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Could a haast's eagle really kill an adult human?
Topic Started: Dec 21 2012, 10:15 AM (10,400 Views)
Canadianwildlife
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kingkazma
Jul 23 2014, 07:42 AM
Cept humans can dodge. I wouldn't stand still, I'd wait until it got close, then I'd sidejump and hope it crashes.
It wouldn't crash. They can twist and turn you know. These aren't some stupid flying turkeys with no brain you know. Dodging is the best alternative. I too would try to dodge as fighting back would be fatal. Zigzag or make extremely sharp turns. Standing your ground or running straight on will get you injured or even killed. The girl in the monsterquest episode made the mistake of running straight on. She didn't even try to dodge.
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theropod
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I think @blaze’s comparison shows very nicely what I mean when I say "eagles are disproportionately light". When the feathers are removed and the wings folded, what’s left looks rather tiny compared to the size the animal in life. Either way, look at the size of the talons and the head, quite impressive!

@kingkazma: Can’t all of eagle’s prey species dodge? I daresay rodents, cats and canids are all way better at doing that than a human is, and eagles can still catch them.
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Canadianwildlife
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theropod
Jul 24 2014, 02:53 AM
I think @blaze’s comparison shows very nicely what I mean when I say "eagles are disproportionately light". When the feathers are removed and the wings folded, what’s left looks rather tiny compared to the size the animal in life. Either way, look at the size of the talons and the head, quite impressive!

@kingkazma: Can’t all of eagle’s prey species dodge? I daresay rodents, cats and canids are all way better at doing that than a human is, and eagles can still catch them.
Yes, it is a very good comparison.
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blaze
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After looking at some eagle skeletons it looks like the Harpagornis one I used is not properly mounted, the shoulder girdle looks too low in the torso and the angle of the vertebral column coming from the pelvis shouldn't be below the horizontal.
Edited by blaze, Jul 24 2014, 04:26 AM.
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Black Ice
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No cause a human will drive a spear through it time they got close.

Capability wise yes, but capability wise a human can kill anything on this planet cause we'd build a gun.
Edited by Black Ice, Jul 24 2014, 05:48 AM.
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blaze
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I got the original description of Harpagornis, judging by the measurements the type specimen is just a slightly above average size, the circumference of the femur is 63.5mm, that's very robust, comparable with 40-50kg pumas, leopards and jaguars .... I'm going to assume this is normal, I don't know much about eagles.
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Black Ice
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blaze
Jul 24 2014, 06:12 AM
I got the original description of Harpagornis, judging by the measurements the type specimen is just a slightly above average size, the circumference of the femur is 63.5mm, that's very robust, comparable with 40-50kg pumas, leopards and jaguars .... I'm going to assume this is normal, I don't know much about eagles.
It should be, eagles and dromaeosaurs main weapons are their legs after all.
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Agentjaguar
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Also, where is the clear-cut evidence that this eagle hunted Moas? The Moa is far too large for a 30 pound something bird to tackle.
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kingkazma
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theropod
Jul 24 2014, 02:53 AM
I think @blaze’s comparison shows very nicely what I mean when I say "eagles are disproportionately light". When the feathers are removed and the wings folded, what’s left looks rather tiny compared to the size the animal in life. Either way, look at the size of the talons and the head, quite impressive!

@kingkazma: Can’t all of eagle’s prey species dodge? I daresay rodents, cats and canids are all way better at doing that than a human is, and eagles can still catch them.
Yes but we've got the intelligence to wait until it's extremely close. And the cats and canids eagles catch tend to be running and rather small. And rabbits have easily dodged eagles before.
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Canadianwildlife
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kingkazma
Jul 24 2014, 09:06 AM
theropod
Jul 24 2014, 02:53 AM
I think @blaze’s comparison shows very nicely what I mean when I say "eagles are disproportionately light". When the feathers are removed and the wings folded, what’s left looks rather tiny compared to the size the animal in life. Either way, look at the size of the talons and the head, quite impressive!

@kingkazma: Can’t all of eagle’s prey species dodge? I daresay rodents, cats and canids are all way better at doing that than a human is, and eagles can still catch them.
Yes but we've got the intelligence to wait until it's extremely close. And the cats and canids eagles catch tend to be running and rather small. And rabbits have easily dodged eagles before.
The point is that smaller animals are harder to catch, so its better that they were small. A haasta eagle swooping in at 45-60 mph would give a human little time to react, and considering its a forest eagle its used to dodging and swerving through thick forest at high speeds. Just standing there and trying to dodge would be really stupid. Now if you were running, dodging would be an option, but ziggzagging and making extremely sharp turns until you find cover would be best.
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kingkazma
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True. I'd try to find cover.
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Canadianwildlife
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Agentjaguar
Jul 24 2014, 08:52 AM
Also, where is the clear-cut evidence that this eagle hunted Moas? The Moa is far too large for a 30 pound something bird to tackle.
The clear cut evidence is the fact that moas were the only large animals to live in New Zealand, meaning the only thing the eagle would have left to prey on would be small flying birds which would be far too fast and nimble for such a big eagle to capture.

Other very large birds of course! Before human colonisation the New Zealand fauna was dominated by birds, many of them flightless and many of them very large - the largest of these being the giant Moa, the tallest birds ever to have existed. Evidence of talon marks on Moa skeletons confirm that they predated on these large birds - prey that weighed up to 200 kilograms!

They would also have preyed upon other flightless birds, particularly Aptornis, Weka, Takahe, flightless geese and ducks. But the most spine chilling thought is that they must also have preyed on humans – just imagine if this eagle still existed – it would have made a Sunday stroll in the bush a much more sobering experience!! http://www.wingspan.co.nz/extinct_birds_of_prey_new_zealand_haasts_eagle.html

Any bird that was flightless was preyed on.

Seriously though, many species of eagle especially the harpy, crowned, and Phill- eagle are more than capable of killing an adult human.

No evidence has been found that Haast’s Eagle preyed on humans, but researchers believe it was big and strong enough to do so. http://scitechdaily.com/haasts-eagle-was-big-strong-enough-to-prey-on-humans/
Edited by Canadianwildlife, Jul 24 2014, 09:56 AM.
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Of course a Hasst eagle will kill a human.
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maker
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Without ranged weapons, a haast's eagle can kill an adult human.
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Canadianwildlife
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A golden eagle once killed a human, and it wasn't by stealth. Golden's, crowned, and harpy eagles are easily capable of killing a human, all depends on where they hit or strike, and what they puncture.
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