Animal of the Week January 03, 2005 -- Haast's eagle

Harpagornis moorei (Haast's eagle). The world's largest eagle, now extinct, lived in New Zealand, it would have preyed on moas. Attacking the two legged birds from above. When people arrived, the eagle likely preyed on them also. However, they didn't like that and it was likely the combination of people protecting themselves and wiping out the moas that did for these eagles. Funny thing is, genetic studies showed that their closest relative is one of the world's smallest eagles, which is native to Australia.