[4] Two of the largest extant eagles, the Harpy Eagle and the Philippine Eagle, also have similarly reduced relative wing-length in adaptation to forest-dwelling.

The strong legs and massive flight muscles of these eagles would have enabled the birds to take off with a jumping start from the ground, despite their great weight. The tail was almost certainly long, up to 50 cm (20 inches) in female specimens, and very broad. This characteristic would compensate for the reduction in wing area by providing additional lift.^[5] Total length is estimated to have been up to 1.4 m (4 ft 7 in) in females, with a standing height of approximately 90 cm (2 ft 11 in) tall or perhaps slightly greater.

Haast's Eagles preyed on large, flightless bird species, including the moa, which was up to fifteen times the weight of the eagle.^[5] It is estimated to have attacked at speeds up to 80 km/h (50 mph),^[6] often seizing its prey's pelvis with the talons of one foot and killing with a blow to the head or neck with the other.^{[citation needed]} Its size and weight indicate a bodily striking force equivalent to a cinder block falling from the top of an eight-story building.^[7] Its large beak also could be used to rip into the internal organs of its prey and death then would have been caused by blood loss.^{[citation needed]} In the absence of other large predators or scavengers, a Haast's Eagle easily could have monopolised a single large kill over a number of days.^[8]

Maori Legendry[link]

It is believed that these birds are described in many legends of the Māori, under the names Pouakai, Hokioi, or Hakawai.^[3] However, it has been ascertained that the "Hakawai" and "Hokioi" legends refer to the Coenocorypha snipe – in particular the extinct South Island subspecies.^[9] According to an account given to Sir George Grey, an early governor of New Zealand, Hokioi were huge black-and-white predators with a red crest and yellow-green tinged wingtips. In some Māori legends, Pouakai kill humans, which scientists believe could have been possible if the name relates to the eagle, given the massive size and strength of the bird.^[3]

Extinction[link]

A model on display at Te Papa of a Haast's Eagle attacking a moa with its large talons

Early human settlers in New Zealand (the Māori arrived around 1280) preyed heavily on large flightless birds, including all moa species, eventually hunting them to extinction. The loss of its natural prey caused the Haast's Eagle to become extinct as well around A.D. 1400,^[10] when the last of its natural food sources were depleted.

A noted explorer, Charles Edward Douglas, claims in his journals that he had an encounter with two raptors of immense size in Landsborough River valley (probably during the 1870s), and that he shot and ate them.^[11] These birds might have been a last remnant of the species, but some might argue that there had not been suitable prey for a population of Haast's Eagle to maintain itself for about five hundred years before that date,^{[citation needed]} and 19th century Māori lore was adamant that the pouakai was a bird not seen in living memory. Still, Douglas' observations on wildlife generally are trustworthy; a more probable explanation, given that the alleged three-metre wingspan described by Douglas is likely to have been a rough estimate, is that the birds were Eyles' Harriers. This was the largest known harrier (the size of a small eagle) — and a generalist predator — and although it also is assumed to have become extinct in prehistoric times, its dietary habits alone make it a more likely candidate for late survival.^{[original research?]}

Until recent human colonisation that introduced rodents and cats, the only mammals found on the islands of New Zealand were three species of bat, one of which recently has become extinct. Free from terrestrial mammalian competition and predatory threat, birds occupied or dominated all major niches in the New Zealand animal ecology because there were no threats to their eggs and chicks by small terrestrial animals. Moa were grazers, functionally similar to deer or cattle in other habitats, and Haast's Eagles were the hunters who filled the same niche as top-niche mammalian predators, such as tigers or lions.

In art[link]

Artwork depicting Haast's Eagle now may be viewed at OceanaGold's Heritage & Art Park at Macraes, Otago, New Zealand. The sculpture, weighing approximately 750 kg (1,700 lb; 118 st), standing 7.5 metres (25 ft) tall, and depicted with a wingspan of 11.5 metres (38 ft) is constructed from stainless steel tube and sheet and was designed and constructed by Mark Hill, a sculptor from Arrowtown, New Zealand.^[12]

See also[link]

Paleontology portal

• Island gigantism
• Late Quaternary prehistoric birds

References[link]

External links[link]

Wikispecies has information related to: Harpagornis moorei

• Martinson, Paul (2006). "Haast's Eagle. Harpagornis moorei". Wellington: Te Papa Press. http://collections.tepapa.govt.nz/objectdetails.aspx?oid=710939&coltype=art&regno=2006-0010-1/%2037. "Artwork produced for the book Extinct Birds of New Zealand by Alan Tennyson" 
• "Haast Eagle". New Zealand Birds Limited. http://www.nzbirds.com/birds/haasteagle.html. 
• "New Zealand Eagle". NZ Conservation Trust. http://www.nzconservationtrust.org.nz/nzspecies-details.asp?id=33. "Charles Douglas' reputed sighting" 
• "Harpagornis Moorei". Te Papa Tongarewa: Museum of New Zealand. http://collections.tepapa.govt.nz/objectdetails.aspx?oid=364178. 

This article does not cite any references or sources. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (March 2012)

Monsters We Met is a documentary produced by the BBC and later aired on Animal Planet in 2004 (under the title, Land of Lost Monsters). The show used computer-generated imagery to recreate the life of the giant animals that lived during the last ice age and explains how early humans encountered them. It also features humans as the main reason to the extinction of all great animals. It was narrated by Ian Holm.

Episodes[link]

Episode 1: Eternal Frontier (America, 11,000 years ago)[link]

• Woolly Mammoth (Mammuthus Primigenius)
• American Lion (Panthera leo Atrox) (live-acted by a female African Lion)
• Homotherium (Scimitar-tooth Cat)
• Smilodon (Saber-tooth Cat)
• Eremotherium (Giant Ground Sloth)
• Camelops (Giant Camel) (live-acted by a Dromedary Camel)
• Arctodus (Short-Faced Bear)
• American mastodon (Mammut Americanum)
• Steppe Bison (live-acted by a American Bison)
• Hagerman Horse (live-acted by a Przewalski's Horse and Grevy's Zebra)
• Dire Wolf (Canis Dirus) (live acted by a Grey Wolf)
• Horse (live-acted by a Donkey)
• Andean Condor (live-acted)
• Grizzly Bear (live-acted/only in Animal Planet broadcast)
• Caribou (live-acted)
• Saiga (live-acted)
• California Condor (live-acted)
• Dall Sheep (live-acted)
• Snow Leopard (live-acted)
• Crow (live-acted)
• Wolverine (live-acted)

It starts with mammoths living during the Ice Age. It also shows how humans became top predators and started hunting mammoths. We also had to compete with other predators like the Short-faced Bear and the Saber-toothed cats. We destroyed them by depleting their food supply, and making them starve to death.

Episode 2: The Burning (Australia, 65,000 years ago)[link]

• Genyornis
• Diprotodon
• Megalania
• Quinkana (identified/live-acted by a Saltwater Crocodile)
• Red Kangaroo (live-acted)
• Emu (live-acted)
• Perentie (live-acted)
• Chlamydosaurus (live-acted)
• Black cockatoo (live-acted)
• Brown snake (Pseudonaja) (live-acted)
• Green ants (live-acted)

It starts by showing how humans migrated to Australia. We also hunted the native wildlife. We encountered the huge birds and the giant lizard, megalania. The reptiles kill two humans and they plan on burning the fields to kill the giant lizard. We then start to colonize other people.

Episode 3: The End Of Eden (New Zealand, AD 1280)[link]

• Giant Moa
• Haast's eagle (live-acted by a Harpy Eagle)
• Bottlenose Dolphin (live-acted)
• Sperm Whale (live-acted)
• New Zealand Sea Lion (live-acted)
• Seagull (live-acted)
• Red-tailed Black Cockatoo (live-acted)
• Snares Penguin (live-acted)
• Weta (live-acted)
• Brown Kiwi (live-acted)
• Tuatara (live-acted)
• Polynesian Rat (live-acted)
• Dog (live-acted)
• Woolly Mammoth (stock footage)
• Arctodus (stock footage)
• Smilodon (stock footage)
• Homotherium (stock footage)
• Diprotodon (stock footage)
• Megalania (stock footage)
• Genyornis (stock footage)
• Eremotherium (stock footage)
• Dinofelis (stock footage)
• Australopithecus (stock footage)
• Glyptotherium (stock footage)
• American Mastodon (stock footage)
• Columbian Mammoth (stock footage)
• American Lion (stock footage)
• Jaguar (stock footage)
• Sumatran Rhino (live-acted)
• Rat (live-acted)

It starts with humans populating New Zealand. We encounter the giant moa. We start to see it was harmless. We then discover Haast's eagle, which hunts moas and starts to target us. We then start to steal the moa's giant eggs and go after the adults for food. We then realize we brought a huge amount of animals to extinction. The program ends with us in space and starts to ask the question that if we can't live with these monsters, are we not monsters ourselves.

See also[link]

• Paleoworld
• Dinosaur Planet (TV series)
• When Dinosaurs Roamed America

Monsters We Met is part of a series of BBC documentaries that also include:

• Walking with Dinosaurs (1999)
• Walking with Beasts (2001), depicting life after the dinosaurs
• Walking with Cavemen (2003)
• Walking with Monsters (2005), depicting life before the dinosaurs

The following are Walking With... series specials:

• The Ballad of Big Al (2000)
• Chased By Dinosaurs (2002)
• Sea Monsters (2003)

The following are similar programs, produced by the BBC:

• "Wild New World" (2002)

External links[link]

• BBC official website
• Animal Planets Official website

This article relating to United Kingdom television is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. v t e