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SINGAPORE: About 4000 people showed up at the funeral of Ah Meng, the Sumatran orang utan of Singapore Zoo, on Sunday morning.
Ah Meng, who died of old age on Friday, was a Singapore tourism icon as well as the face of the zoo for many years. She was 48 years old.
For two hours starting 9am, people from all walks of life queued up to pay their final respects to Ah Meng. Many of them were visibly upset.
The atmosphere was sombre. Strangers were sharing with each other their encounters with Ah Meng.
"It's very sad. Every time (on) my son's birthday, I come over here," said a member of the public who attended the funeral.
"Many years ago when we were small girls, we used to come to the zoo and look at Ah Meng," said another.
Ah Meng is survived by four children and six grandchildren.
Alagappasamy Chellaiyah, Ah Meng's minder for 36 years, said: "All the 25 orang utans knew that something had happened because she (Ah Meng) died in the facilities. They knew that Ah Meng (was) gone. They were very quiet. Even the free ranging orang utans, they came, they refused to take food."
Judging from the turnout at the funeral, it is clear that Ah Meng had touched the hearts of many.
In 1992, she became the first and only non-human recipient of the Special Tourism Ambassador award.
Zoo officials, who were visibly distraught by Ah Meng's death, said they will continue their work with Sumatran orang utans, who are critically endangered with only about 7,500 left in the world. - CNA/ac
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