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; they 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 United States and the United Kingdom, 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 the People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals 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 runs counter to the gentle, friendly reputation of the Filipino
people.
—NATALIE CRICK,
26 Pollock St.,
Balmoral QLD 4171,
Australia