92 Transactions.— Miscellaneous. 
while they all knew them well by description and oft-told tale, there was 
nothing whatever known or rehearsed of the habitats of the colossal Moa, 
save the mythical dwelling of the only one on the top of the high mountain 
Whakapunake ! 
7. Further still, I think some notice, however slight, should be taken of 
the great predilection of the ancient Maori towards making pets of wild 
animals, even including those of the most extraordinary and bizarre kinds, 
as we may see in their ancient legends of ‘‘ Kae and the Pet Whale of 
Tinirau,* and of * The Killing of Kataore," the monstrous Saurian pet of 
the chief Tangaroamihi.t Those stories, however, are both very old and 
almost prehistorieal. Then we have the account of the tame lizard pet of 
the chief Kahungunu, named Pohokura, which was carried by him from 
Taputeranga, in Hawke’s Bay, to Te Awarua, on the western flank of the 
Ruahine mountain-range, near the head of the Rangitikei river (about 
twenty-one generations back), and got loose there, and was not recovered. 
This lizard pet is still believed by the old Maoris to be dwelling in those 
lonely mountain forests! Captain Cook and other early visitors tell us how 
very much the New Zealanders were addicted to pet animals; and, in my 
own time, I have known of their pet indigenous birds—parrots, paradise 
ducks, twits, ngoiros and karoros (two gulls), huias, and kautukus (those two 
last being kept solely for their long tail and wing-feathers). They also 
formerly petted extremely, and made great fuss over, the then newly- 
introduced animals, as pigs, dogs, cats, and goats.} The tuii (or parson- 
bird), which was a great imitator and dearly prized by the ancient Maoris, 
was even taught a song,§ which it spoke tolerably well; of such first-rate 
talking specimens, however, I have only seen two, and those more than 
forty years ago. Here again, reviewing the past relative to pet animals, 
* Polynesian Mythology," p. 90. t ** Trans. N.Z. Inst.," Vol. XI, p. 100. 
t It was in 1841 that I first visited the Urewera tribes in the interior, at Ruatahuna 
and Te Whaiiti, near the head of the Whakatane river; and it was on this visit that I saw 
there (at Mangatepa) the most monstrous goat that I ever beheld! in bulk it was more like 
a young steer with prodigious flat horns, and was very mischievous. I saw it knock down 
sprawling big strong Maoris! who, however, generally gave it a wide berth, and so kept 
aloof. Inside of the fenced pa, or village, it was a perfect pest; for being tapu (i.e., 
bearing the name of some one of their deceased chiefs), it must not be touched! This 
ancient custom of the old Maoris of naming their pets after some deceased relation, 
always insured both its safety (with the tribe) and its being tolerably well cared for ; and 
if the said pet were at all viciously inclined it was sure to become worse through over- 
indulgence! I confess I was afraid of that quadruped, and for a long while could not 
believe it to be a goat! The Maoris, some years a had obtained it from a ship on 
the East Coast. 
§ The song which was taught this bird is in Prof. Lee's ‘‘ New Zealand Grammar,” 
p. 109; in its present state it is very imperfect. 
