Buckbeak

Harry Potter Animal
Buckbeak is a CGI creature in the movie Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban
Buckbeak/Witherwings
Gender	Male
Species	Hippogriff
Owner	Rubeus Hagrid through Harry Potter (later Sirius Black)
Special powers	Flying
First appearance	Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban

Buckbeak (later renamed Witherwings) is a hippogriff, a magical beast in the fictional
Harry Potter book series by J. K.
Rowling.

Spoiler warning: Plot and/or
ending details follow.

Buckbeak, along with eleven other hippogriffs, is introduced during one of Hagrid's Care of Magical Creatures classes.
Hagrid explains that hippogriffs are very calm, powerful giants,
but are touchy creatures and demand respect. One must bow and keep
eye contact before approaching. Harry successfully approaches
Buckbeak, who allows him to ride him around the paddock. He still
must bow on subsequent encounters, though Buckbeak apparently had
taken a great liking to Harry from then on.

In the stories, Buckbeak is an enormous animal. Hippogriffs are
bred, and are born with the appearance of a hybrid of bird and
horse. Buckbeak looks to be a fusion of a giant Harpy Eagle and a
gray horse, with a wingspan of nearly 20 feet. Horses generally
weigh between 1300 and 2000 pounds, but because of his bird
characteristics, he is lighter at just under half of a ton.

Draco Malfoy, in an arrogant attempt to show up
his school nemesis, endeavours to approach Buckbeak as well. It
becomes obvious that the Slytherin neither listened nor cared about
Hagrid's warnings about the hippogriffs' tetchiness, as he makes
contemptuous remarks about Buckbeak. Quickly angered, Buckbeak
slashes Draco's arm with his claws.

Pretending to be injured much more severely than he truly is,
Draco persuades his father, Lucius
Malfoy, to use his political power to sentence Buckbeak to
death. Hagrid's numerous appeals fail, and Walden
Macnair of the Committee for the Disposal of Dangerous
Creatures comes to Hogwarts to execute Buckbeak. With the use of a
time-turner, Harry and
Hermione free Buckbeak and rescue Sirius
Black from the tower in which he was being held before his own
execution. Sirius escapes with Buckbeak and flies to safety.

During most of Harry's fourth year, Sirius and Buckbeak hide in
a cave in the mountains above Hogsmeade.
After this, they move to Number 12 Grimmauld Place,
whereupon Buckbeak stays in Sirius's mother's former room.

In Harry Potter and the
Half-Blood Prince, Harry inherits Buckbeak, and allows Hagrid
to look after it again. To avoid suspicion from the Ministry of
Magic, it is given the alias Witherwings.

A fiercely loyal creature, Buckbeak defended and chased away
Professor Snape from Harry by slashing his claws at him at the
Battle of Hogwarts. This was also portrayed in the movie “Harry
Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban” in which Harry was saved by
Buckbeak from Professor Lupin in his werewolf form.

The withers are the highest part of a horse's back, just above
the shoulders. Witherwings, being a hippogriff
has wings on his withers.