Do You Remember Ah Meng, Singapore's Most Beloved Orangutan?

I was not yet born when Ah Meng came to the Singapore Zoo at the age of eleven in 1971. As a kid, the zoo was often one of the top spots in our "must-go" list during the school holidays.

I remember exclaiming excitedly, "Look! Ah Meng! Ah Meng!" when we were approaching the orangutan enclosure. But in fact, I could not recognize which was her as the open enclosure was huge and there were about twenty other orangutans in there. Nonetheless, the sight of the great apes helping one another to scratch the backs, picking fleas from the fur and then putting them into their mouths never failed to amuse me.

Ah Meng was a highly intelligent primate and was keen in learning through observation. Over the years, she also developed an understanding of English commands.

During the showtimes, the zoo would entertain the visitors with funny skits that displayed the animals' intelligence. In her younger days, Ah Meng always played the role of the cheeky one, making fun of the zookeeper behind his back.

When her naughty acts were discovered, she put on an innocent look that seemed to say "I didn't do anything, did I?" When "reprimanded", she acted cute and apologetic. But once the zookeeper turned his back to her, she slapped his butts hard, making all audience laugh out loud.

At the end of the show, she would solicit applause from the audience, wave goodbye and blow kisses. The audience loved her.

Being extremely photogenic and more approachable compared to her peers, Ah Meng was often spotted interacting with visitors and flashing her million dollar smile at cameras. As the "poster girl" of the Singapore Zoo, she was featured in over 30 travel films and "interviewed" by more than 300 writers. Pictures of her were often used in international tourism advertisements to promote Singapore.

Ah Meng was famous, both locally and internationally. Among her numerous visitors were celebrities, such as Prince Philip, magician David Copperfield, pop star Michael Jackson, actress Elizabeth Taylor and tennis star Bjorn Borg. Like a superstar, she commanded a high fee of US$2,275 per hour. Ah Meng was so popular that hundreds would flock to the zoo to celebrate her birthday.

Ah Meng's best human friend was the zoo curator, Mr. Alagappasamy Chellaiyah, who is also known as Sam. They came to the zoo about the same time and spent 37 years together.

When Sam was away for holiday, Ah Meng would let him know when he came back, that she felt hurt at being abandoned. When she was nervous, she would ran to Sam and put her arms around him.

In a well reported incident, Ah Meng attacked a visiting French female research student whom Sam was paying a lot of attention to. Some people attributed the act to jealousy.

Ah Meng died on 8 February 2008. At the age of 48 for an orangutan, she was equivalent to a 95 year-old human being. According to Sam, she looked very weak that morning and threw up her food. By the time the vet arrived, she dipped her head and passed away. On that fateful day, the orangutans in her enclosure fell silent and rejected their meals.

At the special memorial service held at Singapore Zoo, about 4,000 people from all walks of life came to pay their last respect. A durian tree was planted at her grave because durian was Ah Meng's favorite fruit. As a tribute, the zoo also installed a life-size bronze statue of Ah Meng and named the next newborn orangutan Ah Meng Junior.