Woodward's eagle (SciiFii)

The Woodward's eagle (Amplibuteo woodwardi), also known as the giant prairie eagle, is a species of eagle that originally lived in North America and the Caribbean during the Late Pleistocene and was once extinct, but has since been brought back from extinction by SciiFii and reintroduced throughout North America to help boost biodiversity. The Woodward's eagle is the largest of the North American eagles that evolved naturally, reaching total body lengths of 4-4.5 feet (49-55 inches) and wingspans of 9-11 feet from tip to tip. Though being of the same size and weight as the more robustly-built Haast’s eagle (Harpagornis moorei) of New Zealand, this North American species has proportionally longer wings for flight in wide open country. Despite the fact that it bares resemblence to and share a number of behavioral traits to the sympatric golden eagle (Aquilla chrysaetos), this eagles is actually quite more closely related to hawks than it is to most other species of eagle. Found in mainly in open habitats such as prairie, savannah, chaparral, semi-desert, and bush country, this species of eagle hunts small mammals and reptiles. They mainly prey on jackrabbits, dwarf pronghorns, prairie dogs, capybara pups, agoutis, snakes, and the calves of pronghorns such as prairie springers, pike-horned pronghorn, marsh prongs, and beardbuck. They occasionally take down full-grown prairie springer and fork-horn buck. In Mexico, the southernmost periphery of their range, they have been observed to prey on brocket deer. The lambs of prairie sheep and domestic sheep are fair game as well, as are the kids of prairie goats, canyon goats, mountain goats, and domestic goats. The fawns of white-tailed, mule, mountain, and Florida marsh deer have been known to be targeted by these massive eagles as well. They also prey on other birds such as prairie chickens, turkeys, geese, ducks, swans, flamingos, roadrunners, pelicans, and storks. They also frequent carrion sites and road kill. A particular species whose carrion these eagles will hardly allow themselves to stay away from is that of the widespread and numerous bison; studies of regional populations of Woodward's eagles have shown that for the eagle populations with access to bison, the flesh of dead bison can make up to one-fifth of all the flesh that they consume. Of course, they'll eat the carrion of other large mammals as well, such as camels, uintatheres, brontotheres, chalicotheres, spearbuck, horses, fork-oxen, elk, prairie-harts, peccaries, and mammoths. So while this eagle is mainly an active predator, it is also a scavenger that can often hold its own in the natural war zone of size-intimidation and actual fights to gain access to carcasses. These eagles are able to extract moisture from the food they eat, enabling them to survive droughts and inhabit arid climates. Like other eagles, Woodward's eagles mate for life. These eagles build their nests in large trees, on cliff ledges and tops, or in rarely disturbed areas of thick bush. The pair reuses the same nest every year, adding onto it, which in time can cause some nests to accumulate heights of 15 feet, widths of 11 feet, and weights of 3,000 pounds. A single egg is laid every year, and both parents take turns incubating. When the eaglet hatches, the parents will take turns hunting for the first few months so as to protect the vulnerable eaglet from other predators. The eaglet will eventually reach a large enough size that it can defend itself against intruders in the nest, at which point both parents will take to hunting simultaneously. When it reaches the age of 6 months, the eaglet begins to fly, and at the age of 8 months, it leaves the nest for good. The conservation status of the Woodward's eagle is Least Concern due to successful conservation efforts, the Woodward's eagle's wide natural range and its tolerance to most of human activities, including being able to adapt to life in the cities and suburbs.
Category:Animals
Category:Species
Category:SciiFii