Around a thousand years ago, the Maoris colonised New Zealand, and this spelled the demise of it's top predator, Haast's eagle. These were the biggest eagles in the world, weighing up to 12 kgs, and with a wingspan averaging 4 metres. Bone deposits in Pyramid Valley show that it probably preyed on the giant flightless bird, the moa, probably beating them down in power dives. Professor Jared Diamond (science writer and author of The Rise and Fall of the Third Chimpanzee) speculates that the Maoris deliberately exterminated Haast's eagle, but for good reason. It could well have been that these huge eagles did not discriminate between huge, bipedal moas and human beings.

DNA fingerprinting will be used on an unfossilised skeleton (held at Otago Museum) by molecular geneticist, Dr. Scott Tebbutt (University of Otago). He hopes to ascertain whether it is more closely related to Australia's wedge-tailed eagle or to South American varieties.

Click hereto read about another animal that was thought to be more South American than Australian (till now), and that was also killed off by humans.....