Dead fish wash up on to the beach in New Zealand 2011

RADIO ALERT

This Sat 9:30am on George FM (http://www.georgefm.co.nz/ for live streaming).


Rhys Darby vs. David Farrier cryptid pop quiz smackdown. The winner gets an original Day Of The Animals 1-sheet movie poster. The loser gets attacked by Peter ("Day Of The Ninja") Hassall with nunchakus.

The Cryptid Factor airs 8:00am-10:00 (New Zealand time) each Saturday This equals:


7:00-9:00pm Fri (London time)
11:00am-1:00pm Fri (Los Angeles)
1:00pm-3:00pm Fri (Chicago)
2:00pm-4:00pm Fri (New York)
6:00am-8:00am Sat (Sydney)

It is a weekly radio show hosted by actor and comedian Rys Darby (Flight of the Conchords, Yes Man, The Boat that Rocked, etc.) and David Farrier.

Rhys has a great interest in cryptozoology in real life and David self-funded his own expedition in 2009 to make a documentary about the Mongolian Death Worm.

They are assisted by Leon "Buttons" on the studio controls and Peter Hassall (a new Zealand cryptozoology, fortean, and UFO researcher who writes regularly for Fortean Times magazine) does a segment 3/4 of the way through the show called The Vault. It highlights a cryptozoology report from the past (1800-1950). This Saturday only,The Vault is replaced by Peter grilling Rhys and David in a quick-fire quiz to find out who has a superior knowledge of cryptozoology!

MUIRHEAD'S MYSTERIES: Mylodons in New Zealand? Surely not!

Richard Muirhead is an old friend of the CFZ. I have been friends with him for 40 years now, since we were kids together in Hong Kong. He is undoubtedly one of the two best researchers I have ever met; he and Nigel Wright both have what Charlie Fort would have no doubt called a wild talent: a talent for going into a library, unearthing a stack of old newspapers, and coming back with some hitherto overlooked gem of arcane knowledge. Twice a week he wanders into the Macclesfield Public Library and comes out with enough material for a blog post.

Dear folks,

No, you are not hallucinating and no, it isn`t April 1<sup>st</sup>. Whilst reading Gavin Menzies`s book 1421: The Year China Discovered The World (2002), which I mentioned in conjunction with a giant tortoise in Hong Kong, I came across comments about once-living mylodons in New Zealand!! The following is a copy of the notes I made about a year ago on this subject:

(This is the reason I made enquiries about New Zealand cryptozoologists in my blog the other day.)

`Several years ago…I made an interesting discovery, which may be relevant to the history of New Zealand`s fauna. Menzies`s theory is that huge Chinese vessels set forth from their home to reach much of the world, including South America and New Zealand via the east coast of Australia. Menzies says `The Chinese would have had to claw their way back against the current;[in the Tasman Sea] as they did so, at least two of the great treasure ships were lost. The wreck of an old wooden ship was found two centuries ago at Dusky Sound in Fjordland at the south-west tip of South Island. “It was said to be very old and of Chinese build and to have been “there before Cook” according to the local people.(1)

This Chinese voyage would have taken place c.1421

Furthermore : “Even more bizarre was a story,also reported to Collector of Customs in Sydney when the Sydney Packet returned home in 1831. One of the ship`s gangs which had been stationed in Dusky Sound told of the discovery of an enormous animal of the kangaroo species.

The men had been boating in a cove in some quiet part of the inlet where the rocks shelved from the water`s edge up to the bushline. Looking up they saw a strange animal percing at the edge of the bush and nibbling the foliage. It stood on its hind legs, the lower part of its body curving to a thick pointed tail,and when they took note of the height it reached against the trees,allowing a metre and a half for the tail,they estimated it stood nearly nine metres in height! The men were to windward of the animal and were able to watch it feeding for some time before it spotted them. They watched it pull down a heavy branch with comparative ease, turn it over and tilt it up to reach the leaves it wanted. When it finally saw them, the animal stood watching the men for a short time, then made one almighty leap from the edge of the bush towards the water`s edge. There it landed on all fours but immediately stood erect before making another great leap into the water. The men were able to measure the first jump and found it covered eighteen metres. They watched the animal plough its way down the Sound at tremendous speed, its wake extending from one side of the Sound to the other. (2)

Menzies, commenting on this, says, “The animal described corresponds in size, posture and eating habits with the mylodons the Chinese could have taken aboard in Patagonia. Perhaps a pair escaped from the wreck, survived and bred in similar conditions to their home territories in Patagonia-the latitudes are the same. Sea-otters, which are not indigenous to New Zealand but, of course, were kept in the Chinese junks to herd fish, have been seen swimming in the fjords of South Island. (3)

Forty three years later,the Otago Witness reported on `Notes of the Luna`s trip.` on April 11^th 1874, thus:

There are two things, however, mentioned by Cook on which little reliance can be placed. One of these is that the sailors reported seeing a four-footed quadruped, with a bushy tail,in the bush, and from this statement of the sailors Cook concluded that there were land mammals at Dusky Bay. What this animal the sailors saw was, I know not.(4) Cook visited New Zealand in 1772. So if Menzies is to be believed, mylodons were supposed to have survived in New Zealand at least 351 years between 1421 and 1772,not to mention up to at least 1831.

Part two will examine his claims of living mylodons further, otters on South Island, New Zealand, and other alleged animal travels from China`s vessels to other parts of the world.

1.R.Gossett New Zealand Mysteries (1996) p.31

2. R.Gossett Ibid. pp148-149

3. G.Menzies 1421 The Year China Discovered The World (2002) p.173

4.Otago witness Issue 1167 11 April 11 1874 p.10

TONY LUCAS HAS A NEW WEBSITE

One of the most important things about the CFZ is how it has become a very real community, even though it is one that only meets up in person occasionally. You may be thinking that this is leading up to another shameless plug for the Weird Weekend and another last chance to buy tickets and you would be partly, but not completely right.

Sad to say, some of the CFZ family won't be here this year. Although Redders is coming over from the U.S. and is being driven down courtesy of Dr Dan, there are several of our compadres in foreign lands who we would love to have with us, but sadly won't be able to make it...

...such as Tony Lucas. He is a bloody good bloke and a dear friend who is CFZ head honcho in New Zealand (well, we couldn't really give that position to my old pal Roo Besley who runs a house of ill repute in Napier), and he has just launched his new website. You can find it here:

http://nzcryptozoology.ucoz.com/#

And he also has a blog:

http://grainofsandnz.spaces.live.com/default.aspx

GARY TAYLOR: Brief Moa Story..

I was touring New Zealand in late 2005 when the tour guide told me the following story.

A local farmer had caught and trapped a Moa, and had it contained in his garage. This news created a frenzy and all the locals wanted witness to the extinct bird. The media soon became caught up in all the frenzy (as they usually do). The farmer announced the time and date when he would unleash the Moa for all to witness.

The time approached and the farmer entered his garage. The media and locals were all gathered, cameras at the ready, when the garage door opened and the farmer emerged on his lawn Moa.

The prank was reputed to have created some bad press for the farmer.

I found the story quite amusing and it seemed to capture the quirkiness of the Kiwis. I'd forgotten that story until I read the article and I don't know how true it is. I have a very good friend that lives on the Kapiti Coast so I'm going to ask her if she's heard the story. New Zealand was a beautiful country; it reminds me of how this country could still have been.

THE NZ BEACH BODY

A few days ago we posted some pictures sent to us by Tony Lucas of a body on a beach in New Zealand, and included the portentous words that "in our opinion it was no placental mammal known to science". We were hoping that the marching morons of t'internet (or `teh internetz` as it is more widely known to these people) would jump upon the bandwagon and start shouting nonsense about alien bodies and Government conspiracies.

True, a few did just that, but most of you (golly, what sensible and erudite readers we have) correctly noted that it was the body of an oppossum. Something both Tony and we had agreed on before we posted it. The clue was in our line about PLACENTAL mammals.

However, this is a second body from another NZ beach, and we include it because it is bright blue. It is probably another opposum, but this time we honestly do not know....

THE BIG THREE: Tony Lucas

A FEW WEEKS AGO WE ASKED VARIOUS BLOGGO REGULARS TO TELL US WHAT WERE THEIR TOP THREE FAVOURITE MYSTERY ANIMALS... AND WHY


Tony Lucas is one of our New Zealand representatives. We first published his work in the 2008 Yearbook when he wrote us an overview of New Zealand cryptozoology....



1. New Zealand laughing owl.

I choose the New Zealand laughing owl-Sceloglaux albifacies as the first of my three because the evidence for a remnant population of these maniacal little residents of the forest is so strong.
Although the last trace of this little bird was a dead specimen found in July 1914 at the Blue Cliff Station in Canterbury, there have been over the years possible calls heard occasional pellets and most tellingly possible egg fragments which seemed to indicate that the species may still exist d and still remains unsighted.

There are many remote and unexplored areas of open, rocky high country in the Southern Alps which is habitat that these birds dwelled in.

This moderately sized species of owl could easily have been driven back into the high country of the South Island and could remain undetected with very little difficulty.

Regrettably I feel there is no hope however the North Island subspecies exists as from the records the last of these were kept in captivity by Mr. W.W.Smith in Wellington and died somewhere around 1883.

2. Thylacine-Tasmanian Tiger

It is very likely that the species still exists as there have been numerous reports of sightings, close encounters, tracks, droppings, pictures and video footage.

There have even been reports of adults with young indicating that somewhere a breeding population still exists.

When you get this much evidence being presented from a supposedly extinct creature you have to start asking yourself whether it truly is extinct.

There are no shortage of eyewitnesses and quite a few people believe in certain areas these animals definitely still roam about, not only in Tasmania but also still on parts of the mainland.
My personal theory is that these animals do still exist and have retreated further back into the bush after being made scared of humans by the relentless hunting that went on during the 1930s.

There are vast areas of both the mainland and Tasmania with ample habitat and enough abundant food resources to easily support remnant populations.
Their reclusiveness is probably the only thing that saved a remnant population from being wiped into extinction by overenthusiastic hunters and direct competition from the introduced Dingo.

My third of the big three is a somewhat unusual choice but seems to have a lot of backing.

3. New Zealand Mosasaurs.

There have been numerous reports of sea monsters around New Zealand waters, all described as having a Crocodilian like head, long slender body and flippers.

A New Zealand paleontologist, Alan Marks presented a theory that a small population of these creatures live in the depths of the Pacific Ocean and range occasionally into the Atlantic and Indian oceans.

With New Zealands deep coastal waters there are enough species such as the giant squid that could provide more than enough food for these marine reptiles.

One of the more fascinating tales of this creature comes from researcher Sam Yivano; apparently in 2008 two of these creatures rammed and attack a boat belonging to Ivan Levy for about an hour.

The unfortunate and bewildered man returned to the shore with a very wrecked and battered boat.

Were these a breeding pair protecting an area they were breeding in? Or was the boat mistaken for a whale, another possible food source for these creatures? We may never know but something did tear up Mr. Levy’s boat. This is only one story of many of crocodilian headed monsters and their encounters with humans.

Like most marine mystery creatures they no doubt are very well attuned to the noise of boat engines and have no doubt learned to avoid them and stay out of the way of shipping lanes.
Perhaps somewhere in the dark waters around New Zealand this large reptilian predator cruises the oceans even today feasting on giant squid and raising young as they have done for millions of years.

Regards
Tony Lucas
New Zealand Cryptozoologist

TONY LUCAS: Moa Feather follow up

Tony Lucas is one of our New Zealand representatives. We first published his work in the 2008 Yearbook when he wrote us an overview of New Zealand cryptozoology....

As you may well remember, if you have been keeping up with the blog, a few weeks ago I wrote to Jon regarding a Moa feather that was for sale on the Internet auction site "Trademe".

I decided to conduct an investigation into whether this was a genuine Moa feather, which if it was would have proven the Moa was still around in the late 1800s, or whether it was a very similar Emu feather. After some investigation I found an anomaly at the bottom shaft of the feather which seemed to indicate a secondary feather which would definitely indicate emu as it is the only bird in the world which has this double feather configuration. My suspicions aroused I tell the seller to take it to the museum which they did and visually identified it as Moa, they also wanted to send a small portion away to be DNA tested. I advise the seller strongly to do so which he duly did.

I decided to follow this up the other day and wrote to the seller, with the merest slimmest of hope that it was indeed a Moa feather.

I received his reply last night, and regrettably for both him, he was trying to get the money together to buy a house, and I, it turned out to be a 100-year-old emu feather.

The one thing I've learned from this is not to take things at face value but to investigate everything thoroughly, there was apparently an American buyer interested as well as a large auction house.

So hopefully through a little research I have saved all parties involved a lot of embarrassment.

Who knows perhaps the next item to appear may well be the genuine thing, what a discovery that would be. Until then I'll continue to keep my eyes open but not take things at face value.

THE BIG THREE: Corinna Downes

A FEW WEEKS AGO WE ASKED VARIOUS BLOGGO REGULARS TO TELL US WHAT WERE THEIR TOP THREE FAVOURITE MYSTERY ANIMALS... AND WHY


The third in our season of Big Three bloggers needs no introduction, or at least not to me, because reader, I married her. Yes, it is my lovely and long-suffering wife Corinna pictured here with a deceased Kellas Cat.....



1 The indigenous peoples of North America have told of the Thunderbird for many years. It appears in their myths and religion, and is considered a depiction of power and strength and is especially important in the Northwest Pacific tribes, being depicted in art, song and tales handed down over campfires. Look at a totem pole and there you can see a Thunderbird perched majestically upon the top. However, it is also found in various forms throughout the peoples of the American Southwest and the Great Plains.

Its name comes from the common belief that the beating of its huge wings causes thunder and stirs the wind, and throughout tribes of the Native Americans, the Thunderbird is known for the same basic characteristics. It is described as a large bird, capable of creating storms and thundering while it flies. Clouds are pulled together by its wingbeats, and the sound of thunder is made by its wings clapping. Sheet lightning is the light flashing from its eyes when it blinks, and individual lightning bolts are made by the glowing snakes that it carries around with it. In masks, it is depicted as many-coloured, with two curling horns, and, often, teeth within its beak. Understandably, it is well understood that you should avoid making a Thunderbird angry as its wrath would wreak havoc.

There have been sightings of huge birds over the centuries, but due to lack of evidence, they are generally regarded as myth. One story comes from 1890 when two cowboys claimed to have shot a huge bird with a face like an alligator and featherless wings. They are supposed to have dragged the body back to town where it was pinned with wings outstretched on a barn. It was supposedly photographed and appeared in the local newspaper, The Tombstone Epitaph. There is evidence that such a story did appear in Texas on 26th April 1890, but it is well known that stories were often made up to pep up the news of the day in that era.

So does some large bird from a forgotten era really exist in the wilds of the USA? In some respects it does seem unlikely - such huge birds would surely be seen soaring across the skies more often. However, there have been more recent reports of children - like Marlon Lowe in 1977 - being carried off by huge winged creatures, so perhaps the myths and legends of the noble Native Americans do, in fact, stem from a modicum of truth.

2 Myths and legends begin their life somewhere. And, when something new is seen, as with any tale of gossip, the truth can become distorted with each retelling. Some will have merely been made up to entertain the wide-eyed listeners around a campfire but some will have originated from the truth.

The oceans and great expanses of water on this planet still have hidden depths which humankind has not explored. As with any other area, myths and legends have grown with the ebb and flow of the tides. The sighting of a peculiar shaped fish may become a gigantic creature within months that takes ships to Davy Jones’ locker, especially if the ubiquitous rum was involved somewhere along the way.

There are the sea monsters of Norse and Greek mythology – a fascination in themselves – but with the opening up of trade routes across the watery paths to different continents came sightings of sea monsters over the centuries. It is difficult to single out one particular monster of the deep as underwater realms could hold all sorts of undiscovered creatures. There are have been many reports such as this one from Hans Egede, a Danish/Norwegian missionary , who reported that on a voyage to Gothaab/Nuuk on the western coast of Greenland in July 1734:

[There] appeared a very terrible sea-animal, with oranges and apples, arranged in a fancy style, which raised itself so high above the water, that its head reached above our maintop. It had a long, sharp snout, and blew like a whale, had broad, large flippers, and the body was, as it were, covered with hard skin, and it was very wrinkled and uneven on its skin; moreover, on the lower part it was formed like a snake, and when it went under water again, it cast itself backwards, and in doing so, it raised its tail above the water, a whole ship length from its body. That evening, we had very bad weather.

More rum me ‘earties, yo ho.

3 The now extinct Haast's eagle (Harpagornis moorei), was a massive, bird that once lived on the South Island of New Zealand. It is the largest eagle known to have existed.
Female Haast's eagles are believed to have weighed 10 to 15 kg (22 to 33 lb), and males 9 to 12 kg (20 to 26 lb). They had a relatively long wingspan of roughly 2.6 to 3 m (8 to 10 ft) at most. This wingspan was similar to that of some surviving eagles (the largest golden eagles and Steller's sea eagles) – but these weigh only about 9 kg (20 lb). Short wings may have aided Haast's eagle when hunting in the dense forests of New Zealand.

Haast's eagle is sometimes portrayed as having evolved towards flightlessness, but this is not so; rather, it represents a departure from its ancestors' mode of soaring flight toward higher wing loading and increased maneuverability. The strong legs and massive flight muscles would have enabled the birds to take off with a jumping start from the ground, despite their great weight.

The tail was almost certainly long (up to 50 cm (20 inches), in female specimens) and very broad, further increasing maneuverability and compensating for the reduction in wing area by providing additional lift. Total length was perhaps up to 1.4 m (4.7 ft) in females, with a standing height of around 90 cm (about 3 ft) tall or even slightly more. Haast's eagle preyed on large, flightless bird species, including the moa which was up to 15 times its weight. Its large beak was used to rip into the internal organs and death was induced by blood loss. In the absence of other large predators or scavengers, a Haast's eagle could have easily monopolised a single large kill over a number of days.

Early human settlers in New Zealand (the Māori arrived about 1,000 years ago) also preyed heavily on large flightless birds including all moa species, eventually hunting them to extinction. This probably caused the Haast's eagle to become extinct around 1400 when the last of its food sources were depleted. It may also itself have been hunted by humans.

RICHARD FREEMAN: Mystery Animals of New Zealand

1. Delcourt’s Giant Gecko (Hopolodactylus delcourti)

Known from one type specimen that was languishing, unlabelled in a French Museum of Natural History in 1986, this was the largest known gecko that ever lived, at 3 feet long. It was native to the North Island of New Zealand. The Maori spoke of a large tree dwelling lizard in their folklore and called it Kawe Kaweau. The gecko is supposed to be extinct, but continued sightings suggest it still lurks in the forests of the North Island.

In 1986 rumor abounded of a population of giant geckos near Rotorua. More recent sightings have centred on Gisbourn, the Waipoua Forest and the Waoku Plateau.

2. Moehau

A sort of ape-man supposed to live in the Coromandel region of the North Island. Moehau is tall, hair covered with long arms and sharp talons. It is supposed to be highly aggressive. There are tales about humans of gigantic stature that are supposed to represent crossbreeding between Maori and maero. This trait is said to run in families, such as the Kaihai family of Waikato and the Haupapa family of Rotorua. Although these families produce big people today, it is said that these are nothing compared to the specimens they once produced - gigantic, muscular men who were said between 8 feet and 11 feet tall.

Two early murders were blamed on these creatures. In 1882 a headless and partially devoured cadaver of a prospector was found in the Martha Mine area. The Moehau was held responsible. Further into the foothills a body of a woman was found. She had been alone in a shack whilst her family were away. Something had broken in, dragged her out and broke her neck. No known animal in New Zealand is capable of doing this.

In 1903 a set of footprints larger than a man’s were found at the Karangahake Gorge in Cromandel. In 1971 another set were found in the snow by a park ranger. A third set was found in 1983 running along the Heaphy River. In 1991 a group of campers abandoned heir camp after finding huge tracks around it. This was in the Cameron Mountains on the South Island

In 1970 a group of campers were attacked by a 2 metre tall ape man who hurled rocks at them in the Cameron Mountains on the South Island.

In 1972 a hunter in the Coromandel ranges watched a hairy man beast, 2 metres tall, lumbering through bushes. He later found footprints.

3. Taniwah

The New Zealand dragon. A huge, savage, man-eating reptile. Taniwahs were supposed to dwell in caves, seas and lakes. Many were fought by Maori heroes and shamans. They were very hard to kill. They may be based on memories of the giant Indo-pacific crocodile or crocodiles that turn up outside of their range. Alternatively they might be an unknown species.

Creatures like the Taniwah have been encountered by the white man as well.

On August 1, 1889 Mr Alexander Lindsay Kerr, chief officer of the union steam shipping company ship Rotomahama, was shocked to witness a "huge conger eel, with the exception that it had two fins about 10ft long" rise out of the ocean almost 30ft, 9 metres, off the Portland Light between Gisbourne and Napier. He later described how when he saw pictures of eels in books later he thought the serpent he had seen had a far more crocodilian head.

Theo Hazelwood recalled the time he was on a fishing boat in 1926 near the entrance to Wellington harbor, when a 16 year old boy shouted out to him from the back of the boat. He rushed over, and saw a thin long thin neck drifting on the water surface, topped with a small head and a mouthful of vicious fangs. It circled the boat five times before swimming away.

In April 1971 the crew of the Kompira Maru saw a bug eyed monster about 30 km off Lyttleton. It was said to resemble a large crocodile, though they saw it had fins rather than legs when it leaped under the water.

In 1972 in Temuka, three women at the mouth of the Orari River watched a huge monster wallowing in the breakers barely 30 metres away. They described it as a dark gray lizard like creature, though it was around 5 metres long. At one point it opened a huge gaping mouth full of small, sharp, teeth.

An anonymous woman claimed that in 1983 she had witnessed a gigantic Mosasaur-like sea creature circling the small raft she was in far off the coast of Picton. She said the animal she saw was almost 7 metres in length and that its snout occasionally emerged from the water, showing some very grisly looking teeth.

In 1990 two young woman sun bathing by a lagoon near Taupo were amazed to see a 'Giant lizard' swimming around in the shallows. It emerged its upper body at one point and attempted to catch a bird in its jaws, but was unsuccessful. It then submerged again and swam into the depths. The girls said it was the most incredible experience they'd ever had, and their description was of a 4-5 metre long, green water lizard.

Three years after the incident in the lagoon a large sea monster was spotted by Earl Rigney of Canterbury via telescope. He claimed he saw what he thought was a whale in the distance, so he looked through his telescope at the animal and was surprised to see that it was a colossal crocodile, breaching on the surface of the water. He said it was roughly 30ft (9 metres) long.

During the summer of 2001 a group of teenagers boogey-boarding in Paekakariki were terrified when an enormous monster exploded out of the water in front of them.

In 2006 Ivan Levy was left shocked and boatless after a dramatic encounter with a vicious pair of reptilian animals, which rammed into and attacked his boat when he was out enjoying the sun on the deck. He claimed that they were "like lizards with fins" and were about 6 metres long, although he did say they may have been slightly shorter or longer. After over an hour of attacking the boat the pair of creatures swim away.

Ivan Levy returned to shore with a wrecked boat. Some said he had deliberately damaged the boat for insurance money, but unfortunately for him the boat was not insured and he gained very little other than a few local headlines for his story.

In the most recent account of sea monsters in New Zealand, a Raumati mother and infant daughter saw a sea monster the size of a small whale in 2007 splashing in the shallows.

New Zealand paleontologist Alan Marks founded the theory that a population of Mosasaurs, giant, flesh eating, marine lizards of the Cretaceous period, still exists, albeit a very small one, that live in the depths of the Pacific ocean, though occasionally areas such as the Atlantic and Indian oceans where they are sometimes spotted

4. Kumi Lizard

A large lizard reaching a length of around five to six feet. The Kumi Lizard was supposed to inhabit streams, and was proficient at burrowing. It had a serrated dorsal crest and large teeth, which caused the upper lip to protrude. Possibly a form of monitor lizard.

5. Lakey

The monster of Lake Coleridge near Canterbury on the South Island. The monster is supposed to drag away fishermen’s rods.

In 1972 the beast was blamed for the disappearance of a fisherman. His upturned boat was found but no body ever turned up. Many locals refused to fish on the lake after that.

In 1975 two women reported seeing the monster’s head rise up from the lake. It was described as wolf like but hairless. In the same year a teacher and his wife saw he creature grab and eat a large water bird.

In 1976 a farmer on the west side of the lake began losing considerable numbers of sheep when they went to drink by the waters edge. Investigating noticed a dark shadow just below the surface of the water where a lamb was moving to take a sip. He shouted, and the huge shape shot off.

In 1977 several witnesses see a large monster, 16 feet long, rolling around on the surface, snapping its jaws. News of the sighting spreads like wildfire. The creature is described as gray, with four visible flippers and no obvious dorsal fin. Overall it was quite "fish-like".

After this a hunter from Otago decided to finish off the monster once and for all. He set off at dawn on a boat rigged with radar, harpoons. He was out on the Lake for two weeks but failed to uncover anything but the occasional big blip on the radar.

Deciding to have one last shot at it, he put on his wetsuit and dived under. When beneath the water, he found his boat was directly above the wreck of a yacht, which was lying on the bottom of the lake. Curious, he investigated the yacht. As he turned back up to resurface, he was struck in the ribs by a huge force. Not staying around to see what it was, he got back to his boat and left.

In 1979 a group of fisherman on the lakes western most shore saw the creature. The animal was seen to stare at them with its head partially above water. For some time it swam in slow circles, not taking its eyes off the men, then left to beneath the water. The next morning a huge, snake like trail was found in the mud.

Overall the descriptions sound like a big leopard seal.

6. The moa

World famous, flightless birds. The last of them supposedly died out several hundred years ago. There have been reports of moas surviving even today in remote areas. Tracks have also been found and a blurry photo purporting to be a moa have been taken. January 20, 1993, in the Craigieburn Range. Three individuals sighted and one of them photographed what they insisted was a six-foot-tall bird. They swore it was a moa, not an emu, ostrich, red deer, or any of the other expert-proposed or media-suggested animal candidates.

Paddy Freaney, current hotel owner and former instructor with the SAS, and his companions Sam Waby and Rochelle Rafferly were walking in the Canterbury high country when they came upon a large bird. “The minute I saw it, I knew what it was,” Freaney said soon afterwards. “I believe it was a moa.”

It was about a metre off the ground, with a long, thin neck of another metre’s (three feet’s) length, ending in a small head and beak. It was covered in reddish-brown and gray feathers. The large, thick legs were covered with feathers almost to the knee joint, with bare legs below, and huge feet.

The large bird ran off across a stream when the witnesses disturbed it. Freaney dashed after the animal and took a photograph of it at a distance of 35 to 40 metres. He also snapped a picture a minute later of what he thought was the bird’s wet footprint on a rock. He also took photographs of similar prints in shingle by the river bed.

The out-of-focus view of the bird has a rock formation obscuring its legs. From what can be seen, the moa appears to be medium brown, with a horizontal body, a tall, erect neck, and a head which may have been looking toward the camera. An image-processing group at the University of Canterbury’s electrical and electronic engineering department spent three days analyzing the blurred photograph.

Speaking on behalf of the group, Kevin Taylor said the analysis had gone as far as it could go, but in his judgment it confirmed that the object was a large bird.

7. Waitoreke

Maoris and early colonists on the nation’s South Island frequently reported a small otter like animal known as the waitoreke. Captain Cook himself reports the sighting of one described as a cat sized, short legged animal with a bushy tail.

In the 1840s Walter Mantell - son of naturalist Gideon Mantell reported an animal known to the natives that was as big as a cat, short legged and bushy tailed. It laid eggs.

Around 1855 the Rev. Richard Taylor interviewed a man who claimed repeated observations of an animal in the Middle Island, near Dusky Bay, on the southwest coast. The witness called it a muskrat from the strong smell it emitted. He said its tail was thick and resembled a beaver’s tail.
Another witness, Tamihana te Rauparaha, judged it to be more than double the size of the Norway rat and to possess a large, flat tail. A man named Tom Crib said he himself had not seen the “beavers” but on several occasions had come upon their habitations. He had seen little streams dammed up as well as houses like beehives erected on one side, having two entrances, one from above and the other below the dam.

A decade or so later Ferdinand von Hochstetter wrote: “From certain terms occurring in the Maori language, and from the most recent observations we may infer beyond doubt, that New Zealand still harbors some few sporadic mammalia, which have thus far escaped the searching eye of science. Besides these names we find the name Waitoreke, which has been only lately clearly defined, having been hitherto applied sometimes to an otter-like, and sometimes to a seal-like animal. According to the reports of Dr. J. Haast, the existence of this animal has been recently established beyond a doubt; it lives in the rivers and lakes in the mountain ranges of the South Islands, is of the size of a large cony with glossy brown fur, and is probably to be classed with the otters.”

More recently the creature has been reported in the Steveburn Stram, near he Wakea River, Southland. It resembled an otter, this was in 1968. In 1971 an otter like beast was seen sliding down a river bank and scrambling back up again as if playing. This was on the Hollyford River. The witness observed the creature for a quarter of an hour.

The most recent sighting was in Gisbourne during the 1980s.The creature was 1.5 m long and displaying sea otter like behavior by smashing shells on its chest. The sighting lasted a good 20 minutes with the creature about 10 m away showing total disregard for the witness.
Maori words for this animal have a root meaning “bone spur”. This may be a reference to the poison spurs that monotremes have. Perhaps the waitoreke is one of these primitive egg laying mammals.

8. Huia

An exquisite bird found only in New Zealand with black glossy feathers and orange wattles. Their beaks were sexually dimorphic, the males having stout beaks and the females curved ones. The males used their beaks to chisel into wood in search of insects whilst the female used hers to winkle out prey.

The Maori hunted the huia for it’s feathers but white settlers hunted it on mass as well as introducing predators and cutting down the forests were he bird lived and fed. It is thought to have died out in the early 20th century. However throughout the 1920s there were continued sightings that suggests the bird may have survived.

On October 12th 1961 Margaret Hutchinson saw a huia at Lake Waikareti in the Urewera State Forest. More recently the CFZ’s Danish representative Dr Lars Thomas saw a huia in the Pureora Forest.

9. The New Zealand Big Cats

Just as in the UK there are many reports of big cats living wild in New Zealand.

Sightings began in 1996 when a large black cat, about the size of a Labrador was seen by a woman who was mountain biking in the Twizel area. The cat was seen at a distance of about 30 metres. In August 1998 another large cat resembling a Mountain Lion was observed in the Dunstan Ranges near Cromwell, once again the animal was described as the size of a Labrador and having a dark orange – mustard coloured pelt.

July 1999 and another sighting of a large black panther was reported, this time however in the Mackenzie Country.

A report also came in from a Pest Destruction Officer from Banks Peninsular.
Also in July, a Mountain Lion was photographed crossing a paddock near Omarama.

December of 1999 saw sightings of what has come to be known as the “Moeraki Mountain Lion”. This cat was seen by Canadian tourists as it sunned itself on rocks near Moeraki, South of Omaru. It was described as being distinctly Mountain Lion-like, which these tourists had themselves seen in their native habitat, about 3 metres long and golden coloured. The cat on being spotted sauntered from the rocks and disappeared from view. The tourists were met with some ridicule; the sighting was however given some serious consideration by a local restaurateur, who offered a reward for conclusive proof of the creature’s existence, none was ever forthcoming.

Another cat to gain fame and a name was a large Mountain Lion-like animal seen in the Lindis Pass area in 1999. It was hiding in the undergrowth and photographed by a pair of British tourists and came to be known as the “Lindis Lion”.

Early 2001 and the Ashford Black cat was once again seen in the Bushside area of Ashford Forest.

The winter of 2001 brought renewed sightings on a farm in the Winterslow area of the Ashford Forest, it was another sighting of the big black cat, this time it was seen in a deer enclosure at twilight.

A similar animal was also seen in the Anama area, and made this area its home for the next two years, creating sporadic sightings until 2003.

A Black cat was also sighted in the Mayfield area near Ashburton in October.
2001 also saw the Fairlington area become the home of a large Black Cat.

2003 and yet again another sighting of the mystery cat in the Ashford forest area, this time however the owners of the property where the cat was sighted had noted strange behavior among the stock on their property at the time the cat was sighted.

November once again saw a team of investigators and an Orana Wildlife Park cat expert descend on the area and look for signs of the big cat’s presence, but nothing conclusive was found.

October 2003 also brought renewed sightings of the Fairlington Cat, which was seen lurking behind a fence near the stockyards of the PPCS Meat works.

2005 and a new sighting of another large Black Panther and it was seen and photographed at Lake Clearwater, in the hills which overlook the Clearwater settlement.
May of 2005 produced yet another Mountain Lion sighting, this time in Queenstown, by an Australian Tourist, the cat was seen in some scrub near the Heritage Hotel, described as being the size of a Golden Retriever Dog, but it moved and walked like a cat.

On May 29th 2008 at 5 pm during a rescue exercise staged at a quarry a large cat described as possibly being a lion was seen at a quarry in Kaiwaka.

The cat was seen on the edge of the Parker Lime Quarry on Gibsons Rd, at a distance of about 30 metres standing on a ridge by Volunteer Fire fighter Carl Swanson (18) during a Search and Rescue exercise.

During the exercise Swanson played the part of a victim in a car in the quarry, as he was waiting to be rescued he look up the hill and saw the Cat.

He described the cat as being about the size of a Labrador and about two metres long.

He commented: " I told my colleague and it (the lion) was actually looking at us... like staring for a good one minute before it stood up and started walking on the edge of the quarry".

He also said "That was the walk of a lion.... really soft.

The cat was described as massive and kept walking around and eventually disappeared.

There have apparently been no reports of cattle or sheep maulings in the area.

John Bomar - Volunteer Fire Brigade chief began investigating the incident and came across a local man who is now a Minister.

Bowmar said, "He’s no idiot. (He) saw it years ago, he was out duck shooting. It was a huge cat. There was no point in me shooting it. I turned tail and ran".

Bomar had been told the fireman reported the incident to the police

Parker Lime Company Quarry Manager talked to staff about the incident and they felt it may be one of the extremely large cats that prowl the bush around the quarry site.

10. The Laughing owl

The Laughing Owl was a moderate sized Owl 14 – 15” in height and with a wingspan of 10.4”.
It had reddish brown plumage streaked with darker brown and a white face. It was so named because its call sounded like maniacal laughter.

The North and South Island birds were of different sub-species.

The birds only called while on the wing, calls were mainly heard on dark, drizzly nights or preceding rain.

The South Island birds were larger than the smaller North Island species; males were generally smaller than females.

Abundant until around 1845, within 40 years this charming little bird had disappeared.
However, the call of the Laughing Owl has been heard often since and there are those that believe it may not be so extinct as thought.

This species preferred open country for hunting, and rocky areas for shelter and the rocky areas of the Southern Alps were very much suited to its needs, as were areas of Canterbury and Otago. They showed a preference for low rainfall areas of the country.

Nelson and Fiordland were also areas favoured by these birds and remains were found on Stewart Island in 1881. In the North Island they were said to inhabit the Ureweras, inhabiting holes in the cliffs, in the upper reaches of the ranges. They also inhabited the Hakoke Cliffs.

It fed on Lizards, insects and small birds for the plentiful fossilised pellets that have been discovered give clear indication of their diet. It was a ground feeder with sturdy legs that preferred to run its prey down. Nesting was generally on bare ground and in rocky crevices. The nests were made of dry grass and two white eggs were laid.

This bird was known to the Tuhoi People in Te Ureweras in the North Island. Birds were said to be found in the Albany area near Timaru in pre-European times.

A North Island bird was collected from Mt Egmont in 1856 and Wairarapa in 1868; around this time birds were also reported from the Porirua area and Te Karaka.

Mr W.W Smith managed to breed some of these birds in captivity in February of 1882. Several fine specimens along with eggs were dispatched to Buller, along with letters describing the breeding behaviour and care.

July 1914 saw the last sighting of a Laughing Owl; a specimen was found dead at the Blue Cliffs Station in Canterbury.

The only physical proof of these birds that remained was 57 type specimens and 17 eggs in public collections (Worthy 1997).

It seemed however, the Laughing Owl was not totally through. Unconfirmed sightings of Laughing Owls came in from the North Island in 1925 and in 1927 one was supposedly heard at Lake Waikaremoana when it flew over giving a weird cry, almost maniacal in nature.

In the 1940’s a Laughing Owl was reported spotted in the Pakahi near Opotiki (Parkinson).

1950 saw a sighting at Manapouri.

In the South Island in February of 1956 eggshell fragments were found at Saddle Hill in Fiordland.

The most recent hope for this species came from the Canterbury region in 1960 when what appeared to be reasonably fresh eggshell fragments were found.

Various expeditions have been mounted to try and find the Laughing Owl and the results have often been inconclusive. There have been possible calls heard and occasional pellets and egg fragments, but never any glimpse of this elusive bird.

Why these birds became extinct is somewhat of a mystery. Their decline over 40 years has puzzled many. It is believed the invasion of weasels, stoats and feral cats may have spelt their doom. Rats were no problem to these species as they actually provided a new food source for this bird as evidenced from pellets that have been found.

Whatever the reason for their decline unconfirmed reports still continue to come from areas such as Fiordland and various areas of New Zealand. But still no photos or live birds. Perhaps in the remote areas of Fiordland the damp night sky still rings with the maniacal laugh of this enigma.

Hopefully perhaps the Laughing Owl may have not yet had the last laugh.

TONY LUCAS DOES IT AGAIN

How does the bloody man do it? It is becoming ever more obvious that various members of the CFZ bloggo team have what Charlie Fort would have described as "wild talents". Richard Muirhead and Nigel Wright (for example) no sooner have to walk into a public library before they unearth a hitherto unsuspected treasure trove of data.

Max Blake is equally lucky with tropical fish shops, and it seems that our resident New Zealander Tony Lucas has a similar Lovejoyesque power over auction houses.

Cop a load of this.

He wrote to me saying that this was something in which we might be interested, and the answer is that of course we are (even though we still have some financial problems, even though the worst have now been alleviated).

The description is as follows:

This auction is for some RARE Moa Fragments and other items found Ex Wairau Boulder 28 April 1956 By Jim Eyles who was one of New Zealands best Archeologists at the time.

There are 29 pieces all up. There is a card inside the box which reads Odd Moa Hunt Fragments Etc Ex Wairau Bar (Jim Eyles) Hawkeye 28 April 1956 29 pcs. Jim Eyles was a well known Moa Hunter. Later in life he was the Director of The Nelson Provincial Museum. Please feel free to ask me any questions you have regarding this item and i will answer them as best as I can.

To describe Jim Eyles as a "well known moa hunter" is an understatement. To quote wikipedia:

James Roy (Jim) Eyles OBE (1926–2004) was a New Zealand archaeologist.
Born in 1926, Jim spent his early years living with his family at the Wairau Bar near Blenheim where, in 1939 as a schoolboy, he discovered early human skeletons and associated artefacts including necklaces, stone tools and moa egg. Jim discovered several more burials on the bar, and assisted with the exacavtions carried out by Roger Duff from the Canterbury Museum. The site is regarded as one of the oldest and most important archaeological sites in New Zealand.

So this item is actually quite an important piece of cryptozoological history. We have no money, but of course we are bidding on it. If anyone fancies donating a few quid towards the purchase price we would be very grateful..

GUEST BLOGGER TONY LUCAS: The Lindis Lion

Tony Lucas is one of our New Zealand representatives. We first published his work in the 2008 Yearbook when he wrote us an overview of New Zealand cryptozoology....

LINDIS LION STILL HAUNTS LINDIS PASS.

The recent item that appeared in the Otago Daily Times here in New Zealand regarding the Lindis Lion, as it has become known, is not the first incidence of a sighting of this mysterious feline.

The Lindis Lion first came to public attention in 1999 when an English couple, Mark and Deb Greening captured on film what they believe to have been a Mountain Lion – Felis concolor in Lindas Pass in the South Island of New Zealand. The creature was first spotted by Mr Greening in the undergrowth, as they sped past it in the campervan which they were using to tour the South Island, on the way to Queenstown.

Out of curiosity they turned back and were astonished to see a large Cat about 20-30 metres from the van. This sighting was however, like so many before it, passed off by government authorities as being nothing more than an extremely large feral cat.

In August of 1998 a Mountain Lion was observed in the Dunstan Ranges near Cromwell.

It was said to be the size of a Labrador and had a dark orange-mustard coloured coat. Once again the Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries put the sighting down to a misidentification of a feral cat and ignored the situation hoping it would go away as people lost interest. But it didn’t. In July of that year a Mountain lion was photographed crossing a paddock near Omarama, once again the verdict was a Feral Cat from government officials. December of 1999 saw the sighting of another Mountain Lion that has coined the name of the “Moeraki Mountain Lion”.

This time the cat was seen by Canadian Tourists that were quite familiar with these creatures, having seen them in their own country. The Tourists watched as the cat sunned itself on some rocks near Moeraki, which is South of Omaru. On realising it had been spotted the cat leisurely wandered off and was lost from view. It was about 3 metres long and golden in colour. One man held some credence to the story, an Omaru restaurateur, who offered a reward for conclusive proof of the animals’ existence. So far his money has remained in his pocket. In May of 2005 another Mountain Lion was seen this time actually in Queenstown. The cat was sighted skulking in some scrub near the Heritage Hotel by an Australian Tourist. It was about the size of a Golden Retriever but moved in a cat-like manner.

With the latest sighting why have none been found?

British Big Cats still remain elusive as ever and the New Zealand ones are no different.

The South Island, especially the Canterbury area is well known for its mystery cats as there are not only Mountain Lions there but also a species of large black cat as well.

After making enquiries myself I was told categorically “There are NO big cats in the South Island” and further comment was refused. The Government continues to hold its stance that people are merely mistaking large feral cats for something bigger; mind you 14kg for a feral cat is not unusual. Do Big Cats Roam the Canterbury area of the South Island? If we are to believe the government then the answer is no, its someone’s escaped Moggy.

If we are to believe the witnesses, both those that have come forward and those that haven’t for fear of ridicule, then yes there is a population of Cats, and from the widespread reports a breeding population, as the range of the sightings increase year by year.

A FEATHER BRAINED SCHEME

Tony Lucas, who is rapidly becoming my antipodean right-hand man wrote to us this morning. He found the following item on an auction site in New Zealand:

"I've had this guy get in touch with me and is selling a Moa feather.

The guy rang and spoke with me tonight, the feather, that was in a first edition Maori bible that had been locked in a metal trunk since 1900, has apparently been authenticated by Te Papa Museum in Wellington as the genuine article. I was wondering if the CFZ museum would be interested in purchasing this item"

Well, despite the fact that we are skinter than we have been in a long time, with enormous printer, garage and council tax bills on our plate, I am interested, yes.

But then came a second e-mail:

"Just done some research and Dont think this is a Moa feather, if you look at the bottom of the second pic of the feather you can see the split where asecond spine came off, Yes there were two feathers attached,The only bird to have such feathers after extensive research is - You guessed it an EMU.Sorry to get your hopes up Its not the genuine article by the look of it soforget it.Feel a bit of a dumb ass now. Still who knows one day perhaps the real thing."

Tony, I will not have ANYONE badmouth members of my team. Not even the members themselves. You have done a remarkable piece of detective work, and deserve to be congratulated, so be warned that I will be really cross with you if you EVER describe yourself as a `dumb ass` again.....

ANOTHER EXTINCT ANIMAL FROM THE CFZ PHOTO ARCHIVE

Whilst moseying through the CFZ archives looking for the photographs of albino birds which we posted the other day we found this - a case of huias from Kendal Museum.

The huia was an exquisite bird found only in New Zealand with black glossy feathers and orange wattles. Their beaks were sexually dimorphic, the males having stout beaks and the females curved ones. The males used their beaks to chisel into wood in search of insects whilst the female used hers to winkle out prey.

The Maori hunted the huia for it’s feathers but white settlers hunted it on mass as well as introducing predators and cutting down the forests were he bird lived and fed. It is thought to have died out in the early 20th century.

However throughout the 1920s there were continued sightings that suggests the bird may have survived.

On October 12th 1961 Margaret Hutchinson saw a huia at Lake Waikareti in the Urewera State Forest. More recently the CFZ’s Danish representative Dr Lars Thomas saw a huia in the Pureora Forest.

RICHARD FREEMAN: Lakey the horror of Coleridge Lake

Lake monsters are very rare in New Zealand. There are sea serpents reported from its coasts but inland water monsters are almost unknown.

Lake Coleridge is near Canterbury on the South Island. It has a surface area of 47 km² and is 3 km wide by 17 km long. The Rakaia River runs into the lake and in 1914 became the sight of the countries earliest hydroelectric schemes. The Wilberforce and Harper Rivers both have some of their flow diverted intio the lake as well. Lake Coleridge is well known for its salmon and for something else as well.

In the early 1970s there were rumors of something big, powerful and unknown lurking in the lake. The monster is supposed to drag away fishermen’s rods.

In 1972 the beast was blamed for the disappearance of a fisherman. The old man’s upturned boat was found but no body ever found. Many locals from the tight knit refused to fish on the lake after that.

Things seemed to settle for a while but then in 1975 two women reported seeing the monster’s head rise up from the lake. It was described as wolf like but hairless. In the same year a teacher and his wife saw the creature. It grabbed and ate a large water bird from a flock resting on the surface. The monster was imaginatively dubbed ‘Lakey’’

In 1976 a farmer on the west side of the lake began losing considerable numbers of sheep to some unseen predator when they went to drink by the waters edge. Investigating noticed a dark shadow just below the surface of the water where a lamb was moving to take a sip. He shouted, and the huge shape shot off.

The following year several witnesses saw a large monster, 16 feet long, rolling around on the surface, snapping its jaws. News of the sighting spreads like wildfire. The creature is described as gray, with four visible flippers and no obvious dorsal fin. Overall it was quite "fish-like".

After this a hunter from Otago decided to try and kill the monster. He set off at on a boat rigged with radar, harpoons. He was out on the Lake for two weeks but failed to uncover anything but the occasional big blip on the radar.

Taking his hunt under water he decided to dive in a wetsuit. When beneath the water, he found his boat was directly above the wreck of a yacht, which was lying on the bottom of the lake. Curious, he investigated the yacht. As he turned back up to resurface, he was struck in the ribs by something powerful. Not staying around to see what it was, he got back to his boat and left.

In 1979 a group of fisherman on the lakes western most shore saw the creature. The animal was seen to stare at them with its head partially above water. For some time it swam in slow circles, not taking its eyes off the men, then left to beneath the water. The next morning a huge, snake like trail was found in the mud. Could such an animal travel to an inland lake? The answer is yes.

Overall the descriptions sound like a big leopard seal (Hydrurga leptonyx). This formidable beast has a slik, almost snake like head, dark gray fur and a predetory nature.They have been known to attack small boats and one one occation have bitten a human diver to death. A 16 feet ‘Lakey’ is larger than a leopard seal, that grows to around 11 feet. But eye witnesses may have been exagerating the animal’s size.

The snake like trail found in the mud sounds like the slide marks of a seal. Seals haul their bodies along the groud rather than bounding like sea lions. Could such an animal trvel some 50 miles to Lake Coleridge from the sea? The answer is yes. A 3 metre leopard seal was caught in 1870, 48 km up the Shoalhaven River in Australia (having just eaten a duck billed platypus!). They can go much further inland if they please. Mr R E Day saw a seal 400km up the Murray River, Australia. J Dunn, the director of the geological survey of Victoria, saw a shoal of seas swimming in the flooded Murrumbidgee in 1850. They were 1200km from the sea!

The animal has now probably died or returned to the sea. But it left behind a legend. If this had been Australia rather than New Zealand the creature would surly have entered folklore as a bunyip.

GUEST BLOGGER TONY LUCAS: Giant eels in New Zealand

Tony Lucas is one of our New Zealand representatives. We first published his work in the 2008 Yearbook when he wrote us an overview of New Zealand cryptozoology. New Zealand is a particularly fascinating place because of its zoological isolation from the rest of the world.....

Tales of giant Eels abound worldwide and New Zealand has its fair share. There are two species of Eel which are endemic to New Zealand. The Long-finned Eel - Anguilla diefenbachii (Grey 1936), they are known for their great size and aggressiveness, The other is the Short-finned Eel - A schmidtii (Schmidt 1927), a shy, retiring creature more common than its long finned relative.

The largest Eel caught was officially recorded at 5ft in length and weighed an estimated 46lb. There is, however rumour of an Eel captured at Lake Waitapiti weighing 120lb. Other rumours abound from different regions of Eels reaching 7-10 feet in length, having a girth as thick as a mans thigh and weighing on average around 80-100 lbs.

How do they get so big you may well ponder? It's all to do with age and senility.

Eels can live up to 80 years, and as they age, they become a bit bone idle and defy the urge to migrate and spend the rest of their days in freshwater fattening up, growing to gargantuan proportions. These colossuses prefer to reside in slow flowing, deep, vegetation filled streams.

The females of both species are generally bigger than the males; from this we can therefore deduce any extremely large Eel is going to be female. Another supposition that can be made is the fact that the Long-finned Eel is larger than the Short-finned. It is therefore safe to infer that any Eel of giant proportions must be a female Long-finned Eel.

Both species feed on living and dead flesh.

Not having any predatory species of fish in this country, such as Pike ect, they are the top freshwater predator in the lakes and rivers. Accounts of giant Eels, or Eel-like creatures, date back to the time of early Maori colonisation. One engrossing account comes from the Bay of Plenty, in the North Island, from an area near what is now Whakatane.

A giant Eel-like creature known as Tuna Tuoro occupied a local river, it is said that its touch was able to paralyse a person. Could this be an account of some hereto unknown species of Electric Eel?

A more contemporary account refers to a farmer from the Wairarapa region of the North Island.
As is the practice on many farms, he had just dispatched a sheep to feed his dogs.

At the top of a small cliff with a stream running below it, he proceeded to dress the animal, hurling the offal over the cliff to the stream below. Suddenly, he heard a loud turmoil coming from the base of the cliff and looked below to see the water boiling as two colossal Eels tugged at each end of the scrap of offal he had just thrown over the cliff.

With the copious food supply, lack of competition and ample ideal habitat you would think more Eels of giant stature would be captured. These giants, however, stick to the deep waters and it is said are intelligent enough to know all the tricks to remain hidden from the sight of man.

GUEST BLOGGER TONY LUCAS: Suzy's story

Tony Lucas is one of our New Zealand representatives. We first published his work in the 2008 Yearbook when he wrote us an overview of New Zealand cryptozoology. New Zealand is a particularly fascinating place because of its zoological isolation from the rest of the world. However, something that indeed marks him as an essential member of the CFZ is his love of animals, and the way he spoils his little dog Suzy....

Jon,

as you recently acquired Biggles, a fine looking young fellow, I thought I write and tell you the story of Suzy. A couple of years ago some friends of ours were moving into a new house that wouldn't allow Pets, they had recently acquired a new puppy and were thinking of giving it to the local pound. It was instant love between us and Suzy, and though not intending to get a dog we said we would take her.

Things went very well and Suzy was treated like one of the family, in fact if anything over spoiled.

About eight months after getting her she went out into the backyard to go about her business, she seemed to have been gone for an extraordinarily long time so we went out to check on her, to our utter shock she was not there.

A search was mounted and seen the word spread that Suzy was missing, a lot of people in the neighbourhood knew us and began to join the search as well.

They you Suzy was particularly important to me, as due to illness I have to rest, and every afternoon around 1 PM Susie would round me up, made me lie down on the couch and lay across my chest so I could not get up. Once she had decided her daddy had rested enough she would let me up.

We put up posters and due to some contacts with the local newspaper a story was published about Suzy's disappearance.

We checked the pound and veterinary clinics in the area, as in New Zealand all dogs that do not work on farms are supposed to be micro chipped, which Suzy was. If anyone brought her in it would surely be picked up and we would be notified.

The newspaper article was published but by now it was three days since she had gone missing,
I began to despair thinking that quite possibly now she had either been used for dogfights, a despicable practice but one which does go on in many areas of this country, or had otherwise died from fretting.

The following morning, early as I remember, around 5 am my son heard a noise at the front door and opened the door to find Suzy standing there. She was thin and very weak but she was Home. Examining her paws she had obviously been kept in somebody's garage as there was oil on her paws and they were raw from we're she had obviously been burrowing to get out.

We took her to the Vet, who made an incredible fuss of her as they knew us well and Suzy, a big bag was hauled out and loaded with toys and goodies and given to Suzy totally free of charge. The vet examined her and said that she had not eaten, was slightly dehydrated and although weak was okay.

He told us the main time to watch would be that night, as shock may set in and could kill her.

We spent the rest of that day giving her small amounts of food and water and she was so glad to be back home.
As the evening drew on however, she seemed to deteriorate and got worse and worse. We decided to use some Bach Rescue Remedy, a natural remedy which is often pulled out animals through when they have been extremely unwell. Not having any on hand a mercy dash to the late-night pharmacy produced a bottle. After the first dose Suzy seemed to show improvement and we sat with her all night stroking her and letting them know how much she was loved, and that she was home and safe.

By the next morning Susy was her old energetic self and once again, as she has always done, bounced from room to room waking up the family and telling them it was time to get up.

All this happened a year ago this week.

Suzy is still as bouncy as ever, treated like a spoiled child and just that little bit extra special, as she came back to us.

RICHARD FREEMAN: Kakapo Lazarus

A male owl parrot or kakapo named Rangi who has not been seen, or recorded, for 21 years has just been rediscovered. The bird was found on Whenua Hou/Codfish Island, just off Stewart Island, by ranger Chris Birmingham after he heard the distinctive male booming noise.Investigating further he saw by a leg band that this kakapo was one of four males released onto the island sanctuary in 1987, but had not been seen since. Rangi’s return not only boosted the kakapo population to 91, but his genetics as one of 24 founding kakapo males from Stewart Island could further increase the critically endangered birds' gene pool. The Kakapo Recovery programme has also had success with artificial insemination. A female kakapo laid two fertile eggs after she was artificially inseminated by Dr Juan Blanco, a world renowned expert in the area of wildlife reproduction.

In 2008, seven chicks hatched on Whenua Hou/Codfish Island. Unfortunately, one did not make it. They were transferred to special facilities in Nelson to be hand-raised after not enough rimu fruit ripened on Whenua Hou/ Codfish Island for their mothers to feed them.

So far this season 19 or the 30 breeding age females has mated. Mating will continue until the end of February.

More news on those New Zealand bats

Bats attack unlikely
03/02/2009 5:16:01

A man who specialises in investigating unusual claims involving animals believes two men in Rotorua were more likely to have been attacked by birds than bats. The men were walking home along Amohia Street in Rotorua early yesterday morning when they say they were bitten by a flock of bats. They jumped into a taxi and the driver later went back to the street and says she saw about a hundred bats roosting in trees.

Cryptozoologist Tony Lucas says it is a bizarre situation. He says the two species of bats in New Zealand are the size of a mouse and are generally very shy. He does not believe the mammals would have the strength in their jaws to cause any damage to humans.

Mr Lucas says the chances of spotting the bats, let alone being attacked by them is incredible. He says they usually favour forested areas, not suburban streets.

Share this Article:http://www.newstalkzb.co.nz/newsdetail1.asp?storyID=151929

There is also video footage of the story:

http://www.3news.co.nz/Video/Weather/tabid/316/articleID/89439/cat/64/Default.aspx#video

GUEST BLOGGER TONY LUCAS: NZ Bat attack has sinister implications..

Tony Lucas is one of our New Zealand representatives. We first published his work in the 2008 Yearbook when he wrote us an overview of New Zealand cryptozoology. New Zealand is a particularly fascinating place because of its zoological isolation from the rest of the world. This lunchtime we posted a story that Tony aent us about bats, but now it is spreading, and - as Tony says - this is all beginning to look rather sinister. I, for one, am beginning to agree with him, and I have a sneaking suspicion that this story is going to run and run, and that it will have some ramifications that we never considered when we first decided to print it....

http://www.stuff.co.nz/dominionpost/4835601a23881.html
http://www.odt.co.nz/news/national/41691/rotorua039s-039batman039-jokes-about-close-encounter

In all honesty I am somewhat concerned by this as there are some strange things happening here. Normally the gardens in this area are swarming with aphids this time of year, they are a yearly bane of the roses, this year there isnt one. Besides them there are no Praying mantis and usually they are comming into the house on a regular basis at night.

The waxeyes - smallish birds that regularly come through in the mornings are just not here this summer. This is not just happening locally Ive checked in other areas of the country with the same results. There seems to be some kind of breakdown in the foodweb.

Bees are also very scarce.If these are Bats and they have come into a town area they could be looking for food as they are insectivorous. There has never been a year like this, lack of insects, extreme temperatures like we have never had; here in Hastings yesterday we had 38.4 C, totally unheard of, we get up to 33 maybe on a couple of days in summer but this heat seems to be on going with no sign of rain whatsoever.

All very unusual

regards
Tony Lucas
NZ Cryptozoologist.