Cryptid Vault
Moehau

Moehau

Also known as: Maero, New Zealand Wildman

A hairy, rock-throwing giant reported in New Zealand's Coromandel Range long before the Bigfoot craze.

First Reported

Maori oral tradition, European reports 1870s

Origin Area

Coromandel Peninsula, New Zealand

Size

Over 2 meters tall

Temperament

Aggressive, territorial

Status

Rare modern reports

Eyewitness reportsHigh DangerOceaniaForestMountain

The Lore

The moehau is a large, hairy, bipedal creature reported in the Coromandel Peninsula and surrounding ranges of New Zealand's North Island. Maori traditions describe the maero as wild, aggressive forest dwellers distinct from taniwha. European settlers added their own accounts starting in the 1870s, describing a tall, ape-like figure that hurled rocks and emitted howling screams. A prospector was allegedly found dead in the Coromandel Range in 1882 with a broken neck and strange footprints nearby. New Zealand, like Australia, has no known native primates.

Body Type

Humanoid

Folklore Origin

Indigenous traditionHistorical reports