Mali’s death was announced Tuesday by Manila Mayor Honey Lacula in a Facebook video, in which she said visiting the zoo to see the elephant was one of her best memories from her formative years. The elephant noticed on Friday that he was constantly rubbing his trunk against a wall, indicating that he was in pain. according to Manila Zoo lead veterinarian Heinrich Patrick Peña-Domingo.
On Tuesday, she found herself lying on her side and breathing heavily. Vets gave her antihistamines and vitamins, but were unable to save her as Mali died this afternoon. An autopsy revealed that he had cancer in certain organs and a blockage of the aorta.
Sri Lanka gifted Mali to former Philippine first lady Imelda Marcos in 1981, when she was 11 months old. She was accompanied by another elephant, Shiva, who arrived in 1977 and died in 1990. Since then, Mali has been the only elephant at the Manila Zoo to entertain young people getting vaccinated in a place where the COVID-19 pandemic has been cracked.
Mali’s isolation and dilapidated hospital situation were cited by several animal rights activists, who said the zoo was not in a position to provide the elephant with good enough medical care. Famed singer Sir Paul McCartney asked in 2012 to send Mali to some other sanctuary where he could be surrounded by other elephants, calling his scenario “heartbreaking. “
“I am writing to convey my voice to many others who wish to move Mali, the only elephant recently held at the Manila Zoo, to a sanctuary in Thailand as soon as possible,” he said.
However, those who stayed at the zoo argued that the most productive thing to do was to leave the elephant there because it didn’t know life in the wild. Despite repeated appeals, Mali remained at the Manila Zoo.
In a statement on Wednesday, People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) said: “One of the saddest elephants in the world has died. In Mali, the elephant died the same way it had lived for about 50 years: only in a concrete enclosure. at the Manila Zoo. . . Rest in peace, Mali. You deserved so much more. “
“The Manila Zoo and the city of Manila have condemned Mali to decades of solitary confinement, which is torture for elephants, who naturally spend their lives among their mothers and sisters, protecting others and raising their calves,” the organization added.
“Sad for Mali, the well-known elephant passed away here in the Philippines. I hope there are no more elephants confined in zoos,” one user told X.
Meanwhile, Manila Mayor Lacuna said she would ask the Sri Lankan government to donate elephants to the Philippine capital. He added that Mali’s longtime caretakers had been mourning his death and that moving Mali to a sanctuary had “never been considered,” given the length. of your stay.
“She may seem lonely, but she had us by her side. . . She was the face that greeted everyone who visited the Manila Zoo. It’s part of our lives,” Lacuna said in a moving speech.
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