A SURPRISING CATCH

Otago Daily Times, Issue 22779, 15 January 1936, Page 13

A SURPRISING CATCH

TURTLE HOOKED BY MAORI LONG JOURNEY INLAND (Special to Daily Times) AUCKLAND, January 14. The first recorded instance of a turtle being caught at an appreciable distance inland in New Zealand occurred at Tuapiri during the week-end. A Maori, T. Kani, was fishing for catfish in the Ma-nga-waru Stream, and, when he pulled in his line on the occasion of one bite, he was startled to find that he had hooked a small turtle, about 14in long. Considerable interest was taken in the finding of the turtle by Mr R. A. Falla, assistant director of the War Memorial Museum, when the matter was reported to him. He said that although it. was not uncommon for turtles to be found in northern waters, principally off the west coast beaches in summer, this, to his knowledge, was the first case of a turtle having been captured at any great distance inland.

“ There is a warm current that sweeps down from the tropics along the west coast about this time of the year,” Mr Falla said, “and in the past turtles have been seen and in some cases captured on the west coast beaches near Dargaville and in the vicinity of the Hokianga harbour. Turtles have also been encountered at the Bay of Islands. This particular specimen, which is probably quite young, must have found its way up the Waikato River into the stream from which it was hooked.”