Walter and the unsolved mystery of the South Island otter

Walter Mantell’s reports of a probably mythical creature the Māori called the waitoreke are still considered some of the most reliable.
The elusive South Island otter was supposed to be brown with white spots.
And despite Mantell being told Māori had kept them as pets, there was not one to be seen, or indeed, the remains of any.
Walter Baldock Durrant Mantell was born on March 11, 1820, to geologist parents Gideon Mantell and Mary Ann Mantell (nee Woodhouse) in Sussex, England.
HIs father steered him toward medicine, sending him to top schools in Brighton and Tottenham then to London University.
However, Walter rather abruptly left England on September 18, 1839 on the Oriental to come to Wellington, New Zealand.
After trying farming, he was made a clerk to the bench of magistrates and deputy postmaster in Wellington before resigning in 1844 to become superintendent of military roads in Porirua where he learned to speak Māori.
He was appointed to work in the office of commissioner for extinguishing native titles.
Walter became increasingly concerned over the non-fulfillment of promises to Ngāi Tahu over the original purchases of land and complained loudly.
After a brief leave of absence, in which he visited England, he returned to appeal about the grievance to the secretary of state for the colonies but was refused an interview.
Walter then resigned his position and was elected to the House of Representatives in 1861.
He tried many times to rectify the broken promises to Ngāi Tahu and took the office of native minister on the condition it was fulfilled but resigned within six months when it wasn’t.
Walter remained a persistent advocate of Ngāi Tahu for years.
But it was his work in natural history that bought him satisfaction and some fame, especially his link to the unsolved riddle of the South Island otter.
He wrote about the otter, having heard the stories from local Māori tribes.
The creature was described as a type of otter, but now is thought might have been a type of badger or seal.
Little evidence for it exists and explorer Julius von Haast was reported to have obtained a pelt in 1868 that was brown with white spots more closely resembling a quoll.
Elders from the South Island talked of them and one was apparently trapped in 1878.
Walter also collected moa bones from a Waingongoro in South Taranaki in 1847, most of which went to the British museum. It resulted in the reconstruction of the largest moa skeleton recovered.
Walter's name was given to Notornis mantelli, initially thought to be extinct but turned out to be Takahē.
Walter married Mary Sarah Prince in August 1869 - their son, also Walter, was born in 1864. Mary died in 1873 and in 1876 Walter married Jane Hardwick.
He died in Wellington on September 7, 1895 and is buried in Karori Cemetery.