As a first time visitor to the Philippines I arrived in Manila with high expectations of a kind and compassionate nation. My predictions proved to be spot on with the exception of my visit to the Manila Zoo.
I found myself staring into the anguished eyes of the beautiful and lonely elephant, Mali. Elephants are highly intelligent creatures with strong family ties who roam up to 50 kilometers a day and over a variety of substrates in the wild. So complex are their needs, that many progressive zoos in the US and the UK, and all zoos in India, have closed their elephant exhibits, and transferred their elephants to sanctuaries and reserves.
The Manila zoo needs to follow suit and let PETA transfer Mali to a sanctuary so that she can finally roam freely and be with others of her own kind.
Keeping Mali at the Manila zoo seems counterproductive to the gentle, friendly reputation synonymous with the Filipino people. — Natalie Crick, 26 Pollock St., Balmoral QLD 4171, Australia