Haast’s Eagle
Hieraaetus moorei
🦅💀
Chordata
Aves
Accipitriformes
Accipitres
Accipitridae
Hieraaetus
Hieraaetus moorei
Named for Julius von Haast, who identified the species; moorei honors early naturalist George Henry Moore.
The giant apex eagle of prehistoric New Zealand—largest eagle known, specialized to hunt moa.
Description
Haast’s eagle (Hieraaetus moorei) was the largest eagle to ever live, dominating the ecosystems of South Island New Zealand until its extinction roughly 500–600 years ago. Females reached 10–15 kg, with wingspans around 2.5–3.0 m, remarkably short for their mass. This compact wingspan was a woodland adaptation, trading soar-gliding for powerful acceleration through dense forest.
It possessed extremely robust legs, talons the size of a tiger’s claws, and a skull and beak proportionally massive compared to any living bird of prey today. Reconstructions suggest dive speeds similar to modern eagles, but with far greater striking force. Its primary prey were large moa—flightless birds weighing 50–200+ kg—which the eagle killed by ambush, using powerful talons to crush bone and soft tissue.
Quick Facts
Max Mass
Shoulder Height
Standing Height
Length
Diet
Trophic Level
18
1.4
kg
m
m
m
Hyper Carnivore
Specialist Predator
Hunt History
Haast’s eagle survived into the period of early Māori settlement. Its extinction corresponds tightly with moa extinction, driven by rapid overhunting and habitat clearing. Māori oral tradition likely preserves memories of this raptor as the pouākai or hokioi, described as a monstrous man-killing bird.
Examples:
• Māori midden sites (circa 1300–1500 CE) contain moa bones showing butchery, coinciding with the disappearance of Haast’s eagle remains.
• Fossil deposits at Glenmark Swamp (South Island) yielded the first major skeletal material Haast used to describe the species.
• Rock shelters and caves across Canterbury and Otago preserve eagle bones associated with moa-hunting ecosystems.
Time & Range
Extinction Status
Globally Extinct
Extinction Date
Temporal Range
Region
600
BP
Late Pleistocene
New Zealand South Island
Fat Analysis
Fatness Profile:
Fat %
Est. Renderable Fat
kg
Targeted Organs
Adipose Depots
Preferred Cuts
Hunt Difficulty (x/5)
5