Australian naturalist Rex Gilroy had hiked into the Whanganui National Park after dark to collect drying casts of suspected moa footprints when he heard a "hump, hump, hump" call similar to that made by an emu.
The call ended in a "strange scream" and as the creature got closer Mr Gilroy
- who believed he was about to confront a moa - readied his camera to take the "photograph of the century".
But he saw only a blurred shadow as his mysterious visitor turned and disappeared into the gloom.
That tantalising near-encounter on March 16, plus footprints found on an earlier visit to the Ureweras, convinced Mr Gilroy and his wife Heather that colonies of little scrub moa were surviving in remote areas of New Zealand bush - including Waipoua Forest in Northland.
"There have been sightings at Waipoua over the years. I'm certain there could still be small populations of moa in Northland. We will be looking there when we return to New Zealand next year," he said.
Mr Gilroy, 64, has been studying history and natural sciences for 50 years. He has a huge collection of artefacts, has owned three museums and has written eight books, the latest of which, Pyramids in the Pacific, explores the notion that Egyptians, Greeks, Chinese and others sailed to Australia in ancient times.
Mr Gilroy would like to hear from Northern Advocate readers with personal moa sightings or other information that could help his investigations. Write to Rex Gilroy, PO Box 202, Katoomba 2780, NSW Australia.
" If you've seen something unusual, we want to know too. Email us at reporters@northernadvocate.co.nz, phone (09) 470 2875, or write to the Northern Advocate, PO Box 210, Whangarei.
