Year of the Monkey: Famous monkeys and apes

From Singapore’s Ah Meng to trickster hero Sun Wukong, here’s a look at some of these famous primates, as the Year of the Monkey nears.

Singapore Zoo’s Ah Meng, a Sumatran orangutan, which passed away in Feburary 2008. Image: Wildlife Reserves Singapore

Ah Meng

Singapore’s most famous orangutan had her fair share of admirers; its memorial service in 2008 was attended by over 4,000 people, reported local newspaper The Straits Times. As the Singapore Zoo’s poster girl, the Sumatran orangutan had been pictured with visiting celebrities and foreign dignitaries the likes of Prince Philip, actress Elizabeth Taylor and pop singer Michael Jackson. The beloved orangutan passed away at the grand age of 48 years-old (said to be nearly 95 in human years), leaving behind four children and six grandchildren.

Baker & Able

They were the first monkeys to complete and return from a space mission; two years before Russian cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin became the first man in space. On May 28, 1959, Rhesus monkey Able and squirrel monkey Baker boarded a missile that flew up to 300 miles (482.8 km) into space, before descending to Earth. Barely a few days later however, Able passed away on June 1 during a post-flight operation. Baker, on the other hand, lived to the ripe old age of 27 and had held the record of the world’s oldest living squirrel monkey until its death in 1984.

Bubbles

This chimpanzee was a constant companion on pop king Michael Jackson’s world tours. The late singer had adopted the primate from a research facility in 1983. But as the chimp grew older and became more aggressive, it was given to an animal trainer in California in 2003, before moving to its current home at the Center For Great Apes in Florida. According to the singer’s sister La Toya Jackson, the chimpanzee was “raised around our family, around us, eating at table with us, doing everything we do”.

David Greybeard

On one morning at Tanzania’s Gombe Stream National Park in 1960, ethologist Jane Goodall observed this now famous chimpanzee scooping termites from a nest with a spoon-like tool. Before this sighting was reported, it was widely believed that human beings were the only species capable of using and making tools. Goodall named it David Greybeard, after the tuft of light hair on its chin. The chimpanzee disappeared in 1968 and had likely died of pneumonia, due to a flu-like epidemic in the park.

Dr Zaius

This villainous ape paved the way for more of his ilk in the movie franchise. In the original 1968 film The Planet of the Apes, Dr Zaius leads a society where the apes are in charge while human beings have become the vermin on the planet. Fun factoid about this sci-fi series: its origins go as far back as 1963, as it’s based on La Planète des Singes, a satirical novel by Pierre Boulle. Boulle was intrigued by the human-like expressions of gorillas he had seen in the zoo.

Hanuman

The Hindu god is widely featured in Indian myths, folklore and literature such as the Ramayana and Mahabharata epic poems. He is Lord Ramayana’s greatest devotee and is known for his courage, intelligence, selfless service, grace and compassion. Although the origins of the monkey deity differ from text to text, it’s generally agreed that he was born to wind god Vayu and an apsara (female spirit). He is usually depicted as a figure with a monkey’s face and tail and a human male body.

King Kong

“It was beauty killed the beast” — this story of the colossal gorilla from Skull Island still endures in popular culture. After all, it’s hard to forget that iconic Empire State Building scene, with Kong clutching Ann Darrow while scaling to the top of the building. The original 1933 film King Kong has since been remade twice in 1976 and 2005, while spawning countless of sequels, spin-off shows. A new prequel to the movie is slated to be released in March 2017, starring Tom Hiddleston and Brie Larson.

Sun Wukong

He’s the irascible trickster hero and surely the most famous fictional monkey in China. Sun Wukong, also known as the Monkey King, travels with his master, a monk named Xuanzang, on a pilgrimage in The Journey to the West. Besides wielding a magical staff that can shrink to a needle and expand to gigantic proportions, he also boasts tremendous strength, speed and other supernatural abilities. His only kryptonite? The gold band around his temples, which his master tightens to keep his bad behaviour in check.