9 Animal Species That Were Once Bigger Than Humans

2. Birds Of Prey

In this day and age, the largest bird is the Eurasian Black Vulture, which has a body length of 3-4 feet, weighs from 25-31 lbs., and has a wingspan of 8 to 10 feet. By all standards a large bird, but not as big as recent ancestors. Remember the earlier entry on giant dragonflies? Well this one just might be more fearsome. Though most raptors are quite big, few of them ever grow bigger than humans. The largest modern bird is the Eurasian Black Vulture, which eats carrion, meaning it poses no threat to anything that still has a pulse. Though it might be silly to believe that a bird of prey could swoop down and pick up a human, if Homo sapiens was alive 23 million years ago, that would not just have been a possibly; it would€™ve been a reality. Argentavis Magnificens had a body height of 5 feet, a wingspan of 7 meters (23 feet), and weighed around 160lbs. To put its size in perspective, its leg was believed to be as long as an adult€™s arm. Now imagine such a creature flying high in the sky, slowly circling like a vulture, waiting for the opportune moment to strike. If these creatures lived in more modern times, and had contact with humans, unsuspecting people could€™ve actually been attacked and possibly killed by this formidable creatures. It€™s a good thing these creatures are extinct, otherwise humanity would not see open skies as a symbol of freedom, but as a solemn warning of impending doom from above.