It's 12 noon on a Friday and Mali is enjoying a midday shower, perfect for cooling down under the burning heat of the sun.
Her caretaker, Noel Co, splashes the first blast of water on her face, initiating a kind of bath-time choreography that both of them perform almost unaffectedly – she opens her mouth, he shoots the water in; he sprays her hind legs, she turns around. Soon enough, the incredible creature is completely doused in water.
A little later, she crosses to the other side of her small enclosure and covers herself in sand, evoking sighs all the while as her fascinated audience sighs in amusement.
For the last decade, Noel Co has been the caretaker of Mali, a 38-year-old Sri Lankan elephant. (Photo by Amanda Fernandez)
Mali is a 38-year-old Sri Lankan elephant housed in The Manila Zoo, and she's become the darling of the zoo-goers and, recently, the center of an animal rights controversy.
Animal rights groups and the Manila Zoo have been engaged in an intense tug-of-war regarding Mali's fate. The animal advocates say she is suffering at the zoo and should be moved to an elephant sanctuary in Thailand to be with her own kind.
According to animal rights group PETA, Mali's enclosure is too small. More than that, they say that she is suffering from a foot disease and "profound loneliness" after living for decades without the company of other elephants.
The Manila Zoo will not agree to the move until they can be assured that Mali will survive the transfer.
Right now though, the crowd is enjoying the sight of the pachyderm in frolic. They resort to all kinds of things to catch her attention. They whistle, they hold out their cameras, they make giant gestures with their arms. The few who know her name call it out, but they are outdone by those who have taken it upon themselves to name her – Dumbo, Jumbo, Psst, Huy!
Of the voices that cry out to her, she responds to only one. From afar, someone calls her "Mali!" and she follows the sound. It's her caretaker, Co, who has thrown her some coconuts, which she promptly picks up and juices. Eliciting still more ohhhs and ahhhs.
"Pag kinakausap mo, parang nakakaintindi din siya," Co shares. "Pag gumagawa ka ng tunog na gusto niya, nagvi-vibrate din yung dito niya," he says, gesturing to her forehead.
Co appears to read Mali like a book, seeming to have mastered her moods and her movements. Mali displays an easy comfort in his presence as well, readily responding whenever he motions for her to move or open her mouth so he can clean and feed her.
Co, her caretaker, first met Mali nine years ago when he was first assigned to be her zookeeper. It took him a lot of reading on elephants and almost seven years of gentle approaches and bonding for her to be finally comfortable with him.
Now, they spend all day together. When she looks bored, he engages her in games. When it gets hot, he hoses her down.
According to Co, he is one of the handful of people that Mali recognizes and trusts. Still, Co evidently hasn't lost sight of the fact that he is dealing with a wild animal. According to him, no amount of bonding between the two of them can make him forget the dangers of his job.
"Pag nilalapitan ko siya sa umaga, siyempre ingat pa rin," he says. "Siyempre, wild pa rin yan, kahit gaano na katagal yan dito. Mahirap siya na trabaho, pero wala namang trabaho na hindi mahirap `di ba?" he adds.
On Wednesday, a resolution supporting Mali's transfer was approved by the House committee on natural resources. And while the zoo remains firm on their stand, talk of Mali's move has never been closer to being true.
While animal rights activists have been calling for the transfer of Mali to a Thai elephant sanctuary, she remains a crowd favorite at the zoo. (Photo by Amanda Fernandez)
We asked the caretaker how he would feel if and when Mali is finally moved to Thailand.
"Di lang malulungkot. Siyempre, napamahal ka na sa alaga mo. 10 taon mo halos nakasama," Co says.
He repeats Manila Zoo's arguments against the move: Mali is old, he says. If she survives the transfer at all, she may not even enjoy her new environment. In the tone of a concerned parent, Co discloses his worry that Mali may even be mistreated when he moves.
"Baka saktan din lang siya dun," he says.
What if he is allowed to go with her, just so he can make sure she is alright?
"Mas maganda yun," he says. "Para masiguro ko na aalagaan talaga siya dun." – KDM, GMA News
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