Nyrath Posted September 15, 2009 Report Share Posted September 15, 2009 sort of off-topic http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10597177 In New Zealand, the Maori had an outlandish legend about a huge man-eating bird. Nonsense, right? Only it turns out to be true. There was a huge carnivorous bird called Haast's eagle, which became extinct a mere 500 years ago. Reminds one about the episode of Jonny Quest where he encounters the last surviving pterodactyl. What if Haast's eagle is only mostly extinct instead of totally extinct? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BobGreenwade Posted September 15, 2009 Report Share Posted September 15, 2009 Re: Maori legend of man-eating bird is true Coolness! Are you seeing this, Steve? I want this in the new Bestiary!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EvilDrPuma Posted September 15, 2009 Report Share Posted September 15, 2009 Re: Maori legend of man-eating bird is true A three-meter wingspan and tiger claw-sized talons? Holy crap, no wonder they're still telling stories about this thing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lord Liaden Posted September 15, 2009 Report Share Posted September 15, 2009 Re: Maori legend of man-eating bird is true Of course it's not as impressive as the Argentavis, or "Giant Teratorn." But that monstrosity went extinct millions of years before mankind showed up. Humans actually had to deal with Haast's eagle, surprisingly recently. BTW check out the Argentavis reconstruction Attached below: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lord Liaden Posted September 15, 2009 Report Share Posted September 15, 2009 Re: Maori legend of man-eating bird is true Interestingly, the article on Haast's eagle also notes that New Zealand as an isolated land mass evolved giant birds to fill the niches that mammals did elsewhere in the world. That's just what happened in South America before the land bridge with North America formed, resulting in the likes of Argentavis and the Phorusrhacos. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kristopher Posted September 15, 2009 Report Share Posted September 15, 2009 Re: Maori legend of man-eating bird is true Odd how a little thing like the Panama land bridge can change the whole world. Not only did it give large predatory mammals access to South America over time, it also might have lead to the transformation of the Sahara into desert. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nyrath Posted September 15, 2009 Author Report Share Posted September 15, 2009 Re: Maori legend of man-eating bird is true A three-meter wingspan and tiger claw-sized talons? Holy crap' date=' no wonder they're still telling stories about this thing.[/quote'] Capable of diving at 80 miles per hour, able to fly off with small children, yeah that's pretty scary. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nyrath Posted September 15, 2009 Author Report Share Posted September 15, 2009 Re: Maori legend of man-eating bird is true Then there is the cryptozoologic "Thunderbird." The weird thing is that lots of people seem to remember seeing an old photo of it in some book or magazine, but the photo does not seem to exist. It is like the photo was "edited from the Matrix". http://forgetomori.com/2008/skepticism/the-brazilian-lost-thunderbird-false-fortean-memories/ http://www.weird-encyclopedia.com/thunderbird.php http://www.prairieghosts.com/tbirdaz.html http://www.haxan.com/portfolio/freakylinks/WWWFRE~1.COM/FREAKO~1/TAILS_~1/THUNDE~1.HTM http://www.cryptomundo.com/cryptozoo-news/lost-t-bd-photo/ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thunderbird_%28cryptozoology%29 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
austenandrews Posted September 15, 2009 Report Share Posted September 15, 2009 Re: Maori legend of man-eating bird is true I suppose someone should post an obligatory Azhdarchidae link. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kristopher Posted September 16, 2009 Report Share Posted September 16, 2009 Re: Maori legend of man-eating bird is true Or this one. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lucius Posted September 16, 2009 Report Share Posted September 16, 2009 Re: Maori legend of man-eating bird is true Have you crossposted this to Pulp Hero? If not - why not?? Lucius Alexander is it big enough to carry a palindromedary? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve Long Posted September 16, 2009 Report Share Posted September 16, 2009 Re: Maori legend of man-eating bird is true Are you seeing this, Steve? I've known about Haast's eagle for years -- as the article points out, it was discovered in 1870. I read about it years ago, in one of my cryptozoology books IIRC. Fascinating creature! But I don't see any particular need to add it to the HSB; just take the Eagle character sheet, apply a Size Template, and you're set to go. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nyrath Posted September 16, 2009 Author Report Share Posted September 16, 2009 Re: Maori legend of man-eating bird is true Have you crossposted this to Pulp Hero? If not - why not?? I thought we were not allowed to cross post. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Manic Typist Posted September 16, 2009 Report Share Posted September 16, 2009 Re: Maori legend of man-eating bird is true I thought we were not allowed to cross post. No, you're not supposed to cross STREAMS. Except when you're fighting the Big Bad, of course. (Or is it beams, in the movie?) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BobGreenwade Posted September 16, 2009 Report Share Posted September 16, 2009 Re: Maori legend of man-eating bird is true I've known about Haast's eagle for years -- as the article points out' date=' it was discovered in 1870. I read about it years ago, in one of my cryptozoology books IIRC. Fascinating creature! But I don't see any particular need to add it to the HSB; just take the Eagle character sheet, apply a Size Template, and you're set to go. [/quote']Well, that much should be good for a one-sentence mention as an Option, anyway (which was my real intent). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
phookz Posted September 18, 2009 Report Share Posted September 18, 2009 Re: Maori legend of man-eating bird is true Legend of man eating bird? Men eat birds all the time; what's the big deal? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lord Liaden Posted September 18, 2009 Report Share Posted September 18, 2009 Re: Maori legend of man-eating bird is true Amazing how much difference a hyphen makes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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