Malaysian Post

From the website of Din Merican:

This is a touching clip about unity against oppression. It can happen even in the animal world. But it was their sense of wanting to protect their helpless that unified the herd, and together they took on the preying lions and an opportunistic crocodile. Is there is a message for us, Malaysians?  For me, it is a simple case of “United we stand, Divided we fall”. Think about it. Your comments are most welcome.—Din Merican

Spotted a bird, I have never seen before.

Looks like a cross between a kingfisher and a crow. A kingcrow?

Of course, if anyone can tell me the name of this bird, I would be most grateful.

p.s. Thanks to SS Khoo of MNS for the info that this is the White-throated Kingfisher, a very common kingfisher in Malaysia.

Just A Malaysia (16th June 2008)

It is Valentine Eve and while waiting for my bus, I chance upon a couple of young enterpreneurs selling red roses from a car in the car park.

I asked them for permission to snap a couple of shots for this blog but they were very coy. They agreed after a while but by then my bus has arrived. I managed to fire off a couple of quick shots before dashing off to catch my bus. The tail end of the bus can be seen at the left of the picture below.

Happy Valentine’s Day to all the lovers in the world.

Was saddened to read about the death of Ah Meng, the iconic Orang Utan of Singapore Zoo today.

I remember the first time I “met” this lovable animal. It was when I came across her image in a stamp issued by Sing Post. The item is reproduced below:

SINGAPORE’s favourite ‘daughter’, aged 50, died of old age yesterday.

The news was taken sadly but calmly by the man dubbed the ‘Father of Ah Meng’ by his own family for the tireless care he showered on his ward.

Former zoo keeper Revi Nair, 46, took care of Ah Meng between 1981 and 2005, and he had been a fixture at almost all of her public appearances.

He found out about Ah Meng’s death from his wife, who called him with the news.

He told The New Paper: ‘It’s sad news, but I was expecting it.

‘She was very old.’

What he remembers most about his former charge, he said, is that she was a good mother.

Mr Nair recalled: ‘About 15 years ago, there was a baby orang utan, Binte, who had been rejected by her own mother.

‘We took the baby to Ah Meng a few times. Initially, she wasn’t interested in letting the baby suckle because it wasn’t her own.

(From above): Former zoo keeper Revi Nair poses upside down with Ah Meng in a photo taken 15 years ago; In 1983, Ah Meng presented the zoo with the perfect new year gift - a 1.5kg baby named Hong Bao; Mr Alagappasamy Chellaiyah, who has cared for Ah Meng since 1971, gets a peck on the cheek. — File pictures

‘But eventually, she did - and she became the baby’s surrogate mother.’

Ah Meng also leaves behind children of her own - she has two sons, Hsing Hsing and Satria; and two daughters, Medan and Sayang.

She also has six grandchildren.

Mr Nair used to accompany Ah Meng on nearly all of her celebrity meetings, which included meet-and-greet sessions with Prince Philip, magician David Copperfield, Michael Jackson and Elizabeth Taylor among other stars.

He said: ‘When Michael Jackson came to Singapore, I went with Ah Meng to Raffles Hotel to meet him.

‘Michael… was happy to meet her. It’s hard not to like Ah Meng - she’s a neat orang utan, well-groomed, and she has good manners.’

Mr Nair added that over the years, Ah Meng had developed a keen understanding of English commands, and had learned human behaviour.

He said: ‘Ah Meng learnt the proper way of holding a teacup and stirring her tea, just by watching people do it.

‘She was highly intelligent and could learn nearly anything just by observing it.’

Mr Nair, who began his career as a zookeeper at the quarantine section of the zoo, started working with orang utans after two years there.

Ah Meng’s late daughter, Hongbao, which was born on Chinese New Year in 1984, was in his care until she died in 2004.

Zoo curator Alagappasamy Chellaiyah, 57, who has cared for Ah Meng since 1971, said he was ‘devastated’ by Ah Meng’s death.

He said: ‘Ah Meng wasn’t just any other animal - she was the icon of the Singapore zoo.’

Mr Chellaiyah said he had gone to Ah Meng’s enclosure yesterday morning as usual.

‘She looked very weak. We fed her as usual, but she threw up the food we gave her. We were worried and called the vet,’ he said.

But she had already died by the time the vet arrived.

He said: ‘I’m just glad she wasn’t in any pain when she died - her head dipped downwards and she was gone.’

He recalled that whenever he took Ah Meng out for a walk in the mornings, she would place both her hands on his shoulders ‘like a hug’.

He said: ‘She would greet me with a smile, and poke her finger out to touch me. It’s rare that anybody could grow so close to an animal.

‘But she has lived a good life.

‘With my upcoming retirement, I used to wonder who would leave the zoo first, her or me? It’s unfortunate that she has gone first.’

DIVA

Others who have worked with Ah Meng remember her as the superstar of the Singapore Zoo.

Former zoo chief Bernard Harrison said: ‘She carried herself like a diva because she was a star and she knew that. She loved taking pictures.’

He recalled an incident 26 years ago when Ah Meng escaped from a film set at MacRitchie Reservoir.

‘She simply decided to climb up a 50m-tall tree and stayed up there for three days.

‘Everybody there kept calling for her to come down, but she simply wouldn’t,’ he said.

Mr Harrison said Ah Meng eventually fell off the tree due to dehydration and hunger, and ended up breaking an arm.

He said: ‘We had to rush her to Mount Elizabeth Hospital to get her arm fixed.’

Undoubtedly saddened by the news of Ah Meng’s death, Mr Harrison added: ‘I worked with her for 29 years. It’s almost like losing an old colleague.’

FOREIGN TALENT

Ah Meng was born in Sumatra, Indonesia in 1960.

She arrived at Singapore’s zoo in 1971, after she was confiscated from a family who kept her as an illegal pet.

In 1982, the zoo began the ‘Breakfast with an orang utan’ programme with Ah Meng as the star.

By 1986, she had been featured in almost 30 travel films and appeared in more than 270 newspaper and magazine articles.

Ms Fanny Lai, group chief executive officer of Wildlife Reserves Singapore, told The New Paper that special arrangements are sometimes made for zookeepers who have grown attached to animals that have recently died.

She said: ‘We understand that keepers work closely with animals over a period of time and need space and time to grieve.

‘We make provisions by giving them time off from work, and we have occasionally arranged for the animals to be buried near the keepers’ rest area.’

Ms Lai said about two small animals have been buried in the zoo this way.

She said: ‘In Ah Meng’s case, we will be burying her at one of the zoo’s most scenic spots - the Garden With a View.’

As a tribute, the zoo also plans to name its next newborn orang utan Ah Meng Junior.

There will be a special memorial service held at the zoo for Ah Meng tomorrow from 9am to 11am.

This is a sad story of a dying species from the BBC.

Now extinct frog filmed waving, wrestling and courting

Click on image to view video

A BBC film crew has captured footage of a rare frog waving, wrestling and courting for the first time. BBC film crew has captured footage of a rare frog waving, wrestling and courting for the first time.

The Panamanian golden frog communicates with other frogs by semaphore in the form of gentle hand waves.

It has evolved the mechanism to signal to rivals and mates above the noise of mountain streams.

Shortly after filming for the BBC One series Life In Cold Blood, the frogs had to be rescued from the wild, due to the threat of chytrid fungus.

Hilary Jeffkins, senior producer of Life In Cold Blood, said the semaphoring behaviour of the Panamanian golden frog was very unusual.

“Normally, frogs would croak to get their message across but it’s too noisy,” she said. “An extra mechanism they’ve evolved is to wave to each other.”
‘Final wave’

The frogs (Atelopus zeteki) were filmed at a remote location in the Panamanian rainforest. The population had all but disappeared because of a fungus that grows on the amphibians’ skin and suffocates them.

The film crew was disinfected - to stop them from carrying the disease - and managed to capture unique footage of the frogs in the wild.

THE GOLDEN FROG   Locals believe the frogs turn to solid gold when they die Even a sighting of one is considered lucky Golden frogs are highly toxic

Just after filming was completed in June 2006, the location was overtaken by the chytrid fungus.

Scientists were forced to remove the remaining frogs from the wild and keep them in captivity.

Hilary Jeffkins added: “The whole species is now extinct in Panama - this was one of the last remaining populations. Its final wave was in our programme.”

Chytrid fungus (Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis) is a major contributor to the decline of amphibian populations around the world, threatening many species with extinction.

Sir David Attenborough brings viewers the final chapter of his epic overview of life on Earth as he transforms perceptions of cold-blooded animals in the landmark BBC One series Life In Cold Blood. It starts on Monday 4 February at 2100 GMT