Ah Meng, icon of Singapore Zoo, dies of old age

Channel NewsAsia 8 Feb 08;

SINGAPORE: Ah Meng, the Sumatran orang utan that was considered an icon at the Singapore Zoo, died on Friday. She was about 48 years old and had died of old age.

In 1971, Ah Meng was confiscated from a family which had illegally kept her as a pet. She then found her home at the Singapore Zoo.

Ah Meng was the first to host the Zoo's famous 'Breakfast With An Orang Utan' programme. She soon became a celebrity, both locally and internationally.

She had been featured in over 30 travel films and 'interviewed' by more than 300 writers.

In 1992, Ah Meng received a special award from the Singapore Tourism Board in recognition of her contribution towards tourism in Singapore.

As an icon of the Singapore Zoo, Ah Meng has met numerous foreign dignitaries and world-renowned celebrities such as Prince Philip, David Copperfield, Michael Jackson and Elizabeth Taylor.

Ah Meng also contributed to the Singapore Zoo's captive breeding programme. She had five children and became a grandmother in 1990.

As a tribute to her, the next orang utan to be born at the Singapore Zoo shall be named Ah Meng Junior.

And to commemorate Ah Meng's efforts towards generating a greater awareness on the plight of orang utans in the wild, the Singapore Zoo will intensify its conservation work for orang utans.

The public can see their beloved orang utan for the last time at the Zoo on Sunday, 11am. She will be buried on the same day.

Fanny Lai, Group CEO of Wildlife Reserves Singapore, said: "We mourn the passing of Ah Meng. She has touched the hearts of everyone who has met her and contributed immensely in helping to promote awareness of how each and every one of us can play a role in anti-poaching, anti-deforestation and conservation matters. We will miss her dearly."

Alagappasamy s/o Chellaiyah, who is also known as Sam, said: "I have taken care of Ah Meng since she first came to the Zoo. Her departure makes me extremely sad and it will take a long while for me to adjust to not having her around. On the other hand, I am very happy that I have had the opportunity to take care of Ah Meng and her family all these years."

Ah Meng will certainly be missed by many, including President S R Nathan, who spoke to reporters at the Istana Open House on Friday afternoon.

He said: "Ah Meng has been so much of a symbol of the Zoo. A lot of people – locals and foreigners – have enjoyed her company. I'm sure the patrons of the Zoo will miss her a great deal. But that's life."- CNA/so

Goodbye, Ah Meng
Radha Basu, Straits Times 9 Feb 08;

TO MOST Singaporeans, Ah Meng was the friendly, lovable orang utan who became a tourism icon and the face of the Singapore Zoo the world over.

But to the man who tended to her, played with her and looked after her every need for nearly four decades, she had grown to be as precious as family.

Yesterday, hours after her surprise death, trainer Alagappasamy Chellaiyah was still walking slowly with his head bowed, lost in thought.

Inside the zoo office, he sat down with The Straits Times, quickly rubbed his tired, red eyes and said: 'I knew her for more than 36 years.

'That's longer than I've known my wife.'

Now a curator of the zoo, the 57-year-old father of three grown-up children has known Ah Meng since the day she arrived at the Singapore Zoo as an 11-year-old, having been rescued from a Chinese family who had illegally kept her as a pet.

Though she had been growing old - she was estimated to have been around 48 years old, the human equivalent of nearly 95 - Ah Meng was in relatively good health.

A detailed medical examination - including blood and urine tests - a couple of months ago had given her the all-clear, though she moved slowly and suffered from occasional bouts of constipation.

So, despite her age, the end was somewhat unexpected.

'She went for her customary walk yesterday. This morning, she had her usual breakfast of grapes, watermelons and oranges,' said Mr Alagappasamy, who prefers to be known as Mr Samy.

But a mere half-hour later, she threw up, prompting Mr Samy to call for the vet.

While waiting for the vet, Ah Meng was on her feet, holding on to a wire mesh. Suddenly, Mr Samy noticed that although her eyes were open, she was motionless.

'I knew this was not normal, I knew this was bad,' said Mr Samy. It was 11.20am. The vet arrived soon after to confirm the worst.

Together with his colleagues, Mr Samy said he will miss Ah Meng's 'friendliness' the most - that and the loving way in which she tended to her young.

'She was so human, such a loving mother.

'Even when she grew old, she was always playing with the young ones.'

It was some of these qualities, together with the numerous publicity campaigns she fronted, that made her special, said deputy head keeper Jackson Raj. The 34-year-old has also been tending to Ah Meng in recent years.

'She liked eating grapes and dragonfruit,' said Mr Raj. 'But durians were her favourite.'

While the staff at the orang utan exhibit were subdued, news of Ah Meng's death had yet to reach the hordes of holidaymakers thronging the zoo yesterday afternoon and staff elsewhere on the sprawling grounds.

Most greeted the news with surprise and sadness.

'Are you sure the news is true?' asked engineer Eric Tay, 34, who had visited the orang utan exhibit with his daughters earlier in the day.

'There were several orang utan there, and I saw an elderly one lying down whom I thought was Ah Meng,' he said.

Like Mr Tay, accountant Seaway Theng, 32, had also visited the orang utan exhibit yesterday afternoon and not noticed anything amiss.

Now a Singapore permanent resident, Mr Theng grew up in Johor, where he had heard of Ah Meng's friendly antics and seen television footage of her.

When he first visited Singapore as a schoolboy in 1989, he made sure he went to the zoo and had a photograph taken with her.

'She was so famous that we just had to get the picture,' said Mr Theng, who was visiting the zoo yesterday with his wife and seven-month-old son.

Her death - like her life - will leave a mark on many who grew up in the 80s and 90s.

Said Mr Theng: 'It's sad, but she was old, so I can't say I am surprised.'

Ah Meng dies: She was the Singapore Zoo's brightest star, loved by all
K. C. Vijayan, Straits Times 9 Feb 08;

SHE was a great-looking Singapore girl who rubbed shoulders with royalty, movie stars and statesmen.

People paid to sip tea with her, and countless others liked nothing better than to be photographed next to her.

So when Ah Meng the orang utan died yesterday, aged 48, it marked the end of an era at the Singapore Zoo.

Saddened by the news, former zoo chief Bernard Harrison remembered: 'She had the character to be a mega-star, the personality to pull that off and became a legend.'

Ah Meng was a household name and remained the zoo's star attraction, even as age slowed her down. In human terms, she was nearly 95, and is believed to have died of old age.

Born in Sumatra, Indonesia, she arrived at the zoo in 1971 after being removed from a family who kept her as an illegal pet.

Stardom came in 1982 with the zoo's 'Breakfast with An Orang Utan' programme, which featured Ah Meng at centre stage.

Within four years, she featured in almost 30 travel films and more than 270 write-ups worldwide.

Among those who dropped in on her were Britain's Prince Philip, pop superstar Michael Jackson and actress Elizabeth Taylor.

Such was her pulling power that the then Singapore Tourism Promotion Board made her a Special Tourism Ambassador in 1992, the first non-human recipient of the award.

The zoo's former head of public relations, Mr Robin Goh, said part of Ah Meng's charm was how she took to people.

'She came from a domesticated background as a pet and behaved differently from wild orang utans. She could drink tea from a teacup and looked good for an ape,' he said.

Ah Meng is survived by four children and six grandchildren.

A memorial will be held at 11am on Sunday at the zoo, and the public will be able to view Ah Meng's body from 9am.

Reacting to the news, President SR Nathan said at yesterday's Istana open house that Ah Meng had long been a symbol of the Singapore Zoo.

'A lot of people, both local and foreigners, have enjoyed her company,' he said. 'I'm sure the patrons of the zoo will miss her. But that's life.'

The life and times of the zoo's most famous resident
Straits Times 9 Feb 08;

Since 1971, Ah Meng had charmed visitors to the zoo, hobnobbed with celebrities and even received a special tourism ambassador award
# 1971: The zoo's most famous resident, Ah Meng the orang utan, is taken from a couple who were keeping her as a pet in their kampung house.

# April 1975: Ah Meng gives birth to a male named Hsing Hsing, her first offspring.

# August 1978: Zoo visitor throws a sharp metal or wooden object at Ah Meng, leaving a gash on her cheek.

# July 1980: She gives birth to Medan, a female offspring.

# March 1982: During the shooting of a promotional video, Ah Meng spends two nights up a tree (left) at MacRitchie Reservoir. She refuses to come down after the shoot is over and instead climbs higher. On her way down, she slips and falls seven storeys, breaking her right arm.

# 1982: The zoo introduces the Breakfast With An Orang Utan programme, with Ah Meng as its star.

# February 1983: Hong Bao, another female offspring, is born.

# October 1985: Ah Meng is mobbed by a crowd of 400 during her 21st birthday party.

# August 1989: During her second month of pregnancy, zoo keepers notice her bleeding. She is given an ultrasound by specialists from Thomson Medical Centre and National University Hospital, but has a miscarriage.

# April 1989: Pusung, an 11-year-old Sumatran orang utan from Perth, arrives as a mate for Ah Meng.

# November 1989: Ah Meng dines with Tanya Evans from Melbourne, Australia. The dying 11-year-old had been diagnosed with cystic fibrosis.

# July 1990: She gives birth to a fourth offspring, Sayang, a female.

# September 1991: Ah Meng becomes a grandmother when her second-born, 10-year-old Medan, gives birth to son Kamal.

# September 1992: Ah Meng, jealous that her keeper is paying attention to a research student, attacks the visitor. The student, a Frenchwoman, is at the zoo to study orang utan behaviour.

# March 1992: Ah Meng receives a Special Tourism Ambassador award from the then-Singapore Tourist Promotion Board at the Westin Stamford. It was a one-time award specially created for her. She receives a certificate and a stack of bananas.

# September 1993: Ah Meng is among six orang utan having a romp with Michael Jackson at the Raffles Hotel pool.

# December 1996: Satria, her fifth offspring is born

# July 2005: Ah Meng is mated with 28-year-old Charlie