Jurassic June: Haast’s Eagle

Name: Haast's Eagle

Named After: Julius von Haast, a German born explorer and geologist.

Haast's Eagle is a large, extinct species of eagle that soared the skies of prehistoric New Zealand during the Pleistocene Epoch and early Holocene. This bird of prey was about the size of an adult person, with a wingspan reaching 2-3 meters in length (approximately 6-9 feet). They also possessed a series of sharp talons that grew to 49 inches. These talons were used to strike and grapple large prey such as New Zealand's large species of flightless bird called the Moa.

While being the largest eagles to have flown, it was also the heaviest. Due to its weight it likely could not have flown great distances but more likely soaring from trees to cliff to other locations.

Of all the prehistoric animals I've written about for Jurassic June, this is one of the most recent animals to have gone extinct. They have survived up until 1400 CE (common era) as man has become the dominant species of New Zealand and their main food source, the Moa, had gone extinct around that time.

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