Local hapu and the Hauiti Ariki Whakatataare-o-te-rangi encountered the British explorer Captain James Cook in 1769; including Tupaia the Tahitian who accompanied Cook on his voyage around the pacific.
Tupaia (navigator) — an 18th Century Tahitian navigator, arioi ("high priest") of local noble lineage, who accompanied Lt. James Cook as navigational guide on the latter's famous first voyage of discovery in HM Bark Endeavour.
The Calamian treeshrew (Tupaia möllendorffi) is a treeshrew species found in the islands of Busuanga and Culion, which are part of the Calamian Islands group in the Philippines.