Researchers prove an indigenous legend of man eating Eagle to be factual.
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The indigenous Maori people of New Zealand have a legend of the Te Hokioi , a large black and white eagle-like predator with yellow and green tinged wing tips and a red crest. Until now it has remained just a legend, but modern scientific technology has now proven otherwise.
Remains of a large raptor called Haast’s eagle (Harpagornis moorei) were collected in the 1870s but at the time were concluded to just be the remains of a scavenger, like a vulture. However, using modern technology researchers at the Canterbury University in New Zealand have concluded that the Te Hokioi of legend is probably Hast’s eagle.
“Its talons were as big as a tiger’s claws, making it the ultimate “killing machine. They had the ability to not only strike with their talons but to close the talons and put them through quite solid objects such as a pelvis.”, said Paul Scofield, one of the researchers.
The researchers concluded that the eagle was New Zealand’s equivalent of the African lion. Based on evidence at fossil sites the eagle survived on a diet of the giant flightless bird called the Moa. The Moa also became extinct about the same time as Haast’s eagle, about 500 years ago, as a result of being used as a major food source by the Maori people who arrived in New Zealand approximately 500 years earlier.
It’s quite interesting how native indigenous legend sometimes proves to be a fact. Haast’s eagle must have been a formidable creature to encounter.
The full research is published in “The Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology” and is titled “Ancient DNA Tells Story of Giant Eagle Evolution.”
SOURCE: New Zealand Herald
About Danny Sheehan
Danny lives in Hong Kong but is originally from Australia. He is Married to Maggie and together they have two children with whom they enjoy sharing and enjoying an exciting life with daily. Danny's passions are freedom, adventure and discovery, mainly in nature and science but also spiritually. He is a great believer in living in the NOW.
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