In
New Zealand folklore, the moehau (also called the maeroero) is a creature said to dwell in the
Coromandel-
Moehau ranges of
New Zealand's North Island
The North Island, also officially named Te Ika-a-Māui, is one of the two main islands of New Zealand, separated from the larger but much less populous South Island by the Cook Strait. The island's area is , making it the world's 14th-largest ...
. Some
Māori people suggest that the creature is a descendant of the maero, but another explanation for the moehau is that it was an exaggerated report of an escaped
gorilla.
[Turner, P. ''National Geographic Traveler: New Zealand''. p. 116]
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.
See also
*
Maero
*
Patupaiarehe
*
The Catlins
References
Further reading
*
*
*{{cite book , last=Gosset , first=Robyn , title=New Zealand Mysteries , edition=2 , publisher=The Bush Press of New Zealand , location=Auckland , date=1996 , url=
Coromandel Peninsula
New Zealand legendary creatures