Growing up in Davao meant seeing the world's largest eagle on a yearly basis thanks to our school trips in Malagos. The Philippine Eagle, as it is aptly described by many, is majestic with it's gigantic talons, shiny feathers, and sharp eyes that seem to scrutinize. To see it up-close is absolutely awesome. But the animal that I always wanted to see, as a child, was an elephant. We don't have elephants in Davao, in the wild or in captivity, and it was only recently that I was able to finally see one in the flesh.
When our little Sam turned 8, 
Maali is huge but her size did not intimidate me because she had a face that was kind, almost friendly. She was in fact quite friendly and went near us. Up-close, I could see that she was an old elephant but a beautiful creature nonetheless. She spent more than a few seconds in front of us, just looking at me and my Sam with those curious eyes. If she was expecting food, we disappointed her because we did not dare give her any as we weren't sure if that was allowed. After a few moments, she made her way back to a place behind some walls in her pen, which I guess served as her refuge from curious humans like us. Although it was wonderful to meet Maali, I found myself feeling sorry for her as I watched her retreat to those walls. It was then that I realized that elephants are always in herds when I see them on TV. The only time an elephant is alone is when a bull or a male elephant reaches a certain age and leaves his herd to make his own. That must be why I felt it was wrong to see her there. Alone.
"The Loneliest Elephant In The World"
Apparently, I'm not the only one who felt sorry for Maali. Upon research, I found out that there has been a petition by Peta circulating the internet, asking for signatures and funds to relocate Maali to Thailand. It seems that Maali has been tagged as the world's loneliest elephant thanks to a photo showing an elephant (not Maali!) holding its tail with its trunk. Peta has since corrected the misuse of the photo but insists that Maali has not received proper care. Their website says "According to international news reports, Mali has been held in the same barren cement enclosure for the past 40 years. For four decades, she has been denied the company of other elephants, something that is essential to her emotional and mental well-being" and maintains that Manila Zoo lacks the knowledge and resources to care for an animal like Maali. Hollywood personalities like Paul McCartney and Pam Anderson has joined the call for Maali's transfer.
A Different View
However, I did find another article that doesn't quite agree with Peta. On April 19 this year, Isa Garchitorena published an article in esquiremagazine.ph with the title Mali the Elephant May Not Be As Lonely As You Think where she debated that although Maali is alone in her elephant pen, she is not without family; that there is an amazing team at the zoo who do their best with the limited budget that they have. She worked alongside Manila Zoo's vets to start working on Peta's many concerns. They started off with blood extraction that will show whether or not Maali is sick and unhealthy. It is trickier than getting it done to your toddler, apparently, but they got it done. Dr. Thongtip, an elephant vet from Thailand declared that Maali is "in the pink of her health" after reviewing the blood test results. As for her foot, which was also a concern for Peta, he said he's seen worse and gave an assurance that it wasn't giving Maali any pain, although he did recommend a slight change in her diet to slim her down a bit.
Peta is also concerned about the fact that Maali is alone and lonely in her pen. It turns out, it wasn't always that way. Maali had a companion who "bullied her mercilessly". And as for being lonely, Garchitorena insists that the people looking after Maali spends a lot of time with her; feeding her, bathing her, and scrubbing her skin. She also has a bestfriend named John, a volunteer who has developed "an amazing" relationship with Maali.
Garchitorena also discusses the cons of moving Maali from the zoo, which has become the elephant's home for four decades. According to her, Maali who is probably in her 40s, might be too old to be relocated. Maali will have to undergo a 3-6 months quarantine before she is introduced to other elephants in Thailand. It is also to be noted that Maali is from Sri Lanka and not from Thailand. The article was concluded with Garchitorena saying that Peta has received millions of pesos in their campaign to relocate Maali and yet Maali has not received a single cent from them.
My two cents
It's interesting to see both side of the story. I would like to believe that Peta has its heart at the right place and wants the best for Maali. As for the funds they supposedly raised through Maali, I think we would all agree that using anyone or anything for monetary gains is despicable but then again, we don't know if that amount of money was really raised or if the money has been put to good use.
On the other hand, Ms Garchitorena has a lot of good points too. It is a plus that instead of ranting and pressuring everybody else to do something, she opted to actually visit Maali and work with Manila Zoo to get Maali what she really needs. There must be a reason why the Philippine government did not give in to the pressure from Peta and decided to keep Maali in the Manila Zoo.
However, I would love to see Maali (and all animals in captivity) in an environment that is more at par with her natural habitat; having not enough funds is not an excuse. The zoo is a wonderful place where kids can learn about these beautiful creatures and all efforts should be exerted to make sure that the physical and emotional state of the animals are not compromised by this.
One of my favorite blogs is from my dear friend 
How about you? What's your take on this? How are the zoos in your country?
Sources
Not Maali
Peta
Mali the Elephant May Not Be as Lonely as You Think
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