The
Haast's eagle (
Harpagornis moorei) is an
extinct species of
eagle that once lived in the
South Island of
New Zealand, commonly accepted to be the
Pouakai of
Maori legend. The species was the largest eagle known to have existed. Its primary prey was suspected to consist of
moa. This eagle's massive size may have been an evolutionary response to the size of its prey, as both would have been much smaller when they first came to the island, and would have grown larger over time due to lack of competition (see
island gigantism). Haast's eagle became
extinct around 1400, when its major food source, the moa, were hunted to extinction by Maori, and much of its dense-forest habitat was cleared by them.