Imagine not seeing another human being for more than 30 years!

Well, that’s what’s happening to poor old Mali, the elephant who is locked away in a tiny little enclosure in the Manila Zoo. No, not humans. The elephant who is almost 40 hasn’t seen another elephant in over 3 decades.

Mali was just a baby when she was captured in Sri Lanka and transported to the Philippines. 

In the Manila Zoo, she has been kept in complete isolation, in an enclosure which is definitely not spacious enough to keep a fully grown elephant.

Elephants in the wild spend almost 20 hours in a day moving about and grazing, but this one hardly has any place to move.

Mali has also been denied proper veterinary care all these years. Even proper preventive blood care and basic blood work which is offered by every reputable zoo has been denied to poor Mali.

Dr Henry Richardson, an elephant expert who was flown to Manila at PETA’s expense, determined that Mali suffers from potentially fatal cracked nails and foot pads, which are open to infection, and overgrown cuticles. Ever since PETA reportedly approached the zoo with these concerns, it has prevented elephant experts any access to Mali.

Even in the final throes of her life, Mali desperately needs to be moved to a wildlife sanctuary where she can get the proper care and company she deserves. But the zoo has been trying everything to stop that from happening. It is essential for Mali’s safety and sanity that the move happens real soon.

In fact, Mali is so lonely and miserable that she holds her own tail with her trunk. If that doesn’t make you sad, let me assure you, nothing ever will!

You can help the poor elephant by signing the Free Mali petition here.