February 8, 2008 - Ah Meng, Singapore Zoo’s most famous and well-loved orang utan, passed away today due to old age. She was 48 years old born in Sumatra, Indonesia around 1960, Ah Meng came to the Zoo at the approximate age of seven in 1971 when she was confiscated from the Chinese family who had kept her as an illegal pet. In 1982, the Zoo introduced ‘Breakfast with an Orang Utan’ programme and Ah Meng was the star. She shot to fame instantly and became a celebrity both at home an overseas. By 1986, she had featured in almost 30 travel films and had appeared in more than 270 articles in newspapers and travel magazines.
For her outstanding contributions in promoting the Zoo as a tourist attraction, Ah Meng is the first and only non-human recipient of the ‘Special Tourism Ambassador’ award conferred by the then Singapore Tourism Promotion Board in 1992. As an icon for the Zoo, Ah Meng has met numerous foreign dignitaries and world renowned celebrities including Prince Philip, David Copperfield, Michael Jackson and Elizabeth Taylor.