SIGHTINGS TIMELINE

(SELECTED)

1773

Crewmen on James Cook’s ship Resolution claim to see a small land mammal in Fiordland. None are able to agree on its exact appearance, but Cook includes it in his reports.

1844

David Monro (a Scottish doctor and later politician) reports Maori accounts of ‘beavers’ living at the source of the Clutha river. The Maori described the animals as building what we know as ‘lodges’.

1848

Walter Mantell, a naturalist, writes about a native land animal called the kaureke, said to be found in Canterbury. He offers local Maori a reward for a skin, but an ensuing hunt is unsuccessful.

1855

The Reverend Richard Taylor publishes accounts of a beaver-like creature again sighted in Fiordland.

1861

Julius von Haast reports otter-like tracks discovered along the banks of the upper Ashburton River. He also recounts a sighting by two sheep station owners. The same year a Christchurch newspaper report appears describing an ‘otter’ sighting at Bottle Lake.

1874

Von Haast comes into the possession of a portion of alleged waitoreke skin. In poor condition, it is described as brown with white spots, but thought more likely to belong to an Australian quoll.

1880

In Southland, an animal is shot and killed which matches the description of an otter.

1926

Professor Arnold Wall collects information on the waitoreke and draws the conclusion that it never existed. However, this doesn’t prevent reports from continuing.

1939

Keen amateur naturalists Les Henderson and his wife encounter an otter-like creature near Te Anau. As a result they begin collecting a body of information on similar experiences.

1971

A hunter reports watching an unidentified aquatic mammal in Fiordland.

2006

Fossil evidence of a now-extinct native ‘mouse’ is discovered in Otago, strengthening the case for indigenous mammals.