Harpy eagle

The harpy eagle (Harpia harpyja) is a large neotropical species of eagle. It is also called the American harpy eagle to distinguish it from the Papuan eagle, which is sometimes known as the New Guinea harpy eagle or Papuan harpy eagle.<ref name="TingayKatzner2011">Template:Cite book</ref> It is the largest bird of prey throughout its range,<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> and among the largest extant species of eagles in the world. It usually inhabits tropical lowland rainforests in the upper (emergent) canopy layer. Destruction of its natural habitat has caused it to vanish from many parts of its former range, and it is nearly extirpated from much of Central America. It is the only member of the genus Harpia, which, together with Harpyopsis, Macheiramphus and Morphnus, forms the subfamily Harpiinae.

Taxonomy

The harpy eagle was first described by Carl Linnaeus in his landmark 1758 10th edition of Systema Naturae as Vultur harpyja,<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> after the mythological beast harpy. It is now the only species placed in the genus Harpia that was introduced in 1816 by the French ornithologist Louis Pierre Vieillot.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref><ref>Template:Cite book</ref> The harpy eagle is most closely related to the crested eagle (Morphnus guianensis), the Papuan eagle (Harpyopsis novaeguineae) and the bat hawk (Macheiramphus alcinus), the four composing the subfamily Harpiinae within the large family Accipitridae. Previously thought to be closely related, the Philippine eagle has been shown by DNA analysis to belong elsewhere in the raptor family, as it is related to the Circaetinae.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>

The specific name harpyja and the word "harpy" in the common name both come from Ancient Greek harpyia (Template:Wikt-lang). They refer to the harpies of Ancient Greek mythology. These were wind spirits who flew the dead to Hades or Tartarus, purported to have the lower body and talons of a raptor and the head of a woman, standing anywhere from the height of a tall child to as high as a grown man; some depictions have the creatures possessing an eagle-like body with the exposed breasts of an elderly female human, a giant wingspan and the head of a grotesque, sharp-toothed, mutant eagle—something more akin to a goblin with wings.<ref name="Piper2007">Template:Cite book</ref>

Description

The upperside of the harpy eagle is covered with slate-black feathers, and the underside is mostly white, except for the feathered tarsi, which are striped black. A broad black band across the upper breast separates the gray head from the white belly. The head is pale grey, and is crowned with a double crest. The upperside of the tail is black with three gray bands, while the underside of it is black with three white bands. The irises are gray or brown or red, the cere and bill are black or blackish and the tarsi and toes are yellow. The plumage of males and females is identical. The tarsus is up to Template:Cvt long.<ref name=RaptorsWorld>Template:Cite book</ref><ref name="Howell">Template:Cite book</ref>

Female harpy eagles typically weigh Template:Cvt.<ref name=":0">Template:Cite web</ref><ref name="Miranda" /><ref name=RaptorsWorld/><ref name=HBW>Thiollay, J. M. (1994). Harpy Eagle (Harpia harpyja). p. 191 in: del Hoy, J, A. Elliott, & J. Sargatal, eds. (1994). Handbook of the Birds of the World. Vol. 2. New World Vultures to Guineafowl. Lynx Edicions, Barcelona; Template:ISBN</ref> One source states that adult females can weigh up to Template:Cvt.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> An exceptionally large captive female, "Jezebel", weighed Template:Cvt.<ref name= Wood>Template:Cite book</ref> Being captive, however, this large female may not be representative of the weight possible in wild harpy eagles due to differences in the food availability.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref><ref>Template:Cite book</ref> The male, in comparison, is much smaller and may range in weight from Template:Cvt.<ref name=":0" /><ref name=RaptorsWorld/><ref name=HBW/><ref name= Miranda>Template:Cite journal</ref> The average weight of adult males has been reported as Template:Cvt against an average of Template:Cvt for adult females, a 35% or higher difference in mean body mass.<ref name= Miranda/><ref name= Whitacre>Template:Cite book</ref><ref name= CRC>Template:Cite book</ref> Harpy eagles may measure from Template:Cvt in total length<ref name="Howell"/><ref name=HBW/> and have a wingspan of Template:Cvt.<ref name=RaptorsWorld/><ref name="Howell"/> Among the standard measurements, the wing chord measures Template:Cvt, the tail measures Template:Cvt, the tarsus is Template:Cvt long, and the exposed culmen from the cere (the beak) is Template:Cvt.<ref name= RaptorsWorld/><ref>Template:Usurped, Gbgm-umc.org. Retrieved 2012-08-21.</ref><ref>Smithsonian miscellaneous collections (1862). Archive.org. Retrieved on 2013-03-09.</ref> Mean talon size is Template:Cvt in males, and Template:Cvt in females.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>

It is sometimes cited as the largest eagle alongside the Philippine eagle, which is somewhat longer on average (between sexes averaging Template:Cvt) but weighs slightly less, and the Steller's sea eagle, which is perhaps slightly heavier on average (mean of three unsexed birds was Template:Cvt).<ref name="Piper2007"/><ref name= CRC/><ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>

The harpy eagle may be the largest bird species to reside in Central America, though large water birds such as American white pelicans (Pelecanus erythrorhynchos) and jabirus (Jabiru mycteria) have scarcely lower mean body masses.<ref name= CRC/> The wingspan of the harpy eagle is relatively small, though the wings are quite broad, an adaptation that increases maneuverability in forested habitats and is shared by other raptors in similar habitats. The wingspan of the harpy eagle is surpassed by several large eagles that live in more open habitats, such as those in the Haliaeetus and Aquila genera.<ref name=RaptorsWorld/> The extinct Haast's eagle was significantly larger than all extant eagles, including the harpy.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

This species is largely silent away from the nest. There, the adults give a penetrating, weak, melancholy scream, with the incubating males' call described as "whispy screaming or wailing".<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The females' calls while incubating are similar, but are lower-pitched. While approaching the nest with food, the male calls out "rapid chirps, goose-like calls, and occasional sharp screams". Vocalization in both parents decreases as the nestlings age, while the nestlings become more vocal. The nestlings call chi-chi-chi...chi-chi-chi-chi, seemingly in alarm in response to rain or direct sunlight. When humans approach the nest, the nestlings have been described as uttering croaks, quacks, and whistles.<ref name=Rettig1978>Template:Cite journal</ref>

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  A skull exhibited at the Museum für Naturkunde, Berlin
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  Harpy eagle with wings raised in attack posture
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  Harpy eagle in flight

Distribution and habitat

Relatively rare and elusive throughout its range, the harpy eagle is found from southern Mexico (incl. Chiapas, Oaxaca and the Yucatán states) and south through Central America, into South America to as far south as Argentina. They can still be seen by tourists and locals in Costa Rica and Panama. As their preferred habitat is rainforest, they nest and hunt predominantly in the emergent layer. The eagle is most common in Brazil, where it is found across the entire country.<ref name="terra">Template:Cite web</ref> With the exception of some areas of the aforementioned Panama and Costa Rica, the species is nearly extinct in Central America, likely due to the logging industry's decimation of much of the Meso-American rainforests. Their habitat is expected to decline further due to climate change.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> The harpy eagle prefers tropical, lowland rainforests and may also choose to nest within such areas from the canopy to the emergent vegetation. They typically occur below an elevation of Template:Cvt, but have been recorded at elevations up to Template:Cvt.<ref name=IUCN/> Within the forests, they hunt in the canopy or, rarely, on the ground, and perch on emergent trees to scout for prey. They do not generally occur in disturbed areas, avoiding humans whenever possible, but regularly visit semi-open forest and pasture mosaic, in hunting forays.<ref name="Remote">Template:Cite journal</ref> Harpies, however, can be found flying over forest borders in a variety of habitats, such as cerrados, caatingas, buriti palm stands, cultivated fields, and cities.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> They have recently been found in areas where high-grade forestry is practiced.

Behavior

Feeding

Feeding on small prey

A stuffed specimen of a harpy eagle preying on a macaw at the Museum für Naturkunde, Berlin

Full grown harpy eagles are at the top of a food chain.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> They possess the largest talons of any living eagle and have been recorded as carrying prey weighing up to roughly half of their own body weight.<ref name=RaptorsWorld/> This allows them to snatch from tree branches live sloths and other large prey items. Most commonly, harpy eagles use perch hunting, in which they scan for prey activity while briefly perched between short flights from tree to tree.<ref name="RaptorsWorld" /> Upon spotting prey, the eagle quickly dives and grabs it. Sometimes, harpy eagles are "sit-and-wait" predators (common in forest-dwelling raptors), perching for long periods on a high point near an opening, a river, or a salt lick, where many mammals go to attain nutrients.<ref name="RaptorsWorld" /> On occasion, they may also hunt by flying within or above the canopy. They have also been observed tail-chasing: pursuing another bird in flight, rapidly dodging among trees and branches, a predation style common to hawks (genus Accipiter) that hunt birds.<ref name="RaptorsWorld" />

A recent literature review and research using camera traps list a total of 116 prey species.<ref name="Everton">Template:Cite journal</ref><ref name="Miranda1">Template:Cite journal</ref> Its main prey are tree-dwelling mammals, and a majority of the diet has been shown to focus on sloths.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Research conducted by Aguiar-Silva between 2003 and 2005 in a nesting site in Parintins, Amazonas, Brazil, collected remains from prey offered to the nestling by its parents. The researchers found that 79% of the harpy's prey was accounted for by sloths from two species: 39% brown-throated sloth (Bradypus variegatus), and 40% Linnaeus's two-toed sloth (Choloepus didactylus).<ref name="Aguiar-Silva"/> Similar research in Panama, where two captive-bred subadults were released, found that 52% of the male's captures and 54% of the female's were of two sloth species: brown-throated sloth and Hoffmann's two-toed sloth (Choloepus hoffmanni).<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> Harpy eagles are capable of hunting all size of sloths, including full-grown adult two-toed sloths weighing up to Template:Cvt.<ref name=Rettig1978/>

Along with sloths, monkeys, such as the tufted capuchin (Cebus appella), are one of the main prey of the harpy eagle<ref>Template:Cite Q</ref>

Another major prey of harpy eagles is monkeys. At several nests in Guyana, monkeys made up about 37% of the prey remains found at the nests.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> Similarly, cebid monkeys made up 35% of the remains found at 10 nests in Amazonian Ecuador.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> Monkeys regularly taken include capuchin monkeys, saki monkeys, howler monkeys, titi monkeys, squirrel monkeys, and spider monkeys. Smaller monkeys, such as tamarins and marmosets, are, however, seemingly ignored as prey by this species. Template:Why<ref name=RaptorsWorld/> Small monkeys typically weighing between Template:Cvt, such as Wedge-capped capuchin (Cebus olivaceus), tufted capuchin (Sapajus apella), and white-faced saki (Pithecia pithecia) are the most frequently taken.<ref name="Everton"/><ref name = 'Ford'>Template:Cite journal</ref> Larger howler monkeys are also taken, mainly Colombian red howler (Alouatta seniculus), but also Guyanan red howler (Alouatta macconnelli) and mantled howler (Alouatta palliata).<ref name="Everton"/> These monkeys typically weigh between Template:Cvt and female harpy eagles can prey on all ages and sexes, while male harpy eagles tend to focus on juveniles.<ref name= Miranda/><ref>Template:Cite book</ref><ref>Template:Cite journal</ref><ref>Template:Cite journal</ref><ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> In one study, breeding harpy eagles hunted Yucatán black howler (Alouatta pigra), the largest howler monkey which can weigh between Template:Cvt, although the ages of the monkeys taken by these eagles are unknown.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref><ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> Nevertheless, adults of other large monkeys can be taken by female harpy eagles, including woolly monkey (Lagothrix cana) and Peruvian spider monkey (Ateles chamek), and red-faced spider monkey (Ateles paniscus) which can weigh around Template:Cvt and possibly exceeding Template:Cvt in large males.<ref name="Everton"/><ref name="Miranda1"/><ref name="Alvarez">Template:Cite thesis</ref><ref name = 'Ford'/><ref name = 'Emmons'>Template:Cite book</ref>

Other partially arboreal and even land mammals are also preyed on given the opportunity. In the Pantanal, a pair of nesting eagles preyed largely on the porcupine (Coendou prehensilis) and the agouti (Dasyprocta azarae).<ref name="avesderapinabrasil"/> Both species of tamanduas (Tamandua mexicana & T. tetradactyla) are taken and armadillos, especially nine-banded armadillo (Dasypus novemcinctus) are also taken,<ref name="Everton"/><ref name="Miranda1"/> as well as carnivores such as kinkajous (Potos flavus), coatis (Nasua nasua & N. narcia), tayras (Eira barbara), and occasionally margays (Leopardus wiedii) and crab-eating foxes (Cerdocyon thous).<ref name=RaptorsWorld/><ref name="Everton"/> In one instant, an adult greater grison (Galictis vittata) was killed and partly consumed by subadult female harpy eagle.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> Those carnivoran prey species usually weigh around Template:Cvt,<ref>Template:Cite book</ref><ref name = 'Emmons'/> but there is a report that harpy eagles prey on possibly larger carnivores such as ocelot (Leopardus pardalis) and adult crab-eating raccoon respectively.<ref name="Alvarez"/><ref name="Miranda" /> Other mammals, such as young peccaries, deer fawns, squirrels and opossums are additionally taken.<ref name="RaptorsWorld" />

The eagle may also attack bird species such as macaws: At the Parintins research site, the red-and-green macaw (Ara chloropterus) made up for 0.4% of the prey base, with other birds amounting to 4.6%.<ref name="Aguiar-Silva">Template:Cite journal</ref><ref>Template:Cite thesis</ref> Other parrots have also been preyed on, as well as cracids such as curassows and other birds like seriemas.<ref name=RaptorsWorld/> In one occasion, dependent juvenile male eagle quickly learned how to hunt black vultures (Coragyps atratus) and accounted for 9 of our 10 records of harpy predation on vultures.<ref name="Miranda1"/> Additional prey items reported include reptiles such as iguanas, tegus, snakes, and amphisbaenids.<ref name=RaptorsWorld/><ref name=HBW/> In Suriname, green iguanas (Iguana iguana) can be important prey source, and predation on yellow-footed tortoise (Chelonoidis denticulata) have been recorded twice.<ref name="Everton"/>

The eagle has been recorded as taking domestic livestock, including chickens, lambs, goats, and young pigs, but this is extremely rare under normal circumstances.<ref name=RaptorsWorld/> They control the population of mesopredators such as capuchin monkeys, which prey extensively on bird's eggs and which (if not naturally controlled) may cause local extinctions of sensitive species.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Males usually take relatively smaller prey, with a typical range of Template:Cvt or about half their own weight.<ref name="RaptorsWorld" /> The larger females take larger prey, with a minimum recorded prey weight of around Template:Cvt. Adult female harpies regularly grab large male howler or spider monkeys or mature sloths weighing Template:Cvt in flight and fly off without landing, an enormous feat of strength.<ref name="RaptorsWorld" /><ref name="sandiegozoo.org">Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Prey items taken to the nest by the parents are normally medium-sized, having been recorded from Template:Cvt.<ref name="RaptorsWorld" /> The prey brought to the nest by males averaged Template:Cvt, while the prey brought to the nest by females averaged Template:Cvt.<ref name="Rettig1978" /> In another study, floaters (i.e. birds not engaging in breeding at that time) were found to take larger prey, averaging Template:Cvt, than those that were nesting, for which prey averaged Template:Cvt, with prey species estimated to weigh a mean of Template:Cvt (for common opossum) to Template:Cvt (for adult crab-eating raccoon).<ref name="Miranda" /> Overall, harpy eagle prey weigh between Template:Cvt, with the mean prey size equalling Template:Cvt <ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>

Breeding

In ideal habitats, nests would be fairly close together. In some parts of Panama and Guyana, active nests were located Template:Cvt away from one another, while they are within Template:Cvt of each other in Venezuela. In Peru, the average distance between nests was Template:Cvt and the average area occupied by each breeding pairs was estimated at Template:Cvt. In less ideal areas, with fragmented forest, breeding territories were estimated at Template:Cvt.<ref name=HBW/> The female harpy eagle lays two white eggs in a large stick nest, which commonly measures Template:Cvt deep and Template:Cvt across and may be used over several years. Nests are located high up in a tree, usually in the main fork, at Template:Cvt, depending on the stature of the local trees. The harpy often builds its nest in the crown of the kapok tree, one of the tallest trees in South America. In many South American cultures, cutting down the kapok tree is considered bad luck, which may help safeguard the habitat of this stately eagle.<ref>Piper, Ross (2007), Extraordinary Animals: An Encyclopedia of Curious and Unusual Animals, Greenwood Press.</ref> The bird also uses other huge trees on which to build its nest, such as the Brazil nut tree.<ref name="Hughes2009">Template:Cite book</ref> A nesting site found in the Brazilian Pantanal was built on a cambará tree (Vochysia divergens).<ref>Harpia (gavião-real) Template:Webarchive. Avesderapinabrasil.com. Retrieved on 2012-08-21.</ref>

No display is known between pairs of eagles, and they are believed to mate for life. A pair of harpy eagles usually only raises one chick every 2–3 years. After the first chick hatches, the second egg is ignored and normally fails to hatch unless the first egg perishes. The egg is incubated around 56 days. When the chick is 36 days old, it can stand and walk awkwardly. The chick fledges at the age of 6 months, but the parents continue to feed it for another 6 to 10 months. The male captures much of the food for the incubating female and later the eaglet, but also takes an incubating shift while the female forages and also brings prey back to the nest. Breeding maturity is not reached until birds are 4 to 6 years of age.<ref name=RaptorsWorld/><ref name=Rettig1978/><ref name="Remote"/> Adults can be aggressive toward humans who disturb the nesting site or appear to be a threat to their young.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

Status and conservation

Subadult in Belize Zoo

Although the harpy eagle still occurs over a considerable range, its distribution and populations have dwindled considerably. It is threatened primarily by habitat loss due to the expansion of logging, cattle ranching, agriculture, and prospecting. Secondarily, it is threatened by being hunted as an actual threat to livestock and/or a supposed one to human life, due to its great size.<ref>Talia Salanotti, researcher for the Brazilian National Institute of Amazonian Research, cf. O Globo, May the 13th. 2009; abridgement available at Maior águia das Américas, gavião-real sofre com destruição das florestas Template:Webarchive; on the random killing of harpies in frontier regions, see Cristiano Trapé Trinca, Stephen F. Ferrari and Alexander C. Lees Curiosity killed the bird: arbitrary hunting of Harpy Eagles Harpia harpyja on an agricultural frontier in southern Brazilian Amazonia Template:Webarchive. Cotinga 30 (2008): 12–15</ref> Although the harpy eagle is not actually known to prey on humans and only rarely on domestic stock, a scientifically documented case of this species attacking an adult woman has been reported,<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> and its large size and nearly fearless behaviour around humans reportedly making it an "irresistible target" for hunters.<ref name=HBW/> Such threats apply throughout its range, in large parts of which the bird has become a transient sight only; in Brazil, it was all but wiped out from the Atlantic rainforest and is only found in appreciable numbers in the most remote parts of the Amazon basin; a Brazilian journalistic account of the mid-1990s already complained that at the time it was only found in significant numbers in Brazilian territory on the northern side of the Equator.<ref>"Senhora dos ares", Globo Rural, Template:ISSN, 11:129, July 1996, pp. 40 and 42</ref> Scientific 1990s records, however, suggest that the harpy Atlantic Forest population may be migratory.<ref>Alluvion of the Lower Schwalm near Borken Template:Webarchive. Birdlife.org. Retrieved on 2012-08-21.</ref> Subsequent research in Brazil has established that, as of 2009, the harpy eagle, outside the Brazilian Amazon, is critically endangered in Espírito Santo,<ref>Where an adult male was observed in August 2005 at the preserve kept by mining corporation Vale do Rio Doce at Linhares: cf. Template:Cite journal</ref> São Paulo and Paraná, endangered in Rio de Janeiro, and probably extirpated in Rio Grande do Sul (where a recent (March 2015) record was set for the Parque Estadual do Turvo) and Minas Gerais<ref>Nevertheless, in 2006, an adult female – probably during migration – was seen and photographed at the vicinity of Tapira, in the Minas Gerais cerrado: cf. Template:Cite journal</ref> – the actual size of their total population in Brazil is unknown.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>

Globally, the harpy eagle is considered vulnerable by IUCN<ref name=IUCN/> and threatened with extinction by CITES (appendix I). The Peregrine Fund until recently considered it a "conservation-dependent species", meaning it depends on a dedicated effort for captive breeding and release to the wild, as well as habitat protection, to prevent it from reaching endangered status, but now has accepted the near threatened status. The harpy eagle is considered critically endangered in Mexico and Central America, where it has been extirpated in most of its former range; in Mexico, it used to be found as far north as Veracruz, but today probably occurs only in Chiapas in the Selva Zoque. It is considered as near threatened or vulnerable in most of the South American portion of its range; at the southern extreme of its range, in Argentina, it is found only in the Parana Valley forests at the province of Misiones.<ref>The Misiones Green Corridor Template:Webarchive. Redyaguarete.org.ar. Retrieved on 2012-08-21.</ref><ref>For a map of the species historical and current range, see Fig. 1 in Template:Cite journal</ref> It has disappeared from El Salvador, and almost so from Costa Rica.<ref name="Weidensaul">Template:Cite book</ref>

National initiatives

Adult at São Paulo Zoo, Brazil

Various initiatives for restoration of the species are in place in various countries. Since 2002, the Peregrine Fund initiated a conservation and research program for the harpy eagle in the Darién Province.<ref>Harpy Eagle Harpia harpyja Template:Webarchive. Globalraptors.org. Retrieved on 2012-08-21.</ref> A similar—and grander, given the dimensions of the countries involved—research project is occurring in Brazil, at the National Institute of Amazonian Research, through which 45 known nesting locations (updated to 62, only three outside the Amazonian basin and all three inactive) are being monitored by researchers and volunteers from local communities. A harpy eagle chick has been fitted with a radio transmitter that allows it to be tracked for more than three years via a satellite signal sent to the Brazilian National Institute for Space Research.<ref>Projecto Gavião-real Template:Webarchive INPA; Globo Rural, 25:288, page 62</ref> Also, a photographic recording of a nest site in the Carajás National Forest was made for the Brazilian edition of National Geographic Magazine.<ref>Rosa, João Marcos (2011-06-22). Template:Usurped. abril.com.br</ref>

In Panama, the Peregrine Fund carried out a captive-breeding and release project that released a total of 49 birds in Panama and Belize.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> The Peregrine Fund has also carried out a research and conservation project on this species since the year 2000, making it the longest-running study on harpy eagles.<ref name=":0" /><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

In Belize, the Belize Harpy Eagle Restoration Project began in 2003 with the collaboration of Sharon Matola, founder and director of the Belize Zoo and the Peregrine Fund. The goal of this project was the re-establishment of the harpy eagle within Belize. The population of the eagle declined as a result of forest fragmentation, shooting, and nest destruction, resulting in near extirpation of the species. Captive-bred harpy eagles were released in the Rio Bravo Conservation and Management Area in Belize, chosen for its quality forest habitat and linkages with Guatemala and Mexico. Habitat linkage with Guatemala and Mexico were important for conservation of quality habitat and the harpy eagle on a regional level. As of November 2009, 14 harpy eagles have been released and are monitored by the Peregrine Fund, through satellite telemetry.<ref>Template:Usurped. belizezoo.org</ref>

In January 2009, a chick from the all-but-extirpated population in the Brazilian state of Paraná was hatched in captivity at the preserve kept in the vicinity of the Itaipu Dam by the Brazilian/Paraguayan state-owned company Itaipu Binacional.<ref>G1 > Brasil – NOTÍCIAS – Ave rara no Brasil nasce no Refúgio Biológico de Itaipu Template:Webarchive. G1.globo.com. Retrieved on 2012-08-21.</ref> In September 2009, an adult female, after being kept captive for 12 years in a private reservation, was fitted with a radio transmitter before being restored to the wild in the vicinity of the Pau Brasil National Park (formerly Monte Pascoal NP), in the state of Bahia.<ref>Revista Globo Rural, 24:287, September 2009, 20</ref>

In December 2009, a 15th harpy eagle was released into the Rio Bravo Conservation and Management Area in Belize. The release was set to tie in with the United Nations Climate Change Conference 2009, in Copenhagen. The 15th eagle, nicknamed "Hope" by the Peregrine officials in Panama, was the "poster child" for forest conservation in Belize, a developing country, and the importance of these activities in relation to climate change. The event received coverage from Belize's major media entities, and was supported and attended by the U.S. Ambassador to Belize, Vinai Thummalapally, and British High Commissioner to Belize, Pat Ashworth.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

In Colombia, as of 2007, an adult male and a subadult female confiscated from wildlife trafficking were restored to the wild and monitored in Paramillo National Park in Córdoba, and another couple was being kept in captivity at a research center for breeding and eventual release.<ref>Márquez C., Gast-Harders F., Vanegas V. H., Bechard M. (2006). Harpia harpyja (L., 1758) Template:Webarchive. siac.net.co</ref> A monitoring effort with the help of volunteers from local Native American communities is also being made in Ecuador, including the joint sponsorship of various Spanish universities<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>—this effort being similar to another one going on since 1996 in Peru, centred around a native community in the Tambopata Province, Madre de Dios Region.<ref>Piana, Renzo P. "The Harpy Eagle (Harpia harpyja) in the Infierno Native Community" Template:Webarchive. inkaways.com</ref> Another monitoring project, begun in 1992, was operating as of 2005 in the state of Bolívar, Venezuela.<ref>Template:In lang Template:Usurped. Ecoportal.net (2005-12-15). Retrieved on 2012-08-21.</ref>

In human culture

Depiction of harpy eagles in Maya codices according to the 1910 book, Animal figures in the Maya codices by Alfred Tozzer and Glover Morrill Allen<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>

The harpy eagle is the national bird of Panama and is depicted on the coat of arms of Panama.<ref name="Goldish2007">Template:Cite book</ref> The 15th harpy eagle released in Belize, named "Hope", was dubbed "Ambassador for Climate Change", in light of the United Nations Climate Change Conference 2009.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

The bird appeared on the reverse side of the Venezuelan Bs.F 2,000 note.

The harpy eagle was the inspiration behind the design of Fawkes the Phoenix in the Harry Potter film series.<ref name="Lederer2007">Template:Cite book</ref> A live harpy eagle was used to portray the now-extinct Haast's eagle in BBC's Monsters We Met.<ref name="bbc">Template:Cite web</ref>

Indigenous cultures

In Aztec religion the harpy eagle was sacred to Quetzalcoatl.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Template:Clear

External links

• Harpy eagle Facts and Pictures on AnimalSpot.net
• Harpy eagle videos, photos & sounds on the Internet Bird Collection
• Harpy eagle information and photo; Template:Webarchive
• The Peregrine Fund-Harpy Eagle