The animals we have mistakenly thought of as evil

From mythical island birds to nocturnal beasts – and even rabbits – humans have told many a tall tale about the evil animals in our midst

In the mythology of New Zealand’s Maori people, night-time is associated with many terrors. One of those is the bone-chilling call of the Hakawai, a huge mythical bird with startling red, black and white feathers.

Although it is rarely seen, simply hearing it is bad enough – the sound alone has been thought by many to be a bad omen. Not long ago, if a Maori caught that dreadful sound, “hakwai, hakwai, hakwai,” quickly followed by a distinctive rushing noise, the hairs on the back of his neck might have stood up straight – and he would have run for his life.
Throughout human history, people have associated all kinds of animals, some real, some mythical, with evil. And there are still many examples of this today.
When ornithologist Colin Miskelly first heard the call of the Hakawai in the mid-1980s while doing fieldwork on New Zealand’s Chatham Islands, the hairs on the back of his neck stood up too. But he didn’t bolt for it. Miskelly was on a hunt for the Hakawai with a tape recorder in hand. His plan was to capture the sound of the bird and play it to local Maoris to see if they recognised it.
There were many accounts of muttonbirders dropping their birds 
Miskelly had been told that people in the area who went muttonbirding – harvesting the chicks of seabirds – had long been familiar with the terrible night-time shriek of the Hakawai.
“There were many accounts of muttonbirders dropping their birds, the dead birds they had been harvesting, and running back to their huts because they were so scared,” he recalls.
Whether his recordings sounded like the Hakawai divided opinion among the locals. That may be because Miskelly had not captured the vocalisations of a mythical beast on his tape recorder, rather, the sounds were made by a much less blood-curdling species, the Chatham Island snipe, which is just 20cm long.
The “Hakawai noise” can be heard when the snipe performs a nocturnal aerial display of two parts: a series of undulating vocalisations and then an extraordinary rushing sound that almost defies description.
The Hakawai is not the only ominous bird that appears in Maori legends 
“Some people called it the chain bird, they’d liken it to the anchor chain being lowered into the hull of a boat,” explains Miskelly. “Others described it as a jet plane flying overhead.”
He realised that signs of unusual wear to the snipes’ tail feathers revealed how such a humble bird could make such an unusual sound. The birds were diving through the air at high speeds, Miskelly hypothesised, causing their tail feathers to vibrate excessively. Over time, that wore them down.
Not only did Miskelly’s investigations offer a possible explanation for old Maori stories about a dreadful bird of the night, his insights improved people’s understanding of the Chatham Island snipe itself.
“At the time in the 1980s, you could actually read texts saying the New Zealand birds do not have an aerial display, almost as the opening sentence about what defines New Zealand snipe,” he says. “But research has shown, yes they do, it’s just they happen to do it in the middle of the night.”
The Hakawai is not the only ominous bird that appears in Maori legends. Another mythical bird, called the Poukai, is said to eat humans.
Folklore about such horrors could presumably serve to keep people watchful and safe 
It is not entirely clear where these stories come from. Some have wondered whether Maori tales about such creatures ultimately stem from the time of the Haast’s eagle – the largest eagle ever to have lived. It became extinct around 1400 but some think it was large enough to attack and eat people.
We should perhaps be thankful these stories exist. Folklore about such horrors could presumably serve to keep people watchful and safe.
On the other hand, animals associated with the night have long been targets of suspicion and hatred in many cultures.
Take the owl in medieval England, it was often characterised in a very negative light. References to this are dotted throughout poetry of the era. In a poem called The Owl and the Nightingale for instance, the nightingale opens her argument against the owl by listing attributes like her sharp beak and shrieking howl. “You fly by night,” accuses the nightingale, “you show that you’re an evil creature.”
Medieval literature and art is full of animal symbolism, says Brigitte Resl of the University of Hull. Nocturnal animals were inherently strange to people in those times.
“In pre-modern periods, nights were something much more scary than they became later on when they could be lit,” she explains. “In those periods, the night was just dark.”
Our negative ideas about animals might simply be projections of our own vices 
Humans found it hard to explain how animals could navigate in such conditions. We now know that this is because of the high number of rod cells in their eyes. The pigment in these cells is very sensitive to low light and is produced at a steady rate at night, allowing these animals to see.
Other attributes could also earn innocent animals a bad reputation, such as the toad. Its sexual activity during mating season may have been frowned upon during the very religious Middle-Ages, Resl suggests: “I haven’t found anything positive about toads.”
Sometimes, then, our negative ideas about animals might simply be projections of our own vices.
Fortunately, these perceptions can change with time. Owls have also long been associated with wisdom. Negative prejudices about them today are much less common.
Evil animals tend to be associated with behaviours and attributes that humans can find difficult to explain 
Margo Demello, an author and animal rights activist, has another surprising example of previously disliked animals – the rabbit and hare. It is hard to think of species that we consider more innocuous than these fluffy creatures, but in 18th Century Sweden, there was a belief that witches might transform themselves into hares, which would suck the milk from their neighbours’ cows, draining them dry.
“It seems extraordinary and ridiculous, but there are actual court cases where women were tried and convicted on the spectral testimony of their neighbours,” says Demello.
It is not always obvious why such myths develop, but there are clear themes. “Evil” animals tend to be associated with behaviours and attributes that humans can find difficult to explain – and they have also been used as vehicles for commentary on what we see as our own failings.    –BBC

The animals we have mistakenly thought of as evil

From mythical island birds to nocturnal beasts – and even rabbits – humans have told many a tall tale about the evil animals in our midst

In the mythology of New Zealands Maori people, night-time is associated with many terrors. One of those is the bone-chilling call of the Hakawai, a huge mythical bird with startling red, black and white feathers. Although it is rarely seen, simply hearing it is bad enough the sound alone has been thought by many to be a bad omen. Not long ago, if a Maori caught that dreadful sound, hakwai, hakwai, hakwai, quickly followed by a distinctive rushing noise, the hairs on the back of his neck might have stood up straight and he would have run for his life. Throughout human history, people have associated all kinds of animals, some real, some mythical, with evil. And there are still many examples of this today. When ornithologist Colin Miskelly first heard the call of the Hakawai in the mid-1980s while doing fieldwork on New Zealands Chatham Islands, the hairs on the back of his neck stood up too. But he didnt bolt for it. Miskelly was on a hunt for the Hakawai with a tape recorder in hand. His plan was to capture the sound of the bird and play it to local Maoris to see if they recognised it. There were many accounts of muttonbirders dropping their birds Miskelly had been told that people in the area who went muttonbirding harvesting the chicks of seabirds had long been familiar with the terrible night-time shriek of the Hakawai. There were many accounts of muttonbirders dropping their birds, the dead birds they had been harvesting, and running back to their huts because they were so scared, he recalls. Whether his recordings sounded like the Hakawai divided opinion among the locals. That may be because Miskelly had not captured the vocalisations of a mythical beast on his tape recorder, rather, the sounds were made by a much less blood-curdling species, the Chatham Island snipe, which is just 20cm long. The Hakawai noise can be heard when the snipe performs a nocturnal aerial display of two parts: a series of undulating vocalisations and then an extraordinary rushing sound that almost defies description. The Hakawai is not the only ominous bird that appears in Maori legends Some people called it the chain bird, theyd liken it to the anchor chain being lowered into the hull of a boat, explains Miskelly. Others described it as a jet plane flying overhead. He realised that signs of unusual wear to the snipes tail feathers revealed how such a humble bird could make such an unusual sound. The birds were diving through the air at high speeds, Miskelly hypothesised, causing their tail feathers to vibrate excessively. Over time, that wore them down. Not only did Miskellys investigations offer a possible explanation for old Maori stories about a dreadful bird of the night, his insights improved peoples understanding of the Chatham Island snipe itself. At the time in the 1980s, you could actually read texts saying the New Zealand birds do not have an aerial display, almost as the opening sentence about what defines New Zealand snipe, he says. But research has shown, yes they do, its just they happen to do it in the middle of the night. The Hakawai is not the only ominous bird that appears in Maori legends. Another mythical bird, called the Poukai, is said to eat humans. Folklore about such horrors could presumably serve to keep people watchful and safe It is not entirely clear where these stories come from. Some have wondered whether Maori tales about such creatures ultimately stem from the time of the Haasts eagle the largest eagle ever to have lived. It became extinct around 1400 but some think it was large enough to attack and eat people. We should perhaps be thankful these stories exist. Folklore about such horrors could presumably serve to keep people watchful and safe. On the other hand, animals associated with the night have long been targets of suspicion and hatred in many cultures. Take the owl in medieval England, it was often characterised in a very negative light. References to this are dotted throughout poetry of the era. In a poem called The Owl and the Nightingale for instance, the nightingale opens her argument against the owl by listing attributes like her sharp beak and shrieking howl. You fly by night, accuses the nightingale, you show that youre an evil creature. Medieval literature and art is full of animal symbolism, says Brigitte Resl of the University of Hull. Nocturnal animals were inherently strange to people in those times. In pre-modern periods, nights were something much more scary than they became later on when they could be lit, she explains. In those periods, the night was just dark. Our negative ideas about animals might simply be projections of our own vices Humans found it hard to explain how animals could navigate in such conditions. We now know that this is because of the high number of rod cells in their eyes. The pigment in these cells is very sensitive to low light and is produced at a steady rate at night, allowing these animals to see. Other attributes could also earn innocent animals a bad reputation, such as the toad. Its sexual activity during mating season may have been frowned upon during the very religious Middle-Ages, Resl suggests: I havent found anything positive about toads. Sometimes, then, our negative ideas about animals might simply be projections of our own vices. Fortunately, these perceptions can change with time. Owls have also long been associated with wisdom. Negative prejudices about them today are much less common. Evil animals tend to be associated with behaviours and attributes that humans can find difficult to explain Margo Demello, an author and animal rights activist, has another surprising example of previously disliked animals the rabbit and hare. It is hard to think of species that we consider more innocuous than these fluffy creatures, but in 18th Century Sweden, there was a belief that witches might transform themselves into hares, which would suck the milk from their neighbours cows, draining them dry. It seems extraordinary and ridiculous, but there are actual court cases where women were tried and convicted on the spectral testimony of their neighbours, says Demello. It is not always obvious why such myths develop, but there are clear themes. Evil animals tend to be associated with behaviours and attributes that humans can find difficult to explain and they have also been used as vehicles for commentary on what we see as our own failings. BBC