The Loneliest Elephant in the Planet!!!

in #animalrights • 8 years ago (edited)

Filipino models stripped down to raise awareness for a campaign to transfer the Manila Zoo's only elephant to a sanctuary abroad (Visconti,2013).

Twenty (20) years ago I came to visit Manila for the first time and as a young boy, I was excited by the sight of parks and recreational areas in Manila. My aunt would bring us to Luneta park and we would have fun all day. Among the other places we visited was Manila zoo and it felt like the happiest moment of my life then because animals we only saw on books and TV were right there in front of us. We saw ferocious tigers, lions and crocodiles. We fed the monkeys, the birds and many others. The most memorable part was when we were entertained by the most prominent attraction in the zoo, a lively elephant, the biggest creature i've seen in my entire life. He would ask for food and tose it in his mouth and you would see a happy reaction in her face. It left a beautiful mark in my memory that by the time i was in college studying at PUP, around ten years later, I went back to the zoo with my highschool friends. I still saw the the elephant but the care taker told us she was sick that is why she's been acting lame and reasurred us that she will get well soon.

I am an animal lover, in fact i reared monkeys as my pets when ive been to Rizal and Mindordo and believe me i've learned to interact with them at a personal level to the point that i sleep beside them and i could bet i can tame any monkey bread in captivity. I've also made sure that when i am with them, i allow them to roam around freely that they would have the chance to eat well and do what they want to do. i just tie them whenever i leave for their safety.


Here's my photo trying to tame a monkey i just met in Huahin, Thailand

Back to Elephants

I had a brief visit at Thailand last year specifically at Bankok and Huahin Province and I did not let my travel pass without paying a visit at the Elephant Village. We were welcomed by a lively young elephant and i had a great time interacting with him. It came to a point that the elephant kissed me with his trunk while i was trying to have a photo souvenir with her.

After feeding the young elephant we went on to bath other elephants in the village. We went on to ride bigger elephants in the woods. We had a great time as this was our first time to ride such gigantic creatures.
elf 2
After the ride when we were about to leave, i went back to the young elephant to bid good bye but to my surprise, i saw this little equipment near the young elephant. I never really knew what it was for but i'm sure the elephants did not like this thing on sight. No wonder the young elephant never really went out of his enclosure even when he knows he can do so. I was sad on the way out. I really hope those creatures were treated well and are happy with what their are made to do.

elf

Yesterday, a visitor from Sri Lanka came over at my workplace for a study tour and we had a brief talk. It caught me that he knew more of our history than I did. He told me that Maali was the first symbol of of goodwill from Sri Lanka and has since been the symbol of bilateral relationship between Philippines and Sri Lanka.

Maali was a young elephant captured from wild life at the age of three, taken away from her home and sent to the country as a gift to the then first lady, Imelda Marcos in the year 1977. Since then world's loneliest elephant has been kept all alone in concrete 'jungle' all by herself and hemmed in by bleak walls, a pitiful sight for zoo visitors. Mali has not felt grass under her feet or had contact with another ­elephant for nearly 40 years (Main, 2015)

Mali found friends among Photographers who contributed to increase awareness on her conditions. Among them who i personally was John Chua of Adphoto.





Maali's condition sparked criticisms and has caught international attention from animal rights activists. Since then Maali has gained very powerful friends, including the ex-Beatle Paul McCartney (Cuneta, 2013). Mali had caught media attention in 2013 as movements to raise awareness on the elephant's condition. Mali had been the center of a tug of war between activists and zoo workers;both claiming to want what's best for Mali but fundamentally disagree on what that is (Visconti,2013).Webpages and Social media pages have been created to increase awarenes on Mali's condition and I thought of making the same here on steem community in a bid to help the elephant. here is a link on a facebook page dedicated for Mali https://www.facebook.com/FreeMali/#.

On February 5 2013, 9 Filipino models stripped down to raise awareness for a campaign to transfer the Manila Zoo's only elephant to a sanctuary abroad. They tucked their most intimate body parts behind signs spelling out the message - Naked truth: Mali the elephant is suffering (Visconti,2013). Thailand offered a a sanctuary where maali could be transferred but experts say that with Maali's age and condition, she would not handle the stress and might not make it through should she be transferred in another location.

elf

As a result of pressure, Manila City government was set to spend Php 1.5 billion to rehabilitate the 56-year-old zoo and is expecting two more elephants from Shri Lanka in a bid to improve Mali's living condition (Bichara, 2016).

FFor the last decade, Noel Co has been the caretaker of Mali, a 38-year-old Sri Lankan elephant

ttp://www8.gmanews.tv/webpics/v3/2013/02/photo%202.JPG

Here's a video of Mali and let meknow what you think about it.

#elephants #lonely #nature #creatures
8 years ago in #animalrights by
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