Manila Zoo's longtime resident elephant Mali dies

Manila Zoo’s resident elephant Vishwa Ma’ali, better known as Mali, passed away on Tuesday, according to the Manila Public Information Office.

Manila Mayor Honey Lacuña delivered the news in a video posted on Facebook.

“Kinalulungkot ko pong ibalita sa inyo ang pagpanaw ng ating minamahal na Vishwa Ma’ali o mas kilala niyo sa pangalang Mali, dito sa loob ng Manila Zoo sa ganap na 3:45 ng hapon ngayong araw, November 28,” she said.

(It saddens me to share news that our beloved Vishwa Ma’ali, who is better known as Mali, passed away in Manila Zoo at 3:45 p.m. today, November 28.)

For more than 40 years, Mali was the Manila Zoo’s– and the Philippines’--  only elephant. She was believe to be 48 to 49 years old at the time of her death.

It was in 1977 when she was sent by the Sri Lankan government for care at the Manila Zoo after both her parents died and Mali was deemed unfit to survive alone in the wild.

A female Asia elephant. Mali was moved to the Pinnawala Elephant Orphanage after her mother died of natural causes. The Sri Lankan gifted the three-year old elephant to then First Lady Imelda Marcos.

At the Manila Zoo, Mali was originally placed in an enclosure with an older female elephant named Shiba who was rescued from a circus.

In 2013, animal rights group People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) launched a petition for Ma’ali to be moved out of Manila Zoo and permanently transferred to a wildlife sanctuary in Thailand.

Amid calls from celebrities, concerned groups and other animal sanctuaries, Manila Zoo remained firm, stating that the elephant was not for sale and will not be moved due to her age and the low probability of her survival outside an enclosure.

Mali is now undergoing a necropsy to determine the cause of her death, which will be reported through a press conference on Wednesday.