The Fiordland Laughing Owl was officially declared extinct in July 1914. The last recorded bird was found dead at Blue Cliffs, in Canterbury, NZ. However, reports about the Laughing Owl of Fiordland persist.
In Kiwi folklore, the waitoreke ( waitorete or waitoreki) has been described as an otter or beaver type of creature that reportedly lives undisturbed in the deep south of the South Island.
Speculations about the moa’s undetected existence in the wilderness of Fiordland and South Westland continue to attract curious zoologists and wildlife experts. You never know, a Milford Sound Cruise might be all you need to awaken the wilderness explorer in you.