The maero are described by the Maori (the native race of New Zealand) as looking much like themselves, except that the maero were bigger and had shaggy hair growing all over their bodies. The maero were exceptionally strong, even for their size. They did not wear clothes and had few of the trappings of civilization, though they did use stone clubs. According to traditional history and folklore, the maero were more or less constantly at war with the Maori. As a result of this war, the maero had been driven into the most rugged and inhospitable areas, where they barely survived, in small numbers. The maero would kill any human beings they happened to come across, and they seemed to have no cannibalism taboo, because they generally ate these victims.