Extinct N. Z. eagle may have eaten humans

[Owlscrying]

BANGKOK – Sophisticated computer scans of fossils have helped solve a mystery over the nature of a giant, ancient raptor known as the Haast's eagle which became extinct about 500 years ago, researchers said Friday. The researchers say they have determined that the eagle — which lived in the mountains of New Zealand and weighed about 40 pounds (18 kilograms) — was a predator and not a mere scavenger as many thought.

Much larger than modern eagles, Haast's eagle would have swooped to prey on flightless birds — and possibly even the rare unlucky human.

Continued...

Source

[The One Who Is]

Oh... wow.

I want one.

[Abramelin]

Strange article... as far as I know the Haast eagle preyed on the Moas. Well, that's what the scienitists always told us, and nothing about them being scavengers.

Here's a nice video:

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Edited September 12, 2009 by Abramelin

[clare256]

Wow, talk about misleading headlines. No doubt the eagles were an effective warning to small children to stay close to their mothers, but to say they may have eaten humans is sensationalism. Any prey animal will attack the very young of another species.

[Samuronin]

I never heard that the Haast's eagle was thought to be a scavenger before!!!?? With their size, there is nothing they can't hunt in the environment they lived in...

[Gigmaster]

40 pounds? Whew! Talk about flippin da bird.......

[village_idiot]

Now that's one big bird....

[Teej]

40 pounds is pretty massive, but I don't know if that's enough to take out a human. Clare256 is also right that there are plenty of animals that have occasionally found ways to kill humans, even army ants, but to say they prey on us seems a bit dramatic.

Now a pack of 40-pound birds, that's bad news.