Frank Film: From fable to fact - the world's largest eagle was once thought a mythical creature

[Judi Lynn]

Frank Film
16:15, Jul 30 2021

It was a perfect but petrifying predator. A massive bird with a hooked beak, talons like tigers’ claws and a three-metre wingspan, plummeting down at speeds of up to 80kmh to attack its prey.

Europeans were originally sceptical of Māori stories and whakataukī (proverbs) that told of a giant eagle – the pouākai – attacking moa and carrying away small children.

Those doubts were dashed 150 years ago when Canterbury Museum taxidermist Frederick Fuller found a clutch of unusual bones among some moa remains in a swamp in north Canterbury.

He passed these findings – a leg bone, rib and a couple of claws – on to museum director Julius von Haast, who issued the first scientific description of the bird.

More:
https://www.stuff.co.nz/science/125921402/frank-film-from-fable-to-fact--the-worlds-largest-eagle-was-once-thought-a-mythical-creature

[Joinfortmill]

1. Wow

[littlemissmartypants]

2. Wow! Very interesting post! Thanks Judi Lynn! ❤