eagle bait part two
on a very educational cave tour last weekend, we found the bones of the giant moa, and we learned about its enemy, the haast's eagle. the moa could reach 12-13 feet in height and was not only a flightless bird--it was also a wingless bird. and the eagle was the largest eagle that ever lived--evidenced by the fact that it used to hunt and eat the gigantic moa. when humans came to new zealand, they hunted the moa, depriving the eagle of one of its favorite foods. and the eagle, well, he really had no choice but to start eating humans. (our guide told us that the maori described the eagle as more demon than bird.) and so it seems our dear national bird has quite the checkered family history. . .
posted by della on
Thursday, March 29, 2007
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