Wellington Zoo says its one-legged kiwi, Tahi, has died after a prolonged illness.
The zoo made the announcement this afternoon and said Tahi had "died recently".
Tahi had lived at the zoo for the last 15 years and was described as being a "much-loved part" of the zoo's whanau.
The zoo described him as an "amazing conservation ambassador" for kiwi.
"Hundreds of thousands of Wellington Zoo visitors have learnt about kiwi conservation after seeing Tahi at the zoo’s daily kiwi talks," it said in a statement.
"He has been an icon of our Wellington community and has even had a book written about him and appeared on TV and in magazines all over the world."
The zoo said Tahi's death had followed those of two other kiwi over the last few months which lived in its Twilight Te Ao Māhina.
The deaths had occurred despite the "exhaustive efforts" of the vets at The Nest Te Kōhanga.
"The Nest Te Kōhanga team are further investigating the causes of death with other Kiwi experts to confirm if there are any possible medical links in the three cases as there are some similarities of symptoms.
"The Twilight Te Ao Māhina is closed while we seek more information about Tahi’s death and rigorously investigate any links in the cases."
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