Hoppie

Hoppie is a lesser-known cryptid from New Zealand folklore, described as a large amphibious creature resembling a grotesque hybrid between a frog and a kangaroo. Said to lurk around marshes and riverbanks, Hoppie reportedly emerges on moonlit nights to hop awkwardly through fields, its bulging eyes reflecting light like twin lanterns. Some local stories paint it as harmless, simply an eerie curiosity that startles livestock and vanishes into reeds. Others suggest it has a taste for small animals, explaining disappearances of chickens or stray dogs. Skeptics dismiss Hoppie as a colorful campfire tale, perhaps inspired by sightings of oversized amphibians or startled wallabies relocated from Australia. Yet the cryptid persists in regional storytelling, a bizarre echo of how isolated landscapes often breed monsters tailored to their unique, haunting atmospheres.