She came from the grasslands. At the age of three, she was taken from her mother and sent to the Philippines as a gift from the people of Sri Lanka. She was the first and only of her kind in the country.

Forty years later, and there she still is, pacing the same concrete pen she was placed in in 1977. Maali, the lone Asian elephant in Manila Zoo, has since been called “the world’s loneliest elephant.”

It’s been several years since Maali’s story broke out and animal welfare activists the world over began fighting for her freedom. Elephant sanctuaries in other countries offered to house her, but, according to a 2012 article by the Philippine Daily Inquirer, officials from the Manila City government and Manila Zoo feared that she wouldn’t be able to handle the trip because of her age and history in captivity. In 2013, the Philippine Daily Inquirer reported that Manila Mayor Joseph Estrada announced plans to “modernize the Manila Zoo.” Two more elephants from Sri Lanka were expected to be brought in to serve as Maali’s companions as soon as improvements were made to the enclosure. People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA), however, reportedly wrote to the Sri Lankan government to block the donation of elephants, perhaps to prevent others from suffering the same fate as Maali.  The hype that surrounded the plight of Maali began to fade soon afterwards, perhaps because most people expected things to change.

Last May, Philippine Daily Inquirer reported that the Manila City government was set to spend Php 1.5 billion to rehabilitate the 56-year-old zoo. Nothing more was said of the subject until early last December, when When In Manila featured a viral Facebook post written by YouTuber Lloyd Cadena criticizing Manila Zoo, and the article sparked interest in the issue once again.

I used to avoid passing by Manila Zoo precisely because of everything I would read and hear about it. I was afraid I wouldn’t be able to handle what I would see and, just recently, I realized that my fears were valid. The Manila Zoo is a depressing place.

Families and couples threw peanuts at monkeys, despite there being signs telling them not to. Children banged their fists on the glass protecting the snakes and reptiles, and, more often than not, the animals would be hidden from view, probably seeking refuge from the incessant screaming of their visitors. Several people even found their way into the animal enclosures—this being possible because no zoo keepers were in sight.

To allow such a naturally social creature to live alone in captivity for as long as Maali has had to is heartless. To continue to allow visitors to pelt the animals with whatever snacks they have in their pockets is inhumane. To let the issue of the future of Maali and Manila Zoo go unresolved for this long is nothing but cruel.

In the same article announcing Estrada’s Php 1.5 B plans for Manila Zoo, it is explained that this is the first time that a Manila City mayor has proposed to truly improve the zoo. My heart aches for all the animals imprisoned in Manila Zoo. I only hope that the change that is so desperately needed at the zoo will come within Maali’s lifetime, so that she may be able to live out the rest of her life the way that she deserves.