The Manila City government will ask the Sri Lankan government for a new elephant following the death of Mali, the lone elephant in the city-owned zoo, it was reported.

“The Sri Lankan government, the same entity that brought Mali to the country, during one of their visits, has committed to give [a new elephant],” Manila Mayor Honey Lacuna said in Filipino in a press briefing on Wednesday, November 29.

Lacuna said that the city will write a letter to Sri Lanka to inform them about Mali’s demise and request for a “replacement.”

Meanwhile, the city government plans to preserve the elephant’s remains through taxidermy, which will be displayed in a museum later on.

Mali was the Sri Lankan government’s gift to then-First Lady Imelda Marcos in 1977 and came under the care of the City of Manila in the Philippines in May 1981. Over the years, Mali became a part of the childhood memories of many Filipinos who visited the country’s capital zoo.

Animal rights groups, however, believed that Mali suffered from profound loneliness after living most of her entire adult life without companions of the same species, and demanded the elephant’s transfer to a sanctuary where she could roam freely and mingle with others of her kind.

People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) described Mali as one of the “world’s saddest elephants,” as she had no contact with other elephants.

The city also plans to obtain additional animals for the zoo, Manila Zoo Chief Veterinarian Heinrich Patrick Peña-Domingo said.

Based on the Manila Zoo website, the wildlife park has 550 specimens of exotic wildlife representing 13 species of mammals, 38 species of avian, and 21 species of reptiles.

The Manila Zoological and Botanical Garden, the only public zoo in the City of Manila, first opened on July 25, 1959, during the tenure of Manila Mayor Arsenio Lacson.

The zoo was closed down in 2019 after the Department of Environment and Natural Resources found out that it is one of Manila Bay’s major pollutants.

Under the leadership of then-Manila Mayor Isko Moreno, the zoo underwent extensive renovations and reopened to the public in December 2021. (Metro Manila)

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Mali, known on the internet for being the ‘world’s saddest elephant,’ has died. The elephant was famous online after her lonely living conditions shocked the world.

Mali was born in Sri Lanka at some point between 1974 and 1980. She was orphaned at a very young age after her mother died of natural causes. 

In Mali’s earliest years, she lived at Pinnawala Elephant Orphanage, a captive breeding and conservation institute in Kegalle, Sri Lanka. However, this institution faced controversy for keeping its elephants in very poor conditions and was eventually shut down.

After leaving Pinnawala, she was gifted by the Sri Lankan government to the then-First Lady of the Philippines, Imelda Marcos. Mali was one of two elephant ‘pets,’ alongside a much older animal named Shiba. Shiba did not take kindly to Mali, leading to troubles between the two.

But following Shiba’s passing in 1990, things again got worse for Mali. She was left alone for the rest of her life.

Mali passed away in captivity this week. The cause of death was congestive heart failure, according to Manila Zoo Chief Veterinarian Heinrich Patrick Peña-Domingo. She also had inflammation in the kidneys, nodules around her liver, and ‘pus deposits’ around her uterus, he told the press.

Mali was seen in visible pain earlier in the week and was treated by vets with antihistamines and vitamins, but it was not enough to save her.

Mali’s plight even attracted the attention of Beatle (and animal rights activist) Paul McCartney. “I was shocked to learn that Mali has never even received proper preventive foot care,” wrote Paul McCartney in a 2013 letter to then-president of the Philippines Benigno Aquino III. “Foot and joint problems are the leading cause of death among captive elephants kept on hard surfaces and this type of care is something that every reputable zoo in the world offers.”

PETA has also spoken out about Mali’s passing. “Female elephants… in nature spend their lives among their mothers and sisters, protecting one another and raising each other’s calves,” they said. “Now [Mali] has lost any chance of happiness.”

Mali died at the age of under 50 – significantly shorter than a natural elephant life span. (NewsWire/ Foreign Media)

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