Pleakley the tūī's chatty nature has made the bird a popular attraction at the Ōtorohanga Kiwi House. He knows around 10-15 phrases, surprising guests as he says them.
New Zealand’s first kiwi house has been targeted by vandals and arsonists, causing more than $15,000 in damage and lost income.
The Ōtorohanga Kiwi House had key infrastructure smashed and stolen last month, which disabled the centre’s power and security systems.
That meant that birds were put atrisk as life-support systems, such as humidity and sensor controls in the kiwi enclosures, were shut down, marketing manager Tyler Lloyd said.
He told the Herald that a hooded electric fence surrounding the park and its enclosures also went offline, which risked harmful species getting in.
Staff were still trying to work out whether pests may have entered, he said.
“Thankfully, I think we’re doing okay, but there’s always a chance that possums, mice potentially went over our fence during that period.”
The burglary destroyed a meter board, which took out the power and security systems. The intruder then climbed on to the roof and stole a specialist piece of equipment that connected the centre’s wildlife life-support systems, internal communications and Eftpos payment network.
The damaged meter board.
The downed systems meant staff could not be notified if wildlife were unwell overnight.
He said that, less than a week later, a group of people started a fire in the public toilets near the centre and then set off fireworks on the deck of a meeting room inside the facility.
The fire was quickly extinguished with the help of rain and bad weather.
“The fact that someone would deliberately attempt to light fires within an operational wildlife facility is deeply unsettling and posed a very real risk to people, animals and infrastructure,” Lloyd said.
The centre now has a bill for more than $10,000 in repairs and a further $5000 in lost income from when electronic payment systems were offline.
The Ōtorohanga Kiwi House hosts a range of native animals, including kākā, kea, kererū, ruru and other birds, lizards and bugs. Photo / 123rf
Staff had to focus on repairing what was destroyed and stolen, taking them away from critical wildlife work, Lloyd said.
“As a small charitable organisation, this has been devastating. Every dollar spent repairing damage is a dollar taken away from conservation work, animal care, and habitat improvements.
“It is deeply disheartening to be forced to spend scarce funds fixing infrastructure that should never have been damaged or stolen in the first place.”
The park was effectively offline for two full days, and issues continued for two more after the equipment was replaced, he said.
Visitors were understanding, with many taking out cash to make payments.
Sergeant Gary Anderson said police had received reports of both incidents.
Initial inquiries into the burglary had failed “to locate those responsible”.
“Should new information come to light, police will take further appropriate action.”
The two youths allegedly responsible for setting off the fireworks were believed to have been involved in an arson that took place at the public toilets in Ōtorohanga on the same day, Anderson said.
They had been referred to Youth Aid.
Opened in 1971, the Ōtorohanga Kiwi House was New Zealand’s first kiwi house, according to its website.
The first artificially bred kiwi were hatched there, and it was also the first place to breed three kiwi species in captivity.
As well as housing kiwi, the centre hosts kākā, kea, kererū, ruru, other native birds, lizards and bugs.
