New Zealand (ChattahBox) - A species of eagle that became
extinct just over 500 year ago may have eaten human, scientists
claim.
The Haast’s eagle, a giant raptor, has long since baffled
researchers, not only about it’s date of extinction, but the nature
of the eagle itself.
But Paul Scofield of the Canterbury Museum in New Zealand and Ken
Ashwell of the University of New South Wales in Australia have
collaborated on a study that has solved a few of those
mysteries.
The eagle apparently weighed around 40 pounds, and was very fast.
It would swoop down on other, smaller birds, and occasionally on
humans that were within it’s line of sight.
Despite many researchers believing for years that the Haast’s eagle
was a scavenger, this evidence suggests that it was actually a
fierce and effective predator.
Over the last century, there have been sightings of giant birds
all over America since 1890. The phenomenon is known as "The
Thunderbird Sightings" . The subject has been much researched and
books were written by researchers. Some have theorized that the
Thunderbird is a species of pterosaur, such as a pterodactyl, which
has survived the prehistoric age, while others suggest it could be
a type of condor or oversized vulture. In response to skeptics who
claim that a bird with a 15-foot (4.6 m) wingspan would be unable
to fly, researchers point out that the largest flying creature in
history, the Quetzalcoatlus northropi, had a wingspan of 25-60 feet
(7.6 - 18.3 m).
The widely proposed explaination of these thunderbirds seem to
be attributed to actual known fossil species such as pteratron or
the Haast’s eagle, which recently became extinct and had been
living in the areas where the sightings were reported.
The birds may have been possibly sighted in 1977 living alive
and well. In 1977, a man named John Huffer took a video film
of two large birds taking flight from a tree. To this day, it is
the best and only evidence of the Thunderbird's existence. The 100
roll video footage film left researchers and experts baffled.
Video Link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YNmV_bIqhLw
Although the sighting was mentioned by the Discovery Channel on
their show. Thunderbird sightings have continued into the new
millennium, including a 2002 sighting in Alaska where witnesses
claimed to have seen a large, flying creature with a wingspan of
roughly 14 feet (4.2 m). In 2004, a student in Southern California
also reported seeing an unusually large creature flying over a
suburban area which matched the Thunderbird’s description.
Interesting Sighting Details:
There have been thunderbird sightings from different countries
around the world, and southwestern states in the USA, but no place
comes close to the number of sightings as Pennsylvania, USA.
There have been reports of thunderbird sightings throughout
Pennsylvania, but most of the sightings come from areas known as
the Black Forest region which encompasses Clinton, Potter,
Lycoming, Tioga, Cameron, and McKean counties. These areas are
sparsely populated state forest and game lands.
