“The world’s saddest elephant” is no more. Mali spent over 40 years in captivity.

Mali the elephant, also known as the “world’s saddest elephant,” has passed away. The animal died at the zoo in Manila, Philippines, where it had been held in captivity for over four decades.

The sad news reached us from the Philippines. Mali, the elephant from the Manila zoo, who was called the “world’s saddest elephant” by animal rights groups due to the conditions in which it had to grow up, has passed away. Despite numerous organizations and foundations appealing for an improvement in its fate, the animal spent almost its entire life alone in captivity.

“The world’s saddest elephant” has passed away

The death of the most famous resident of the Manila zoo was announced by the city’s mayor, Honey Lacuna, at a specially convened press conference. Mali arrived at the local zoo in 1981, at just 11 months old. The animal was a gift from the government of Sri Lanka to Imelda Marcos, the former First Lady of the Philippines from 1965 to 1986 and the wife of President Ferdinand Marcos.

Mali was the only elephant in the capital’s zoo. Its previous, and both first and last companion, an elephant named Siwa, who came under care in 1977, passed away in 1990. This is why activists dubbed the elephant the “world’s saddest elephant.”

According to reports from foreign news services, Mali’s health deteriorated drastically in the last few days. Last Friday, the zoo’s chief veterinarian, Dr. Heinrich Patrick Peña-Domingo, observed the elephant incessantly rubbing its trunk against the wall, indicating pain.

A few hours before its death, the animal lay on its side, breathing heavily. Despite efforts to help, it could not be saved. A post-mortem examination revealed that the elephant had cancer.

A story without a happy ending

“One of the saddest elephants in the world has passed away. Rest in peace, Mali, you deserved so much more,” conveyed the organization PETA (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals).

Animal rights foundations have long advocated for better conditions for the elephant. Many of them even appealed to the authorities of the Manila zoo to have Mali relocated to a sanctuary in Thailand. Efforts to assist the “world’s saddest elephant” also involved personalities like Paul McCartney, a member of the legendary band The Beatles. However, the zoo did not share the opposing side’s opinion, arguing that the animal had always lived in captivity and was accustomed to the prevailing conditions.

The news of the death of the “world’s saddest elephant” not only touched pro-animal activists but also internet users, especially those who had seen Mali’s everyday life firsthand.

“Seeing Mali walking, I felt how lonely this elephant was. It broke my heart… Now it’s been announced that Mali has passed away,” wrote one user on the X platform (formerly Twitter), as quoted by the BBC.

Others expressed hope that a similar tragedy would never happen again and that elephants would not be confined to zoos. Although the authorities of the Philippine capital have already announced their intention to ask the Sri Lankan government for another animal as a gift to their country.

Let me remind you that in 2022, the high-profile case of Happy the elephant from the Bronx Zoo concluded. After a legal battle lasting over a year, the judges in New York, with a vote of 2 to 5, dismissed the application from the Nonhuman Rights Project, which demanded the animal’s release, suggesting it was unlawfully held in captivity.

The New York appellate court decided that it couldn’t recognize the animal as a legal entity — and therefore, it couldn’t be freed from the zoo.

“No one argues that elephants are not intelligent creatures deserving proper care and compassion. However, in the existing jurisprudence, both at the state and federal levels, there is no precedent to support the claim that the legal mandate for releasing a confined person applies or should apply to an animal,” read a portion of the judgment.

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