Singapore: Zoo's celebrity orangutan dies

Ah Meng, an orangutan who met celebrities and starred as a poster girl for Singapore’s tourism campaign, has died of old age, the city state’s zoo said. She was about 48.

Singapore Zoo said in a statement it would hold a memorial for Ah Meng on Sunday. She died on Friday.

Alagappasamy Chellaiyah, the keeper who had cared for Ah Meng since she arrived at the zoo more than 30 years ago, said he would miss the friendly ape.

“Her departure makes me extremely sad and it will take a long while for me to adjust to not having her around,” Chellaiyah said. “I am very happy that I have had the opportunity to take care of Ah Meng and her family all these years.”

Born in a rain forest in Sumatra, Indonesia, in about 1960, Ah Meng was taken to the zoo after being confiscated from a family in Singapore who had kept her as an illegal pet.

She shook hands and clinked glasses with foreign dignitaries and celebrities including the Duke of Edinburgh, pop star Michael Jackson, illusionist David Copperfield and film star Elizabeth Taylor.

In 1992, she received the Special Tourism Ambassador award from the Singapore Tourism Board.

Ah Meng is survived by two sons, two daughters and six grandchildren. The zoo said that as a tribute to her, the next orang-utan to be born there will be named Ah Meng Junior. An orang-utan in captivity has a life expectancy of about 45 years, the zoo said.

Ah Meng belonged to a rare breed of Sumatran orang-utans. Logging and poaching in south-east Asian rain forests have left less than 8,000 of the critically endangered creatures in the wild.