Report Writing Term Two

Haast Eagle

The Haast eagle was once the most feared predator in the land.  It had claws like tigers that it used to catch prey. It was the size of a hang glider.

It would sit in a tree, when it saw its prey; it would swoop down at 80 km per hour, crush the skull or hang on and fight it.

It lived in the south island only and was discovered in a swamp deposit by Sir Julius von Haast in 1870s.

Some Maori stories spoke of them carrying away their children and scientists found out that it was true.

The population was small, about 1000 breeding pairs. It was depicted in Maori rock paintings.

The Haast eagle was a giant bird at the top of the food chain.

BY Jack

The Haast Eagle

The Haast’s eagle was a very amazing (and a very scary) native New Zealand bird. It was the size of a hang glider and was the world’s biggest eagle.

The eagle had large tiger like talons which it used to hunt humongous creatures such as the N.Z native,200’g Giant Moa. Many of the New Zealand birds are camouflaged and nocturnal because they didn’t want to be the Haast Eagles’s main course.

He would swoop on his prey at 80km’s per hour, crush its skull and eat its dinner. Maori tales speak about innocent children being taken away by the legendary eagle. Well guess what? Scientists have proven this to be true!

The eagle only lived in the South Island of New Zealand.

Apparently it became extinct in the 1400’s however some people saw a large eagle in the 1900’s.

The eagle got his name from the explorer who found him; Sir Julius Von Haast. To see a real-life model of the eagle go to New Zealand’s national museum, Te Papa in Wellington.

The population wasn’t very big, around 1,000 breeding pairs.

It is so sad that this remarkable creature had to be taken away by the spirit of death.

By Hunter