Making the Haast’s eagle: Behind the scenes of Te Taiao | Nature

Model maker Jake Yocum and curator vertebrates Alan Tennyson explain the science and process that went into recreating a full-size model of the huge extinct Haast’s eagle, pouākai. Now featuring in our new permanent exhibition, Te Taiao | Nature. www.tepapa.govt.nz/visit/exhi...

[@ThunderwingDS]

man it'd be quite scary going outside if these guys still existed

[@cryheart09]

It would be Cool

[@robertchavez8759]

And here we are afraid of a Virus right 😷😏

[@autismman6360]

@@robertchavez8759 the virus is global, the eagle isnt lol

[@the_screaming_cherry3678]

@@Tux00 actually they died because their main food source went extinct

[@TimmyDaSeagull]

Oh sorry there’s one out my window let me get my shotgun:D

[@jk22222sd]

1:16 When you see the immense size of this eagle next to him, you can’t help but be in awe at how this bird was around until around 600 years ago! I’ve seen people have eagles sit on their arm….that would have been impossible with the Haast Eagle! 🦅

[@kaz9781]

That thing lived alongside humans ? Wow thats terrifying

[@QuehvzLlanes30]

Bring it back to life.. 😊

[@claireisabelle8799]

Bring it back to life*

[@robertbriseno4322]

I wish Hollywood makes a movie about the haast eagle

[@RatelHBadger]

That would be amazing! Pete Jackson should get on that!

[@QuirkyShiny]

There's no way Tippi Hedren would've survived The Birds had there been Haast Eagles/Pouakai

[@ratuberry1917]

He did. Return of the king

[@aaronbarlow4376]

Birdemic director :)

[@ChordRunner]

Magnificent. I recently started reading about Haast Eagle. I'm an amateur, but I even made some phylogenetic tree based on cytochrome B sequences from GenBank. And searching for Maori legends about Pouakai and Hokioi... wow, you even have an online collection, cool!

[@livinglifeleona]

Sounds like passion to me. I hope you're able to keep building on this.

[@oneauditore750]

Please send me a PM, I love these eagles

[@dodoxasaurus6904]

Really Appreciate the work that went into the Accuracy of this Exhibit.

[@lavenderflowersfall280]

It looks beautiful. Beautiful chocolate feathers, cut to precision take flight through the forest, giant smoke black claws capable of cutting straight thru a Moa's neck, gleaming mahogany eyes that stared straight through the eye of the man that killed it with a long, gnarled spear through the heart...

[@dontwatch2666]

If you saw one it would claw your eyes out mate

[@lavenderflowersfall280]

@@dontwatch2666 but not before I speared it through the heart

[@bushmg1061]

They probably didn’t attack humans much. Plus, the problem with attacking humans is we live in big groups and we’re way smarter than some dumb Moa. The ancestors of the Māori were the first things on the island that had the capacity to fight a Haast’s eagle, but they wouldn’t have used spears. Blunt attacks such as rocks, clubs or even fists work better against the hollow bones birds have (hence modern hunters using buckshot).

[@Rosie574]

imagine walking outside and seeing this eagle outside

[@himalayan8315]

Pouakai, magnifique!

[@Lucasramirofoto]

Impressive work! Congratz for the awesome job!

[@phillvallace]

If only New Zealand got discovered 800 years later birds like things could have still been around :( damn humans

[@danger871_nz8]

Lol we killed its food source so they ddnt kill us

[@ThreenaddiesRexMegistus]

Beautiful work! I once read a scientist observing that getting hit by one of these was like having a crate of apples dropped from a 10 story building on you. Or words to that effect. They were apparently an ambush predator that liked to drop from high trees. The Maori were rightly afraid of them. There are raptors with similar wingspan such as the Andean Condor, but these had greater bulk. In Mongolia today the smaller Golden Eagles are still used to kill wolves, and in South America Harpy Eagles hunt primates, so these must have been very powerful predators. There is no way that these would have been allowed to coexist with human populations whose first priorities were of survival in a land largely devoid of food sources. Also, they didn’t have to lift their prey as they’d simply eat it where it fell. There were no other predators to compete with apart from other eagles, and then later humans.

[@gabrielg.2401]

thats incredible!

[@makukawakami]

amazing work. and if these birds still existed, im definitely packing something when i go out.

[@kingthorgrim1591]

makes golden eagle look like a small pigeon, hope technology can somehow bring this majestic bird back to life and successfully reintroduce it into the wild along with animals who belonged in the ecosystem before us humans killed them all...to hopefully undo part of the damage we have done to an otherwise beautiful world

[@reversenoobz1]

if they have some type of blood sample they could, which i really hope they do as well

[@reversenoobz1]

@Terry Jd You could contain them it's just letting into the wild would be a problem for the food chain. Also they might because humans killed these birds from taking their food

[@bushmg1061]

In some cases yeah, but the ecological impact of losing this particular bird was pretty minor. New Zealand lacked land-dwelling mammals, so birds took up roles mammals usually do. The Moa’s ecological niche was feeding on larger plants, something the introduced cattle in New Zealand do just fine. The role of the Haast Eagle was keeping the Moa population in check, and without Moa they’re obviously not needed.

[@scootergrant8683]

@@reversenoobz1 Well to re introduce a species is a difficult choice. What are the implications. It is probably best to leave it extinct as much as I would love to see one. The species doesn't have the same dense forest anymore with the moa. We are still yet to learn of it's interaction with its environment. But with birds come nests and this poor thing doesn't know how to make a nest. The biggest issue is the affect on the massive livestock farms in NZ. It would likely make a nuisance for farmers taking sheep and cattle instead of the extinct moa. Because they are so plentiful the population would likely boom. Although one eagle wouldn't need lots of sheep many eagles would cause a problem.

[@reversenoobz1]

@@scootergrant8683 Yeah you got a point😔

[@crazyhorse2995]

As a South Islander am proud even tho was about 600 yrs ago the biggest baddest eagle in world history ruled skies n forests at Haast. Wouldve been cool to see from a safe distance!!!

[@The_micro_bro]

This thing is awesome

[@tessat338]

Guys, a brown bird on a black background? Can we see more of it in better light?

[@MrZilla-tz8ws]

Cool

[@selwynmcdonald9062]

I'm from ngati kahu in nz ....my ancestors had these as pets...read into kohi kiko and wiremu pikaahu ...

[@allgood6760]

I first heard about giant Eagles on a marae I thought they were joking but they weren't they could pick up a small child!.. these giant birds make me feel like a Kiwi.. thanks mate👍🇳🇿

[@adrianmarquez8345]

Man, bring this thing back. Uugh. This thing is too amazing to not bring back. (Yes, i know it’s not possible, just daydreaming here)

[@Leon-bc8hm]

Makes me think of an Harpy Eagle those are still alive and we should keep it that way.

[@bicknell67]

That eagle was massive.

[@indyreno2933]

The Haast's Eagle (Harpagornis moorei) is an extinct eagle species that inhabited New Zealand, it was one of the largest eagles that ever lived, its closest known relative is the Mather's Eagle (Dynatoaetus gaffae) and the closest living relatives of both species are the Pygmy Eagle (Australotriorchis weiskei), the Little Eagle (Australotriorchis morphnoides), the Gurney's Eagle (Gigantotriorchis gurneyi), and the Wedge-Tailed Eagle (Gigantotriorchis audax), all these species are members of a unique tribe of true eagles known as Gigantotriorchidini, which is exclusively native to Oceania, this tribe was once more diverse containing many eagle species native to Oceania, many eagle species in the Gigantotriorchidini tribe have been known to take on large prey.

[@lostwansoul]

It's the droppings as we ply the streets to school or work that I would be more particular with had these been still around.

[@gloryshadow8710]

The eagle was wearing some big pants! 👍

[@_Human_Being_]

Where is the full video of this...plz show the specimen you made in detail

[@trumpisaconfirmedcuck5840]

I have no doubt it it would and did attack human children and possessed the ability to kill a human adult, but it would learn quickly not to attack us. We're smaller than MOA but we've got 4 usable limbs compared to the MOA's two and we can carry weapons too. Even big cats and bears generally leave humans alone despite the fact that they could easily kill a human adult. A lynx or bobcat probably even could and they sure as hell leave us alone.

[@danger871_nz8]

Pouakai says it all

[@randomvids5883]

Can you imagine doing falconry with that

[@beastmaster0934]

Random Vids You could hunt deer with one of those.

[@QuirkyShiny]

I feel like with a Haast Eagle the role would be reversed YOU'D be the one in a hood and the eagle would let you go occasionally to get some exercise and bring it back a treat.

[@arunshrivastwa3906]

I want it

[@camiloelementreptile]

Thunderbirds

[@hcdtrs9684]

Anyone know if the model statue are really based on the real life size of haast's eagle or just an estimated size ?

[@harislittle9241]

real-life because since it died out relatively recently many full skeletons have been found.

[@megaman9056]

size is accurate but the colours are off

[@aaronkinney9982]

Read somewhere it had a red feathered crest on top of its head and its wing feathers 🪶 were yellow-green

[@formosustroodon6613]

Which museum is that?

[@RatelHBadger]

Te Papa in Wellington

[@thepastavatars7939]

This thing weighed 15kg!

[@edbroaotearoa1198]

The true King and Queen of Aotearoa.

[@lijoe3025]

Condor have wingspan above 3m

[@dodoxasaurus6904]

they had really long legs tbh

[@Percy1800sDetective]

Actualy...that's fairly similiar to modern birds...check out a skeleton...

[@wccrispy]

I wonder if any stories had ever been passed down about these attacking people.

[@mitchells.madness]

When someone was taken by one they would offer an effigy to the bird. I wish I had a link, sorry mate

[@HeadshotDisorder]

"The Haast's eagle (Harpagornis moorei) is an extinct species of eagle that once lived in the South Island of New Zealand, commonly accepted to be the Pouakai of Maori legend. The species was the largest eagle known to have existed. Its primary prey was suspected to consist of moa. This 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). Haast's eagle became extinct around 1400, when its major food source, the moa, were hunted to extinction by Maori, and much of its dense-forest habitat was cleared by them."

[@tmob_leeroy550]

The was a skull with markings that were believed to be from human sacrifice. Later on forensics matched those marking with the haast eagle talons. It was a 6 year old child's skull.

[@benquadinaros5069]

Watching a video with Forrest galante (wildlife biologist) he said there were cases where they hunted and had taken kids

[@laur-unstagenameactuallyca1587]

they probably attacked babies and toddlers not full grown humans

[@ryanp5052]

It would be scary but sick having to fight ur way to work with Swords agains XL eagles

[@homosapien3132]

The overlap direction of the feathers (primary and secondary) is incorrect. They should overlap in the opposite direction. The way they overlap actually plays a huge role in the downward force the wings make against air. When birds flap their wings, the correct overlap allows the primary feathers to lock one another into a fan on the down stroke and then, on the up stroke, allow the feathers to separate laterally like the fins of a vent.

[@ghostoperationswithcheukgu9844]

you can tell the hasst last a considerable amount of MANA since the maori came

[@MCshadr217]

We can look at the animals today. All I'll say is this: Majority of animals today adapted to living with humans predation. Both the Moa and haast's Eagle were massive birds that would be considered extremely dangerous in this day and age, being only 300-400 years ago that they were still alive. They're now extinct. Because of humans.

[@danger871_nz8]

POUAKAI

[@livinglifeleona]

The original arcade claw game

[@alisterstewart8657]

How much did this model cost? lol i want one

[@fallenangel_899]

they aint gonna make a second one for you, unless you're gonna pay thousands of dollars

[@alisterstewart8657]

@@fallenangel_899 Thats not an answer lol

[@fallenangel_899]

Alister Stewart it actually is. It will cost thousands of dollars.

[@shifly6276]

when i clicked on this video i thought it was real

[@fallenangel_899]

used to be 100 years ago

[@gracehaven5459]

@@fallenangel_899 longer than that, more like 1000

[@risingmagpie9199]

@@gracehaven5459 More like 600 years ago

[@nicholaslienandjaja1815]

Fun fact: The Haast's eagle is featured in the video game Jurassic World Alive.

[@nicholaslienandjaja1815]

Also, there is a similar bird in prehistoric Argentina called Argentavis (although Argentavis was more like a condor or a vulture than an eagle). Some say that argentavis and its relatives could have been the inspiration for the Native American thunderbird.

[@avnertan5358]

These are called a haast eagle is also known as the harpagornis

[@jaisanatanrashtra7035]

Harpagornis a.k.a Haast Eagle

[@RatelHBadger]

It's changed now.

[@chaneldvinci]

You are correct... In maori... the tribe of tainui have a story of bringing or following a hokio/harpy/haast... from peru... it is still there... the harpy eagle... it's feathers on its head mirrors the way we wear feathers in our hair. And the way we wear cloaks.

[@chaneldvinci]

They were hokioi for the sound it made... same sound as the harpy... sounds like... Hokio oooo have a look

[@venomwise]

Looks like the evil prehistoric vultures from Ice age 2 the meltdown

[@hesgotamotor8288]

But I just watched a video stating the wingspan was 3 meters

[@r0xdab0x96xo]

That is correct. The measurement used was the average size. 2-3 meters in general

[@r0xdab0x96xo]

That is correct. The measurement used was the average size. 2-3 meters in general

[@Aqua.man045]

There have found some right at 10 feet. But 8.5-9.5 was the average wingspan.

[@razleelasiman7466]

I thought arhent was the largest birds

[@rockokortez7728]

Their extinction was a humans gun test. Turned it to a sport 🤙🏾

[@Mean_Jean]

2.6 meters is basically 8ft, that's the aize of eagles today.

[@deltonjackson3932]

hi

[@aaronmarshall6177]

My daughter done a haka to open this

[@danger871_nz8]

Who ever was in charge of making our national icon ddnt know jack shit about the legendary POUAKAI

[@tyer4308]

Man Haast eagle is exaggerated It's only a size of giant condor

[@woohyunkim6093]

King of all eagles isn’t it the Philippine Eagle?

[@kahanuermeyas-tulu4056]

Nope. In fact Haast’s Eagle and three other Extinct eagles dwarfed the Philippine Eagle quite obviously. Want to know the other three?: Suarez’s Giant Eagle (Gigantohierax suarezi), was second in size to Haast’s as the largest eagle that ever lived, followed by the slightly smaller Itche’s Eagle (Gigantohierax itchei) and the much smaller (still large!) Woodward’s Eagle (Buteogallus woodwardi). While Haast’s lived in the South Island of New Zealand, the other three lived in North America and Cuba.

[@QuirkyShiny]

It certainly wasn't king when there was a Haast Eagle around

[@kahanuermeyas-tulu4056]

@@QuirkyShiny Yup

[@mhdfrb9971]

@@kahanuermeyas-tulu4056 and Haast's eagle closest living relative today are the spotted harrier live in Australia

[@AutodidactEngineer]

Why don't they genetically modify a golden eafle to be as big as argentavis

[@MohdFaiz-ki3ol]

Allah pak haast eagle ko dobara duniya me paida Karde aameen summe aameen

[@alexthefox1175]

So let me get this straight you make clay as the legs and use modern day birds and a golden eagle to make the extinct species to make more attention to the museum?

[@dmoney0102]

Oh hell naw

[@user-hk4fk2rp8c]

I think that harpagornis was more colorful like other birds of prey that live in forests like the harpy eagle and the Phillipines eagle

[@chaneldvinci]

Correct... maori call haast eagle hokioi... after that sound it makes... sounds like Hokioooooi... the same as a harpy eagle... because they are one in the same.

[@kahanuermeyas-tulu4056]

@@chaneldvinci There not the same species dumb dumb.🤦🏾‍♂️👎🏾

[@stephan1330]

@@kahanuermeyas-tulu4056 but the haasts eagle descended from the harpy eagle so they are very similar.

[@kahanuermeyas-tulu4056]

@@stephan1330 No they didn’t dummest person I’ve ever seen. They shared a common ancestor with their closest relative the Little Eagle of Australia. Not the distantly related Harpy Eagle.🤦🏾‍♂️🙄👎🏾

[@stephan1330]

@@kahanuermeyas-tulu4056 sorry mr saltysaurus I meant the little eagle

[@RStevenPage]

Its kinda sad to think of all the interesting animals that were wiped out by humans.

[@deusgr]

It’s too small. Wingspan was 3m. Bs woke up

[@PUN15H3R_OG]

Its a shame what we humans have done.

[@alfredbaxter1061]

These eagle not real

[@taraishot100]

To think they were able to lift moa those things were huge

[@selwynmcdonald9062]

Why is it called the European name ...when maori live d with and named this kahu before European even knew anything about this

[@naomiscott7144]

It looks too small to lift an adult human.

[@beatrizcaranci8178]

I doubt that it could lift even a 100 lbs human female or teenager. However, if it could bring down a fligthless bird that was at least 35-50% heavier on average than an ostrich, it probably could bring down a human that didnt know a good technique to face its attack.

[@alisterstewart8657]

@@beatrizcaranci8178 there are much smaller eagles around now that people use for hunting deer, they just latch on to its neck and dont let go with those talons and beak if it was capable of killing a Moa its gonna get you as a human too, sure we have guns and clubs etc but from what I understand they were silent ambush fliers - go down the river get a drink etc or dare fall asleep you're 100% gone they're hearty enough to puncture your neck and rip out big chunks of flesh with each bite

[@QuirkyShiny]

Imagine you're out in NZ and a Haast Eagle drops on you at high speeds. A bald eagle can travel up to 160km/hr (99 miles) and a Haast absolutely dwarfed it. A Haast Eagle had massive talons and incredibly strong leg muscles, and a bill like a frigging scythe. There's every reason to believe that a Haast Eagle could kill an adult on impact and would straight up carry away kids if they saw a good opportunity. These things evolved to hunt fully grown South Island Moa - they reached up to 250kg (550 pounds). If you're out there and a Haast Eagle got you, you're dead, it doesn't need to carry you away in one piece, it could just rip you apart until it had eaten enough for the day and carry off the leftovers.

[@Alex-sm6pv]

@@beatrizcaranci8178 This eagle was mainly feeding on 200kg animal ( MoA ). It was perfect prey since it was defenseless to air attacks and had long neck, but still the sheer size of animal tells you the bird was ferocious and super powerfull.

[@livinglifeleona]

But strong enough to lift you in... well, pieces...

[@masoudghahremani7913]

Horrific

[@kahanuermeyas-tulu4056]

Why?

[@MaoriMan76]

Horrific? Nah bro it's bloody beautiful

[@jacksonmatia7440]

hi