Flood of criticism

In the months that followed, a growing number of volunteers and netizens offered to contact the Weibo accounts of celebrities, mainstream media and key opinion leaders to call for greater attention to help Moli return to Kunming.

Eventually, the trickle of constant appeals became a flood of criticism and questions. In April, the biggest-trending Weibo hashtag #SaveElephantMoli received more than 310 million views in just a few days after several celebrities joined the calls to help the young elephant.

One of the best-known figures was Joe Chen, an actor from Taiwan. "Please save the poor little elephant Moli and speak up for her!" Chen wrote in two April 24 posts on her Weibo account, which has more than 70 million followers. "It's really heartbreaking to see the little elephant carrying scars, as she shouldn't be treated like that. Please refuse animal performances and don't abuse animals."

Chen's posts rapidly went viral. The first received nearly 100,000 thumbs-ups and 14,000 comments, and it was forwarded 60,000 times by netizens, including two other celebrities who have about 80 million fans in total on Weibo.

The comments under Chen's post showed people's deep concerns about Moli and other potentially abused wildlife, and urged Qinyang Zoo to send her back to Kunming.

One netizen, @ZhuteZhizhuo, commented with a crying emoji: "Hope more people can focus on the little elephant Moli! Don't harm animals," receiving more than 5,500 thumbs-ups.

A comment from @VeselaXa-vier4ever received nearly 3,000 thumbs-ups, showing people's understanding that Moli's case could have a deep impact on wildlife protection.

"We just want Moli to be free (from Henan) right now," the netizen said, adding that the case would be a "milestone which could promote better development in relations between humans and animals".

Some media also paid great attention to Moli. While conducting interviews at the Qinyang Zoo, Ifeng, the official website of Phoenix TV, came across a delegation from the Henan Forestry Administration that was tasked with investigating Moli's health. The members told Ifeng that Moli's mental state was good and no obvious scars had been discovered.

However, the torrent of criticism and questions remained until May 15, when the Henan Forestry Administration announced that Moli had been sent back to Kunming.

"To respond to public concerns and provide a better growing environment, the Asian elephant Moli at Qinyang Zoo left for Kunming Zoo on May 15," it said in a statement.

People immediately became excited, with the hashtag #MoliSent-BackToKunmingZoo viewed more than 140 million times, ranking high on Weibo's trending list. A netizen from Kunming, @YourFullMoon, commented: "We will see Moli quite often after she returns to Kunming! And we'll expose any problems!"

Late on May 16, Moli arrived at Kunming Zoo, which quickly began a full physical examination and adaptive training. At the end of June, Moli was reunited with her mother in their old enclosure for the first time since 2018, when she left her family, home and normal life.