Tina and Mali

Of all the stories that came out over the last weekend or so—the Olympics opening ceremonies and the initial victories; the conclusion of the Judicial and Bar Council vetting of the nominees for chief justice; the release on bail of former President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo; and Typhoon “Gener” that turned the weekend into a wet and windy two days—there is one, quiet and yet heartbreaking, that captured my heart and my imagination.

This is the story of Tina the elephant, as told by Carol Buckley, cofounder of an elephant sanctuary in the United States. Apparently, she wrote the story to further push for the call of Peta (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals), an animal-rights group, in behalf of Mali, the lone elephant in the Manila Zoo.

Peta has called for the transfer of 38-year-old Mali from the Manila Zoo to an elephant sanctuary in Thailand, even volunteering to shoulder all the costs related to the transfer. Mali, the lone elephant in the zoo, said Peta, “is cruelly denied socialization, stimulation, room to explore, and everything else that’s natural and important to her. She is forced to endure intensive confinement, loneliness, boredom and isolation in an area that’s a tiny fraction of the size of her natural habitat.”

In addition, Mali is also suffering from “potentially deadly foot disorders,” which is a common cause of death for elephants, and is the same reason Tina died in her sanctuary after decades of captivity in a zoo.

Peta’s call for Mali’s transfer has received support from many people, including an international roster of animal rights champions and experts, including world-renowned elephant veterinarian Dr. Henry Richardson, who examined Mali and concluded she needed to be transferred to a sanctuary where she “could live out her days in good health and dignity as well as in the crucial company of other elephants.”

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It was this last requirement, and Buckley’s description of how Tina enjoyed the company of three elephant “friends” in the sanctuary, that for me constituted the most compelling portion of the elephant’s story.

Buckley writes of how Tina quickly formed a “family” with other elephant survivors of captivity, adopting as her sisters three elephants: Tara, Winkie and Sissy. Born in captivity and separated as a toddler to serve as a zoo attraction, Tina attached herself to her new “sisters” and, judging from Buckley’s account of her last moments, earned as well the affection and concern of the three other elephants.

Elephants are born into and move in herds, social groups dominated by bull (male) elephants but held together by female elephants, who care for and tend to their young. Being alone and isolated, no matter how well cared-for they are by their zookeepers and veterinarians, must be a wrenching existence for elephants, who also, among other indignities, must serve as exhibits to hundreds of human visitors, some of whom are not above taunting or hurting the animals for an easy laugh.

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There is a view that a zoo could serve as a safe, reassuring sanctuary to animals born and reared in the wild. Since life in the wild can, to put it mildly, be extremely stressful, what with the constant search for food and constant threat from predators, living in a zoo, it is said, could actually be welcomed by a captive animal.

This view is most dramatically put forward in the novel “Life of Pi,” when the son of a zookeeper accompanies some animals to a foreign zoo but finds himself shipwrecked, aboard a small lifeboat with a dangerous tiger as his lone companion.

I’ve forgotten how the novel ends (which is why I’m looking forward to the movie version), but it wasn’t with the boy ending up as a tiger meal.

Still, memories of visits to the Manila Zoo, where I probably encountered Mali, aren’t exactly filled with light and delight. What I do remember of it—even if about 40 years ago, the zoo wasn’t as run-down—is of a place that stank, filled with listless animals, and pens too small for their occupants. In visits to other zoos, especially private ones, I’ve noticed that cages and pens are invariably too small and cramped for the animals. I’ve often wondered how the creatures could possibly get some exercise in confinement, and how their keepers could possibly believe what they were doing was for the good of the animals—or of their human visitors.

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If we must educate schoolchildren about wild animals, especially animals not indigenous to the Philippines, we can always turn to the Internet, especially sites like YouTube that bring the experience to them virtually.

There are also TV channels like Discovery, National Geographic, or NatGeo Wild that feature wildlife in an almost constant loop. I tease my husband, who is “addicted” to these channels, that he watches the shows mainly for the “sex and violence,” since they’re filled with scenes of animals chasing and eating each other, or else having carnal relations—on land, in sea, in air.

I am frankly puzzled, if not a bit angered, by the refusal of Manila Zoo officials to consent to have Mali shipped off to an elephant sanctuary. What possible harm could be done by bringing an elephant out of the zoo? Perhaps they’re worried it would be taken as a judgment on their competence, if not their compassion. But by sending off Mali to a place where she could enjoy freedom and the company of other elephants, they would be demonstrating their concern for the elephant and the other zoo occupants, even if it means losing a prime attraction.