Ah Meng, world's most famous orangutan, dies

An orangutan who met Prince Philip, Elizabeth Taylor and Bjorn Borg has died aged 48.

	She may look affectionate here, but Ah Meng wasn't always so cuddly

Ah Meng became a poster girl for Singapore’s tourism industry and conservation publicity. She featured in more than 30 documentary films, with co-stars who included Steve Irwin, the late Australian wildlife presenter.

She became hugely popular through Singapore Zoo’s “Breakfast with an Orangutan” scheme which allowed thousands of visitors to be photographed with her.

Her fame was such that visiting dignitaries queued to meet her, among them Prince Philip, the actresses Elizabeth Taylor and Bo Derek, and Bjorn Borg, the tennis star.

In 1993, under headlines such as “Is Bubbles Jealous?” US newspapers recorded her meeting with the pop star Michael Jackson. Her visit to the singer’s hotel was widely alleged to have upset his pet chimpanzee.

Ah Meng’s contribution to raising the profile of Singapore was recognised in 1992 when she received the “Special Tourism Ambassador” award - the first and only non-human recipient of the honour.

Singapore Zoo is to hold a public memorial service for Ah Meng. The zoo also announced that the next orangutan born there will be named Ah Meng Junior in honour of the departed star.

As Singapore’s president offered condolences, Robin Goh, the zoo’s former head of public relations, hailed Ah Meng’s star quality: “She could drink tea from a teacup and looked good for an ape.”

The orangutan, who could reportedly command fees as high as $2,275 US dollars (£1,168) an hour, like many stars was not always easy to work with.

In March 1982, while on location for a tourism promotional film, she climbed a tree and refused to come down for three days. She eventually fell from the tree and broke her arm.

In 1992 she became jealous that her keeper was paying too much attention to a visiting French female research student and attacked her perceived rival.

Ah Meng, a Sumatran orangutan, was thought to have been born on June 18 1960. Although Sumatran orangutans are critically endangered, she was smuggled to Singapore from Indonesia and kept illegally as a pet.

She was discovered by a vet in 1971 and taken to Singapore Zoo. By the 1980s she was so popular that hundreds would flock to the zoo to celebrate her birthday. She was 'interviewed' by more than 300 writers.

Singapore President S.R. Nathan told the Straits Times: "A lot of people, both local and foreigners, have enjoyed her company. I'm sure the patrons of the zoo will miss her.”

Fanny Lai, group chief executive of Wildlife Reserves Singaporem, added: "She has touched the hearts of everyone who has met her and contributed immensely in helping 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."

Ah Meng died on Friday. The cause of death is thought to be old age. She was said to have been nearly 95 in human terms.

She had five children and is also survived by her partner Charlie and six grandchildren.

Her first companion Rodney died in 1987 from diabetes complications. Her second relationship, with Pusung, ended when he was sent to an Adelaide zoo for a breeding programme in 2000.