Pouākai

The pouākai (also spelled poukai) is a fearsome bird from Māori mythology, often described as a monstrous predator.

In some traditional stories, the pouākai is said to attack and eat humans. These legends may be rooted in historical encounters with the now-extinct Haast’s eagle—the largest eagle species known to have existed. Haast’s eagle was powerful enough to kill adult moa, giant flightless birds weighing up to 230 kilograms (510 pounds), and may have even posed a threat to small children.

Haast’s eagle was found only in the eastern and northwestern regions of New Zealand’s South Island. It survived for around two centuries after the arrival of the Māori. Evidence of the eagle appears in early rock shelter paintings in South Canterbury.

By around AD 1350, much of the eagle’s lowland forest habitat had been destroyed through widespread burning. The species was eventually driven to extinction through both direct and indirect means. Māori hunters killed the eagles themselves—as indicated by eagle bones found in archaeological sites—and also hunted to extinction their primary prey, including all nine species of moa, as well as other large flightless birds like adzebills, ducks, and geese.