of the more infamous accounts are dubious and/or incongruous - but a significant number of descriptions (particularly from the late 19th century onwards) share a striking similarity to each other and to species known to exist outside New Zealand. The Māori people said that in old times they used to keep waitoreke as pets (Mareš, 1997). Some of the most notable early (claimed) accounts come from pre-20th-century explorers and naturalists: Captain James Cook—Dusky Sound—1772. "For three or four days after we arrived in Pickersgill harbour, and as we were clearing the woods to set up our tents, &c. a four-footed animal was seen by three or four of our people; but as no two gave the same description of it, I cannot say of what kind it is. All, however, agreed, that it was about the size of a cat, with short legs, and of a mouse colour. One of the seamen, and he who had the best view of it, said it had a bushy tail, and was the most like a jackall of any animal he knew. The most probable conjecture is, that it is of a new species. Be this as it may, we are now certain that this country is not so destitute of quadrupeds as was once thought."Georg Forster, one of the biologists on board, doubted the observation of a quadruped in his report, A Voyage Round the World: "We were surprised to see the young black dog in the boat with them, which ran away from us [...]. Though this animal had been in the woods during a fortnight, yet it was by no means famished, but on the contrary looked well fed [...] We may from hence conclude, that as there is abundance of food for carnivorous animals in New Zealand, they would probably be very numerous if they existed there at all, especially if they were endowed with any degree of sagacity, like the fox, or cat tribes. In that case they could not have escaped the notice of our numerous parties, nor of the natives, and the latter would certainly have preserved their furs, as a valuable article of dress in their moist and raw climate, for want of which they now wear the skins of dogs and of birds. The question, whether New Zealand contained any wild quadrupeds, had engaged our attention from our first arrival there. One of our