The harpy eagle (Harpia harpyja) is a bird of prey so large and powerful that there is no other winged predator to compete with it in the world’s tropical forests. How big is it? Enough for some people to believe that this is a person dressed up as a bird.
As reported by the Bored Panda site, the bird’s wingspan can reach 2.2 meters in length. However, the weight and height of the harpy are disproportionate to the length of their wings, as the maximum weight they reach is 9 kilograms and their height does not exceed one meter.
Of course, a bird of these dimensions is not content with small rodents and rabbits. In fact, the harpy eagle usually hunts much larger prey than other birds of prey such as snakes, lizards, coatis, sloths, porcupines, and even monkeys.
These impressive animals usually spend their lives in the canopy of tropical trees. Due to the widespread destruction of their habitat, they have virtually disappeared in Central America. The harpy eagle is the national bird of Panama and the only species of its genus.
Some estimates suggest that the number of harpy eagles worldwide amounts to less than 50,000, which is truly tragic for a once so majestic and rare.
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