July 1, 2005
Charlie is the new male in Ah Meng's life
By Krist Boo
SHE is 46, a grandmother of six, and a celebrity who has hobnobbed with stars, among them Elizabeth Taylor. He is 28, was abandoned by his mother, and is a bachelor.
YOU'VE GOT MALE: The Singapore Zoo hopes Ah Meng (above) and Charlie will produce offspring to grow its population of Sumatran orang utans. -- SINGAPORE ZOO
Despite their differences, the Singapore Zoo believes they could be made for each other and is matchmaking the couple - Sumatran orang utans Ah Meng and Charlie.
It hopes they will produce young ones to grow the population of this type of ape at the zoo.
Of the 23 orang utans in the zoo, Ah Meng, her daughter Sayang, 18, granddaughter Chomel, nine, and son Satria, eight, are the only Sumatrans. The rest are Borneans.
'Sumatrans are rarer than Borneans. Any opportunity for a zoo to breed them is welcome,' said the zoo's director of veterinary services, Dr Chris Furley.
The fact that Ah Meng is in her twilight years and Charlie, middle-aged, is incidental, he added, as orang utans remain sexually reproductive through their life, which can be 50 years in captivity.
Charlie, who is here through an exchange with Malaysia's Zoo Negara, will be introduced to the two other Sumatran females.
The courtship will be paced, starting with the quartet placed next to each other in their dens.
Dr Furley said: 'When it comes to great apes, it's important they like each other, otherwise they're unlikely to breed.'
No one is sure how Charlie, who has spent most of his life alone, will respond. Zoology curator Sam Alagappasamy said: 'In the beginning, he'll probably be aggressive. But if he sits next to the female and lets her groom him, that will be a good sign.'
As ape colonies usually have a dominant male breeding with most of the females in it, a catfight over Charlie is unlikely, said Ah Meng's keeper.
If Ah Meng takes to him, Charlie will be her third partner. Her first, Rodney, died in 1987 of diabetes. Her second, Pusung, was sent to a zoo in Adelaide, Australia, for breeding in 2000.
Ah Meng has a 50 per cent chance of conceiving, said Mr Alagappasamy. There will be no pressure on her to do so.
'I just want her to be happy. Whenever she goes on heat, she suffers. If Charlie satisfies her, we'll have done something for her.'
