Posted on 06/15/2002 10:54:45 AM PDT by dighton
Mike the orangutan will be afforded a funeral ceremony fit for a hero today after his death from penumonia on Thursday.
Formerly Lop Buri Zoo's most popular attraction, Mike will be laid to rest with bathing rites similar to those held for humans, said Yongyuth Kijwattananusorn, chairman of the Lop Buri Inn Group and one of the ape's biggest admirers.
Monks were also considering chanting prayers for Mike, who died aged 17.
After the funeral ceremony, Mike's body would be kept in storage until a decision was made on whether to cremate or bury him, or preserve his body for public viewing.
Vets yesterday performed an autopsy on Mike and confirmed the cause of death to be pneumonia.
``Mike could only breathe through his mouth when he was admitted,'' said Dr Narongsak Chaiyabutr, dean of Chulalongkorn University's faculty of veterinary science.
``We may have been able to do more if we had seen him earlier,'' he added.
The ape reportedly fell sick with a herpes infection in his mouth at the end of last month.
Vets believed he contracted the disease from unhygienic food offerings given to him by zoo visitors.
Mike was unable to eat or drink for two weeks before he was admitted to the hospital, by which time he was also suffering from a lung infection.
Somsak Naksomboon, a veterinarian at Lop Buri Zoo, said Mike was loved by so many because of his gentle nature, and the boost he provided to tourism.
``Mike drew many visitors to our province,'' he said.
Despite weighing over 150kg, Mike could often be seen surrounded by children trying to hold his giant hands, he added.
Revenues from entrance fees rocketed from an average 8,000 baht per day to more than 50,000 baht on the day a banquet was held at the zoo to mark Mike's ``marriage'' to Zuzu, his first wife, in 1996.
© Copyright The Post Publishing Public Co., Ltd. 2002
-- Billy Wilder, to cameraman John F. Seitz.
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