Haast’s eagle, a 40-pound bird that lived in New Zealand until 500 years ago, was a predator and not simply a scavenger, according to Ken Ashwell of the University of New South Wales in Australia and Paul Scofield of the Canterbury Museum — and Maori folklore:
Using computed axial tomography, or CAT, the researchers scanned several skulls, a pelvis and a beak in an effort to reconstruct the size of the bird’s brain, eyes, ears and spinal cord.They compared their data on the Haast’s eagle to characteristics of modern predator birds and scavenger birds to determine that the bird was a fearsome predator that ate the flightless moa birds and even humans.
The researchers also determined the eagle quickly evolved from a much smaller ancestor, with the body growing much more quickly than the brain. They believe its body grew 10 times bigger during the early to middle Pleistocene period, 700,000 to 1.8 million years ago.
“This work is a great example of how rapidly evolving medical techniques and equipment can be used to solve ancient medical mysteries,” Ashwell said.
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Scientists believe the Haast’s eagle became extinct about 500 years ago, most likely due to habitat destruction and the extinction of its prey species at the hands of early Polynesian settlers. Before the humans colonized New Zealand about 750 years ago, the largest inhabitants were birds like the Haast’s eagle and the moa.Scofield said the findings are similar to what he found in Maori folk tales. “The science supports Maori mythology of the legendary pouakai or hokioi, a huge bird that could swoop down on people in the mountains and was capable of killing a small child,” he said.