Sidestep: The Maori Bigfoot legend
According to Maori legend we have our own Bigfoot. It is an old legend of a creature called the Mohau. It is known by many names depending where in NZ you lived (which shows that different cultures lived here who had different names for it otherwise if all arrivals came from Hawaiiki, they'd call it the same thing. Think about that one awhile!). Maori spoke of of mighty ape-men who resided in the forested areas, these areas they dared not venture into as these hairy beasts were known to tear men apart, had huge lacerating fingernails and fed on human flesh. They were known by many names Moehau, Maero, Matau, Tuuhourangi, Taongina, and Rapuwai. The Moehau were describes by the Maori as being “Terrible creatures, half man, half animal”, with a very aggressive temperament, they were only too happy to massacre and eat anyone that strayed into their domain.
Early encounters often talk of these creatures exhibiting aggression and throwing rocks to frighten people off. It was these creatures, largely found in the Coromandel Ranges, that were thought to be responsible for the find of a headless, partially devoured body of a prospector in the Martha Mine region in 1882, later further up in the foothills the corpse of a woman was found, it was discovered she had been dragged from the shack in which she lived while the remainder of her family were away, her neck had been snapped.
On the topic of aggressive behavior, Toanginas were greatly feared by the population of the lower Wanganui River as they were said to viciously attack any fishermen who strayed into their territory. This vicious behaviour however seems to have abated in more modern encounters as the beasts in most instances flee on sight of humans. Rapuwai are believed, from legend, to be able to crush any strong Maori warrior with ease employing their large powerful hands. They are said to be tool-producing beasts using wood and stone, the articles crafted are said to resemble those produced by Homo erectus hominids. Moehau are depicted as being as tall as a man, completely hair covered, with marginally ape-like facial features. The primary difference from human appearance being the extremely long fingers, tipped with sharp talons, capable of tearing apart the toughest prey. Often described as “Manimals”. It is possible that if these man-beasts existed prehistorically they would have been more than capable of bringing down the largest of Moa -Dinoris giganteus. The large talons spoken of seem to designate this creature's predatory nature. However, large talons are also found elsewhere in the animal kingdom in animals that rip open rotten logs to acquire nourishment, considering the indigenous Maori used to eat the large nutritious Huhu Grubs; it is not impossible that this beast may also be insectivorous. Matau Giants are described as being ape like but 3m tall. The Rapuwai are gigantic, slow clumsy creatures that are of a strong muscular stature. These creatures can be categorized as follows, those that are the stature of an ordinary human, the Moehau and Maero and those that are of giant stature are the Matau, Tuuhourangi, and the Rapuwai. Many areas of New Zealand are named for these great hairy man beasts, Moehau Mountain, where they are believed to reside and people are cautioned against going up there is one such place. The Moehau are thought to populate both Mount Tongariro and Ruapehu, the Karangahake Gorge, Coromandel Ranges, Martha Mine Region, Waikaremoana – in the Urewera Ranges, The Heaphy River of the Northwest Nelson State Forest Park, Kaikoura Mountains, Fiordland National Park and are believed to be very common in the Haasts Pass area particularly around the Haast River. The Matau Giants inhabit Lake Wakatipu in Central Otago. Toanginas are found in the lower reaches of the Waikato River. Maero are encountered in bush country throughout both the North and South Islands. Rapuwai are said to inhabit the Marlborough Distract and the Milford Sounds area. There is further another as yet unidentified type of man beast that lives in the Cameron Mountains in the South West of the South Island.
Now keep in mind that this is all in Maori legend - this is not a European invention. Why have no bodies of these beasts ever been found? Is it possible these 'Manimals' may have a conception of death and bury their deceased. If this is the case the New Zealand bush does not give up its dead readily, the chances of finding a buried carcass, unless you know precisely where to look, are reasonably slim, especially in some of the more inaccessible areas. Is it possible that some of these man-beasts may still exist in the more remote isolated areas of bush throughout both Islands? With habitat destruction and human encroachment this species, if it survives, must unquestionably be on the brink of extinction or maybe already extinct. It appears the last bastion of the Moehau is said to be in the Coromandel Ranges, where accounts seem to indicate they resided in their greatest population density. Footprints are in most instances the main evidence of these creatures, in 1903 footprints larger than a mans were found in the Karangahake Gorge in Coromandel. In 1971 a trail of footprints similar to a mans though extended in appearance was located on snow-covered ground and led into a zone of bush on a hillside by a Park Ranger. 1983 was when a deer hunter chanced upon man-like footprints that could have been no more than an hour old along a riverbank in the Heaphy River area. In 1991 campers in the Cameron Mountains of the South Island elected to abandon their camp after finding unusually large man-beast prints near where they were camping. In 1970 another party of campers had to abandon their camp as a 2m tall man beast assailed them screaming loudly and hurling rocks at the camp In 1972 a hunter in the Coromandel ranges watched a naked, hairy man beast about 2m tall work its way through the scrub on the other side of a gully, upon reaching the place the creature had been transversing footprints were found. An undated sighting surfaced from the Sunday News stating that an occupier of the Lake Mahinapua Pub had been having his vegetable garden raided regularly, the offender was exposed when a man beast was witnessed dashing to the protection of the bush with an arm load of silverbeet (garden vegetable).
Regrettably some of the Coromandel sightings may have been of an escaped Gorilla. A vessel anchored near Wai Aro in 1924 had a pet Gorilla as a mascot, the animal managed to slip away from the ship and was never captured, however sightings of the beast provoked a few startled reports from the region. So all the above is a detailed description of the legend and it does seem unlikely that anything could survive unnoticed in NZ...until you examine how rugged the Coromandel really is. However, in 1970, County Councillor J. Reddy told Robyn Gosset that the Hairy Moehau was an exaggeration started from a joke. Also in 1970, Bob Grey told researcher Robyn Gosset that the term Moehau Monster came from a name given to a Yankee steam hauler that was utilized for logging.In New Zealand Mysteries by Nicola McCloy, the author discredits both theories by citing several Moehau sightings during the early 19th century.
The Moehau Range is the central feature of the Colville Ecological District which takes in 77,201 Ha, 59% of which is in indigenous vegetation, and 8% of which is virgin forest. Mt Moehau is sacred to the Marutūahu tribes of Māori. Many important chiefs, including Tamatekapua of Te Arawa, are buried on its summit. The full name of the mountain is Te Moengahau-o-Tamatekapua (the windy sleeping place of Tamatekapua). The Moehau Range is considered one of New Zealand’s six ‘biodiversity hot spots’. The Moehau peak contains a selection of indigenous vegetation that is unique for a North Island forest, and is home to silver and pink pine, kaikawaka, sweet hutu and southern rātā, and is the northern limit for many southern montane species such as mountain toatoa and mountain cedar (pahautea). The range is also noteworthy for the rare native frog Leiopelma archeyi whose young hatch from eggs, bypassing the tadpole stage. Moehau is also home to the Moehau Stag Beetle, the Moehau Weta and a population of approximately 500 Kiwi.
Therefore this range is home to species one sees nowhere else. If that is the case it’s a likely place to assume such a creature could hide. Not that we subscribe to that - but it’s a wonderful thought.
