Thousands of people have called on the Philippines’ government to release “one of the world’s saddest elephants” from a tiny, concrete enclosure.
Mali, a 43-year-old Indian elephant, was born in the wild in Sri Lanka but taken to Manila Zoo in the Philippines as a baby.
She originally lived with two others, however, they died in 1977 – Mali has not seen another elephant since.
Now, thousands of supporters have signed a petition set up by PETA in a bid to have the creature transferred to a sanctuary in Thailand.
The petition claims Mali is “one of the world’s saddest elephants”.
Emotional images of the beast showed her staring mournfully at concrete bollards and the walls of her enclosure.
It reads: “Mali was still a nursing baby when she was taken from her home in Sri Lanka, where she was just learning how to swim, roughhouse with her cousins, and find her own food.
“For more than 35 years, Mali has been confined to a barren, concrete enclosure at the Manila Zoo.
“Wild elephants engage in activities for up to 20 hours every day, moving about and socializing with other elephants.
“The entire Manila Zoo measures only 0.055 square kilometers, and Mali's enclosure is one small piece of that. For her physical well-being, Mali needs grass to cushion her aching joints and room to move, not a cramped pen. For her emotional health, Mali needs the company of other elephants.”
According to elephant expert Dr Henry Richardson, who flew to the zoo to examine Mali, she suffers from potentially fatal cracks in her nails and footpads.
Some 125,375 have signed the petition to “Help Mali”.
