It weighs up to twenty pounds, with broad powerful wings that allow it to lift still-living adult howler monkeys through the air. What a horrific ride that must be. No wonder small monkeys fling themselves out of the trees and fall to the ground cowering when this nightmare flies near. The Harpy is the living spirit of the wildest, least disturbed lowland rainforests from Mexico south to Bolivia. But even in its prime habitat the Harpy never shows itself often enough to become familiar or ordinary.
Harpies retain their mystery.
They do not coexist with civilization. Rainforest colonists shoot Harpies on sight to protect their domestic animals, to take the feet as trophies, or just for target practice. Even in virgin areas there are never many of these birds, whose density might be as low as one nest every ten or fifteen miles. Each nesting pair produces only a single offspring every two years. With such a low density and low rate of reproduction, even the lightest hunting pressure quickly eliminates them from an area.