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Cirrate Octopus

Cirroctopus hochbergi

Status: Endangered. A long lifespan and slow growth makes it hard for some cirrates to adapt and recover from hardships.

In an account told by a chief of the Ngati-Kahu-nguna tribe told to New Zealand historian and ethnologist T.W. Downes and recorded in 1914. In this account, the chief spoke of the history of the white dolphin (Grampus griseus) known to the Maori as Tuhi-rangi, or as the white New Zealanders named him, Pelorus Jack. Tuhi-rangi would swim alongside ships, escorting them through a dangerous channel in Cook Straight.

The chief tells the story of Kupe, who found some new islands "at the far end of the sea". This discovery came about because Te wheke-a-Muratangi ("wheke" in Maori means "octopus") kept stealing all the bait from Kupe's fishing lines. Despite the advice of priests to tie his lures tighter, the clever and troublesome Te wheke-a-Muratangi still managed to steal his bait, afterwards fleeing a safe distance.

Kupe again sought advice of priests, who told him that he was to follow Te wheke-a-Muratangi. Tuhu-rangi/Pelorous Jack would be his guide to keep him safe from danger. He was only to hunt the wheke through waters where his dolphin guide indicated.

Following these instructions and carefully trailing Tuhu-rangi, Kupe took his wife and family on his canoe. At last he was able to track down Te wheke-a-Muratangi in a cave in New Zealand, whereupon a battle ensued, and Kupe emerged victorious. Afterwards, Kupe continued along the island and through the harbors, naming them as he went.

Tuhu-rangi took up his post near French Pass, where he has guided and protected ships from dangerous rocks, eddies, and whirlpools ever since.

 

References:
Downes, T. W. (1914). PELORUS JACK. TUHI-RANGI. The Journal of the Polynesian Society, 23(3(91)), 176-180. http://www.jstor.org/stable/20701079

Lawson, Will (September 1924). "Pelorus Jack: A Complete History of the Wonderful Pilot Fish of New Zealand". Pacific Marine Review: The National Magazine of Shipping. San Francisco: J. S. Hines: 459, 466. https://books.google.com/books?id=RT8fAQAAMAAJ&dq=%22Pelorus+Jack%22&pg=PA459#v=onepage&q=%22Pelorus%20Jack%22&f=false