Philippines' lone elephant, Mali, died of congestive heart failure—officials
The Manila City Government has revealed the cause of death of Mali, the Philippines' lone elephant who passed away on Tuesday, Nov. 28.
In a press conference on Wednesday, Nov. 29, Dr. Heinrich Patrick Domingo, the senior veterinarian of Manila Zoo, said that the 43-year-old mammal died due to congestive heart failure, which affected other organs of her body based on necropsy findings. She also suffered from cancer.
"Yung kidney niya, though slightly inflamed, possible po kasi medyo malaki, kaya po parang may pressure, balot po ito ng taba. At the same time, nakita po namin 'yung aorta, 'yung tubo palabas ng puso, ito po ay mayroong makapal na taba. Maari pong 'yun po ang naging cause ng pagkamatay niya, 'yung congestive heart failure wherein nahihirapan na po 'yung puso niya na ma-pump yung enough blood sa kanyang katawan dahil sa dami po ng organs na affected," he said.
"Sa dami ng organs affected, sa dami ng tumors, siyempre po magkakaroon ng pressure sa katawan, darating po 'yung time na masisikipan 'yung puso, to the time na hindi na po kaya ng puso to sustain 'yung kanyang buhay," Domingo explained. "Siyempre po kapag puso ang nahirapan, kasunod na po yung lahat—'yung 'di natin inaasahan."
Domingo explained the rest of the necropsy findings as he noted other organ failures in Mali's system.
"Sa necropsy findings, nakita po namin, unang bumungad sa amin 'yung pancreas, neo-plastic, meaning, matigas po siya at parang mayroon na po siyang cancer dahil sa age niya," he said, highlighting that Mali's liver was not affected and that cancer was just detected after doing the test.
According to Domingo, it was Friday, Nov. 24 when they began noticing changes in Mali's behavior.
"Nung Friday, nang makita namin na medyo siya ay nagiging irritable, medyo hindi niya po gusto 'yung nangyayri. Paikot-ikot, palakad-lakad po siya," he said. "Nung Saturday, na-notice po namin na wala na siyang ganang kumain and nanotice rin namin na 'yung trunk niya ay nira-rub niya against the wall."
They made sure to keep a close watch over Mali in the following days, but the elephant showed signs of dying on Tuesday morning.
"Nakita po namin siyang umistart umupo bandang five o'clock, at nag-assume ng left lateral recumbentsy na paghiga po ng bandang alas sais ng umaga. Kami po ay na-alarma kaya nagbigay na ng karampatang emergency drugs gaya ng antihistamine, kasi parang nakita namin na nahirapan siyang huminga," Domingo recalled.
"Nagbigay din po kami ng vitamins at supplements para po palakasain siya. Pinilit din po namin bigyan siya ng IV fluids, pero masyado pong mataas, nagrereflux po 'yung kanyang blood paakyat dun sa IV fluids. Nagbigay din po kami ng anticonvulsants pero bandang 11, 11:30, napansin po namin 'yung pupil niya medyo dilated, tapos bandang 3:45, medyo nahirapan na po siya and dun na siya nawala," he said.
Manila Mayor Honey Lacuna bared their plans to send a replacement for Mali to Manila Zoo following her passing.
"Yung Sri Lankan government po, na kung sino rin 'yung nagbigay sa atin kay Mali, during one of their visits here, nag-commit po sila na magbibigay po ulit sila. Ngayon po, iinform po namin sila, makikipag-communicate po kami sa kanila to inform them na wala na po si Mali and then para po 'yung offer po nila sa amin ay magpush through na po," Lacuna shared.
The city government said that there will be no public wake for the remains of Mali to avoid "sensualizing" the incident.
One of Manila Zoo's main attractions
Mali was the treasured elephant that served as one of Manila Zoo's main attractions for many years. She was welcomed into the world in Sri Lanka in 1974 and became a resident at the zoo starting in 1981.
In a previous interview with PhilSTAR L!fe, Manila Zoo tour guide Alekzssa Mirasol shared that the 50-year-old mammal is an important part of Philippine history as she was gifted by the government of Sri Lanka to former first lady Imelda Marcos and became the first elephant to walk the grounds of the Malacañang Palace.
In a report by The Philippine STAR, the People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) previously urged former Manila Mayor Isko Moreno to transfer Mali to a wildlife sanctuary in Thailand, where she could be with other elephants. They described Mali, which is the Philippines' only animal of its kind, to be the "world’s saddest elephant."
Moreno, however, declined PETA's offer, saying that bringing Mali back to the wild "might not be ideal" because she "grew up in that environment." Mali has since been given a bigger enclosure in the renovated facility.
Asian elephants typically have a lifespan of around 60 to 70 years.