THE MYSTIC OTTER

Gisborne Times, Volume LXVIII, Issue 10742, 13 November 1928, Page 9

THE MYSTIC OTTER

WAS IT SEEN IN KAIAPOI district?

“In an old newspaperi.l read an article on ’the mystic otterofNew TVoland by Professor Arnold Wall, wHfces Mr G. W. Glass, of Wanton, to the Otago Witness. _ ‘ I tlunk ho Ins come to the conclusion that it is a mvthi He is wrong. Such an andoes exist or did exist about 1887- When living in Kaiapoi l saW on the banks of .the _ Waimakarirg where' the Cam River mins it, a fourfooted animal about the size of a small' ‘bulldog. -It was 1 very like a bulldog with wrinkled nose, turned up with powerful shoulders and short,' bandy .legs; . It showed its teeth and was a reddish-brown color. When I first noticed it it-was about, 50 yards away, coming towards me, on the rvier bank. I thought, at first it was a bulldog. I had a cattle dog witli me at the. time—-a savage cog I, set him on to it when ahout + five yards off. He toocl looking at it for - a few seconds and then came hack and sat behind me. I could then see it was not a dog ; It was sitting on : its haunches, facing me. It must have sat there 20 seconds. Then. it lumped down the bank into the river Mt made the cleanest dive I ever saw/--iao splash, just left a ring on the -water. ■ I was quite close -to it wheiri it took’ the ;water. I watched for some time, but could not see dgain,. I did ..riot notice ff it haj i n. tail,;, .as-i it) was {facing ; in 9- . moritha/before’ I: saw it (on;; the river *ll ’.'.A’..V 'ri; ■

bank, I was out rabbiting -with another young fellow about half a mile from the dam River, in some high gorse. The dogs got on to something in the gorse. They seemed to be fighting something. We , beard them cry out as if they were hurt, ji thought it might .bo a .wild catI crawled into the gorse to have a look. It was tall gorse, open at the bottom. The dogs were barking at something at the bottom of a poplar tree that was growing in the gorse. They had ■ blood and froth all over their faces. I ‘saw something, but did not know what it was. It was not ai dog or cat. It looked so savage that I.got back as soon/as I qould. I thought it would'spring at me, and we threw stones where we thought it was. 'The dogs would not go at it again. They had deep cuts right across their noses. ' Ail old resident'of'Kaiapoi saw some large animal swimming underneath the water. He followed it about 50 ydsalong the bank, and then lost sight of’it.’-’