An elderly elephant died in a Philippine zoo, according to an official, following a failed global campaign to relocate her to an animal sanctuary.
Mali was a popular attraction at the Manila Zoo, where animal rights activists claim she was kept in “solitary confinement” in a concrete enclosure for decades.
Before her death on Tuesday, the approximately 43-year-old elephant received the backing of Catholic bishops, a global pop star, and a Nobel laureate, all of whom advocated for her transfer because she had been mistreated.
“Mali was our prized possession and was the star attraction here at the Manila Zoo” Manila City Mayor Honey Lacuna told a news conference at the facility.
“It saddens me because she was part of our lives,” she said, recalling how her parents took her to the zoo when she was a child. Mali, who was brought from Sri Lanka to Manila when she was 11 months old, was the last surviving elephant at the zoo after her companion Shiva died in 1990, Lacuna said.
Mali had pancreatic cancer
An autopsy revealed that Mali had pancreatic cancer, according to zoo veterinarian Heinrich Domingo, who denied allegations that she had been neglected.
“We were her family”‘ he said. Social media users expressed sadness over Mali’s death, while also criticizing the zoo and government officials for refusing to send her to an animal sanctuary.
“No more small enclosure for you. Run free Mali,” Lemuel Bueno posted on Facebook.
Another user said, “They killed her long before her physical death”.
People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) accused the zoo and the government of ignoring Mali’s “clearly painful foot problems” and sentenced her to decades of torturous “solitary confinement.”
“Mali the elephant died the same way she had lived for nearly 50 years: alone in a concrete pen at the Manila Zoo, the group said.
PETA campaigned for Mali’s relocation
PETA launched a campaign in 2005 to have Mali removed from the zoo, gaining support from British pop star Morrissey, animal welfare activist Jane Goodall, Nobel laureate in literature J.M. Coetzee, and local bishops.
They signed letters to the Philippine government requesting that the elephant be relocated to a sanctuary in Thailand.
Lacuna defended the decision to keep Mali in captivity at the Manila Zoo, claiming she would not have survived.
She stated that when she died, the government would take Sri.
Lacuna stated that Mal’s skeleton would eventually be displayed at the zoo museum.
“World’s Saddest Elephant’: Mali’s Journey From Sri Lanka To Manila’s Solitude
