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Maori Legend of Man-Eating Birds is True

Posted by samzenpus on from the beautiful-plumage dept.

jerryatrix writes "Legends of the New Zealand Maori tell of giant man-eating birds. New scientific evidence proves that these birds did exist and were around the same time as humans in New Zealand. From the article, 'Scientists now think the stories handed down by word of mouth and depicted in rock drawings refer to Haast's eagle, a raptor that became extinct just 500 years ago.'"

17 of 338 comments (clear)

  1. so... by brainstem · · Score: 5, Funny

    So it wasn't the dingo, after all.

    1. Re:so... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

      Of course not! Not any more -- did you see the size of those Dingo eating birds?

    2. Re:so... by Daimanta · · Score: 4, Funny

      "The actual news here is that they co-existed with the Maori"

      If by co-exist you mean EAT THEM, then yes, there was a lot of co-existence.

      --
      Knowledge is power. Knowledge shared is power lost.
    3. Re:so... by SlashWombat · · Score: 4, Funny

      Deadly spiders? New Zealand has no snakes and only one species of poisonous spider

      That's because the Maori's ate them all. Seriously, the bloody Maori's are the only native race to ever get a treaty from the vicious pommy bastard tribe!

    4. Re:so... by Hognoxious · · Score: 5, Funny

      ..: a top predator sharing territory with a sufficiently dense human population is doomed.

      What have Texans got to do with it?

      --
      Confucius say, "Find worm in apple - bad. Find half a worm - worse."
    5. Re:so... by EatHam · · Score: 4, Funny

      Thanks for ruining the joke, Captain Pedantic.

  2. And now you know why LOTR was made in New Zealand by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

    The eagles are coming! The eagles are coming!

    And you thought that was CG!

  3. Re:Glad these things are gone by Mr.+Roadkill · · Score: 5, Funny

    Some species of Terror Bird would chase down their prey and literally peck it to death. They had an interesting feature about these things on Discovery last night; with this story it just seemed appropriate to mention it.

    Polly wants a cracker. NOW. And a couple of llamas. And a six pack of assorted primates, starting with you.

  4. Cool, but can we clone it? by Plazmid · · Score: 4, Funny

    It became extinct fairly recently, why don't we clone it? Surely these things will make a great addition to the New Zealand Air Defense Force.

  5. Re:Still unanswered... by mindbrane · · Score: 4, Funny
    No lasers back then boy, then there was just good and evil. Real evil, the kind you could sell your soul to. God, demi gods, spirits, sprites, ghouls, and, of course, Old Nick himself. But, then came the great Schism.

    It started with just the most basic machines, toys really. They're were inspired by God because He'd taken it into His thought about His thought thinking about His thought that since He'd created the place, He was best seen as the Designer, an Intelligent Designer. The Devil argued God hadn't really designed anything at all, had just set things out then let things "Go to Hell", as the Devil put it. But God went on about Intelligent Design and how Man, in His image, should be an Intelligent Designer too. That's when it all started about the machines. The Devil can't stand infernal machines. It's his hearing, it's too acute. He has to be that way to hear even the slightest hint of malicious intent. He finally had enough and headed out with all the lesser spirits in attendance. The lesser spirits were spooked by the machines, called them unnatural.

    I was probably the last one to get a good deal on my soul. Soon after I cut my deal, the Devil just didn't make any more offers. His heart just wasn't in it anymore.

    God likes the way things have gone. His creations creating. Turning out machines intelligently designed, or nearly so. We haven't spoken in a while, but, when last we spoke He was big on the idea of the entire world as a giant Dyson sphere. I miss the old days when evil had some value.

    Regards

    A. Faustus

    it's past my bedtime, i'm over tired and am probably gonna be sorry i posted this, but what the hell.

    --
    ideopath @ play
  6. Yup.. by refactored · · Score: 5, Funny
    AC said.. Last I checked we only had man eating birds, and the odd man eating Maori.

    Yup,...it'd be a pretty Odd man that eats a Maori. Pretty tough buggers those. :-) A bit of a step up from Pit Bull I tell you!

    1. Re:Yup.. by rve · · Score: 5, Funny

      Yup,...it'd be a pretty Odd man that eats a Maori. Pretty tough buggers those.

      Tough? You're probably cooking them too fast. Have you tried preparing one sous-vide ?

  7. Re:Okay. . . by aussie_a · · Score: 4, Funny

    Pffft. We don't want New Zealand! Tasmanians are bad enough with all their in-breeding. If we allow the New Zealanders in we'll forever be associated with beastiality as well!

  8. Re:Still unanswered... by Thanshin · · Score: 5, Funny

    "After an unprecedented archeological effort, the last page of the original bible has finally been found. It contains just one sentence."

    it's past my bedtime, i'm over tired and am probably gonna be sorry i posted this, but what the hell.

  9. In Australia too! by clickety6 · · Score: 4, Funny

    Australia also has plenty of man-eating birds only there they call them Sheilas...

    --
    ----------------------------------- My Other Sig Is Hilarious -----------------------------------
  10. Re:Kind of a shame... by Clever7Devil · · Score: 4, Funny

    It would be cool if it was alive today...

    Yeah... That would roc!!

    --
    "By the time they had diminished from 50 to 8, the other dwarves began to suspect 'Hungry.'" -Gary Larson
  11. Re:no evidence of land animals? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

    Please refrain from using 'fuck' and 'sheep' in the same sentence when discussing NZ.