By Patricia Lanzagarita

MANILA — The local government of Manila and the Department of Tourism, Culture and Arts of Manila have announced on their Facebook pages that Mali, the only elephant in the Philippines, died Tuesday (28 Nov 2023).

Vishwamali known by the locals as Mali, was a female elephant living in one of the enclosures of the Manila Zoo. She was donated by the Sri Lankan government to the Philippines in 1981.

She was brought to the country when she was orphaned in the wild at the age of four (4).

Since her arrival in the Philippines, she then lived in the zoo for almost four (4) decades during her first steps as a young elephant and also her last steps as a 43-year-old elephant Tuesday.

According to the veterinarian of the Manila Zoo, Peña Domingo, the doctor who witnessed the necropsy of Mali, congestive heart failure was the cause behind the death of the elephant.

“Sa dami po ng organ na affected, sa dami ng tumors. Syempre po, magkakaroon ng pressure sa katawan. Ngayon dadating po yung time na masisikipan yung puso to the time na hindi na po kayang ma-pump ng puso yung enough blood to sustain yung kanyang buhay,” Domingo said.

Manila Mayor Honey Lacuña said that they are currently doing talks with professionals to let Mali undergo the process of taxidermy so that she can be preserved and put inside the Museum of Manila.

“You all know that Mali is our prized possession. She was one of our star attractions in Manila Zoo,” the mayor said.

Meanwhile, PETA Asia, an animal rights non-profit organization, said that their whole community mourns the death of Mali.

“The Manila Zoo and the city of Manila sentenced Mali to decades of solitary confinement, which is torturous for female elephants, who naturally would spend their lives among their mothers and sisters, protecting one another and raising each other’s calves,” the organization said.

PETA expressed their gratitude for the cultural and political leaders, world-renowned elephant experts, and over 100,000 people around the globe who joined the rallies and pleaded for the release of the elephant prior to its death.

See you in Paradise, Mali!

Source: Manila Public Information Office, PETA Asia, and Department of Tourism, Culture and Arts of Manila

(ai/mnm)