296 Transactions. — Zoology. 



even eaten them. To prevent the knowledge of an interesting zoological fact 

 being lost I have written down the statements of such of the natives whose 

 testimony seemed most worthy of credit. They are persons whose names 

 appear in the earliest records of the colony as leading members of the native 

 community, and therefore from their age may be considered competent to give 

 evidence upon matters of fact which occurred under their observation forty or 

 fifty years ago. 



The following is a summary of the statements made by Te Aika, Te Uki, 

 Iwikau, and Te ata o Tu : — 



Unu ngarara or ngarara burrows were frequently met with on the plains. 

 They were plentiful in the manuka scrub extending from the banks of the 

 Waimakaiiri past the present site of Eyreton westwards towards the ranges, 

 and at Waitui, between the Hurunui and Waiau rivers. The ngarara was 

 darker in colour than the ruatara. They varied in size from two to three 

 feet in length, and ten to twenty inches in girth ; along the back from the nape 

 of the neck to the tail was a serrated crest. The mouth was full of teeth, 

 some grew large and caused the upper lip to project. These when taken from 

 the jaw were three or four inches long, and half an inch at the base; when 

 sjilit in two and polished they were prized as mat pins. 



A ngarara known as Te iha was kept a long time at Kaiapoi. It was fed 

 on small birds and prepared fern-root. It was very gentle and liked being 

 stroked, uttering at the time a guttural sound expressive of pleasure. When 

 it made this noise at any other time it was an indication that it wanted food 

 or water. 



Besides the kind frequenting the manuka scrub there was a smaller 

 ngarara, about eighteen inches long, found in the streams. Horomona Iwikau 

 was eeling some time before the fall of Kaiapoi at Orawhata, a stream which 

 rises near Riccarton and falls into the Waimakariri. After having caught a 

 great many eels, which he killed with a billet of wood, he was terrified by the 

 cries of one he was in the act of killing ; though very frightened, he continued 

 to strike till the sound ceased. On examination he found it was a ngarara ; 

 becoming emboldened he lit a fire, and cooked and ate it. The natives 

 attribute the disappearance of the large ngarara to the introduction of cats 

 and to frequent fires. The Norwegian rat has probably a hand too in the 

 extinction of these reptiles. 



While upon the subject of lizards I may add the following anecdote" which 

 tends to throw light upon a question that seems likely to be disputed, namely, 

 whether Maoris ate lizards in former times. (Vide Mnjor Mair's paper, 

 Trans. N. Z. Inst., Vol. V., Art. XVIII). 



ITakopa te Ata o Tu, a well-known Kaiapoi chief, who was taken prisoner 

 by To Rauparaha and spared on account of his great valour, while in captivity 



