Pouākai Explained

Pouākai
Folklore:Māori
Grouping:Birds of prey
Sub Grouping:Eagles
Country:New Zealand
Region:South Island

The Maori: '''pouākai''' (also spelled Maori: poukai) is a monstrous bird in Māori mythology.[1] [2]

Mythologies

In some of these legends, the Pouākai kills and eats humans. The myth may refer to the real but now extinct Haast's eagle: the largest known eagle species, which was able to kill an adult moa weighing up to, and which potentially had the capability to kill a human.[3]

History

Haast's eagles, which lived only in the east and northwest of New Zealand's South Island, did not become extinct until around two hundred years after the arrival of Māori. Eagles are depicted in early rock-shelter paintings in South Canterbury.[4] Large amounts of the eagle's lowland habitat had been destroyed by burning by AD 1350, and it was driven extinct by overhunting, both directly (Haast's eagle bones have been found in Māori archaeological sites) and indirectly: its main prey species, nine species of moa and other large birds such as adzebills, flightless ducks, and flightless geese, were hunted to extinction at the same time.[5]

See also

Notes and References

  1. News: Rodgers . Paul . Maori legend of man-eating bird is true . The Independent . 14 September 2009 . 14 September 2009 .
  2. Web site: 2021-07-30 . Pouākai - The world's largest eagle . 2023-12-13 . RNZ . en-nz.
  3. News: Casey. Michael . Extinct New Zealand eagle may have eaten humans. ABC News . Associated Press . 14 September 2009.
  4. Book: The Lost World of the Moa. Worthy. Trevor H. . Holdaway . Richard N. . Indiana University Press. 2002. 0-253-34034-9. Bloomington, IN. 333–334.
  5. Book: The Lost World of the Moa. Worthy. Trevor H. . Holdaway . Richard N. . Indiana University Press. 2002. 0-253-34034-9. Bloomington, IN.