3 products
Aotearoa New Zealand was once a land of birds. Even bats, our only native terrestrial mammals, fall under the same category (manu) as other flying creatures in te reo Māori (the Māori language). Before the arrival of humans around the 13th century there were no other terrestrial mammals here. With few ground-dwelling predators, many birds, such as the iconic kiwi, evolved to be flightless, and avian predators and prey of unimaginable proportions roamed the motu (country).
Bones of the Haast’s eagle were first discovered in 1871 and first described by Dr Julius von Haast of Canterbury Museum. Although bones have been found at dozens of sites in the South Island, only three complete skeletons have been found. There is evidence through prehistoric rock drawings that the eagles cohabitated with humans, who they were capable of killing.
Soon after Māori first arrived in Aotearoa, their reliance on food sources such as moa, New Zealand goose, New Zealand swan and large rails may have directly caused the Haast’s eagle’s extinction. The Haast’s eagle is believed to have become extinct around the 15th century. There is also evidence of them being killed by humans, as weapons have been found with their bones. Māori oral tradition recalls huge birds called pouakai and hokioi that may have been Haast’s eagles.