than darker – about the size of a hare, but of totally different movement and bodily proportions. The body was solid and the small head seemed to merge into it so that the neck was not clearly defined. The hindpart of the body was larger than its forepart, and the legs were really rather small in proportion to the body. The tail was long, tapering gradually from the body." There they were said to exist in inland lakes and rivers. Many of these sightings were assessed in papers on the subject of the waitoreke by G. A. Pollock in 1970 and 1974, which led to a search of the area around lakes Waihola and Waipori in Otago during the 1980s. References Further reading Legendary mammals Māori legendary creatures Purported mammals