Sue Hensley tells the story of an Orokonui favourite , the kaka known as Mr Roto, who sadly died in an accident in late 2014.
Lake Rotoiti Forest 1993. The future looked bleak for two little kaka chicks still in their nest hole.
Their mother had just been killed by a stoat, her body left at the bottom of the tree uneaten.
Their father brought food for a couple of days but the job was too much for one parent alone.
Fortunately theirs was a monitored nest and the two chicks were rescued and sent to Orana Park for rearing.
They were named after their former home: Roto and Iti.
Roto was transferred to the Dunedin Botanic Garden aviary in 1995 where he quickly became a favourite among visitors (and keepers) because of his friendly and gentle ways.
School groups could enter the aviary and learn about kaka while having a close encounter with the real thing.
Kaka mate for life and in 1997 Mr Roto was paired with a formerly wild bird who had flown from goodness knows where and been found in a pigeon loft in Dunedin a bit the worse for wear.
They raised eight young at the gardens and in 2007 they, along with two of their chicks, were chosen to be the first aviary residents at the newly fenced sanctuary at Orokonui.
When the sanctuary became largely pest free in 2008, six captive-bred young kaka including the Roto offspring were released.
Mr and Mrs Roto were retained in the Orokonui aviary to be used as acoustic anchors; their calls from the aviary keeping the other newly released kaka in the vicinity.
That season the Roto young found a natural nest site down the valley track and raised a single chick.
This was the first kaka chick to be hatched in the area for more than 100 years.
Four years later as the kaka population grew the Roto pair too were released.
Mr Roto retained his endearing habits and gave many visitors memorable encounters, landing on shoulders and grooming through hair, beards and licking lips.
Mr Roto also loved energetically destroying rotting wood to get at those delicious treats, the huhu grubs.
Perhaps this was his undoing.
Perhaps this is what he was doing on the ground when he disturbed a log which then rolled and crushed him.
Mr Roto's gentle legacy continues today with one son at Dunedin Botanic Garden having human visits (including under-5-year-olds).
Additionally, this son is the garden's best breeder, with five young (four girls and a boy) to date.
Mr Roto and his mate also raised six chicks while flying free at Orokonui.
Orokonui's volunteer bird feeders have many stories to tell of him.
''My favourite personal Mr Roto moments were when I was bird-feeding before my reception shift on Saturdays. I'd have the whole place to myself and a great walk to start the day. Mr Roto would inevitably be waiting impatiently for a feeder to be filled and if you took too long he would try to help [trying to pull the sugar-water bottles out of the bucket] and encouraging me to hurry up by climbing up my front,'' Sofie Welvaert recounted.
He is sadly missed. A very special bird. RIP Mr Roto 1993-2014.
Sue Hensley is Orokonui Ecosanctuary's chief guide and has spent much time monitoring the kaka population in the ecosanctuary, locating them with radio-tracking equipment. In October last year it led her to the spot where Mr Roto had died.
