Goodbye to Ah Meng. But her efforts on conservation continue…
Kids ASK! about Pets & Animals
Ah Meng, the brightest star at the Singapore Zoo, passed away peacefully on 8 February 2008. Many people, both young and old, bade their last goodbyes to Ah Meng at the memorial service held in the Singapore Zoo on Sunday, 10 February. Ah Meng had brought joy to many visitors, but she had also helped to raise awareness on the conservation of orang utans.
The orang utans are on the verge of extinction due to deforestation and poaching. As forests gave way to farming and logging, the orang utans lost their homes and source of food. On top of that, poachers killed the mother orang utans, snatched their babies and sold them as exotic pets to rich buyers. If deforestation and poaching do not stop, the world’s largest natural orang-utan population may become extinct in 10 years.
Do you know? – Ah Meng was kept as a pet illegally for 11 years in Singapore until she was brought to the zoo in 1971.
Sources of information:
1) Passing of AH MENG (1960-2008). Retrieved February 25, 2008, from the Singapore Zoo web site: www.zoo.com.sg/ABOUT/NEWS/news08022008a.htm
2) Orangutans and the Rainforest. Retrieved February 25, 2008, from the Orangutan Conservancy web site: www.orangutan.com/orangutans_avoid_pets.html
3) One minute to midnight. Retrieved February 25, 2008, from the UN Works web site: www.un.org/works/environment/animalplanet/ orangatang.html
Read these books to find out more:
Watching orangutans in Asia by Deborah Underwood
Publisher : Oxford : Heinemann Library, 2006.
Call No. : JP 599.88 UND
Orangutan baby by Monica Hughes
Publisher : Tunbridge Wells : Ticktock, 2006.
Call No. : JP 428.6 HUG
Orangutans by Deborah Dennard
Publisher : Chanhassen, Minn.: NorthWord 2003.
Call No. : J 599.88 DEN
Protect nature by Kay Barnham
Publisher : New York : Crabtree Pub. Co., c2008.
Call No. : J 333.95 BAR
The dodo is dead and other questions about extinct and endangered animals by Andrew Charman
Publisher : London : Kingfisher, c2007.
Call No. : J 591.5 CHA
All websites were last accessed on 25 February 2008. Please check the websites’ homepages for the terms and conditions of use.
All images were extracted from www.bn.com.
For the availability of the above book titles, please check the library catalogue.
Posted by Ms Adeline Tan
Librarian
Children’s Services
Found this post interesting? What do you think? Post your comments.
If you have a different question, please email to ask@nlb.gov.sg instead of sending a comment
It’s really sad that Ah Meng passed away. I still remember the first time I saw him 5 years ago. Rest in peace Ah Meng!
Comment by Office Space — February 28, 2008 @ 2:51 pm
Ya, I was very sad too when I heard the news. But I’m very glad that the zoo took good care of her all these years. We’ll miss you a lot, Ah Meng!
Comment by Adeline — February 28, 2008 @ 3:12 pm
Another website to look at to learn more about what is being done to save orangutans in the wild is the Borneo Orangutan Survival Foundation at http://www.savetheorangutan.co.uk. The Singapore Zoo has supported this organisation with much needed medical supplies for its rescue centre in Borneo.
Comment by Michelle Desilets — February 29, 2008 @ 10:37 pm
The pictures i see here are all broken, is it the link of the pictures got error ?
Comment by SEO — April 28, 2010 @ 11:42 am
i was doing some images of orang utan for some design projects and found this post. Ah meng does bring back many good memories!
Comment by Design School — October 28, 2010 @ 6:00 pm