The 18-month-old elephants have been captured from the wild and are intended as a present for North Korean President Kim Jong Il from his long-time ally, Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe.

Zimbabwe Conservation Task Force said the elephants were being held in pens in the western Hwange National Park, along with pairs of zebras, giraffes and several species of antelopes bound for North Korea.

Elephant experts do not think the young animals will survive the trip separated from their mothers, and if they do survive they are likely to die in substandard North Korean zoos.

“This new exercise has to be stopped. People under orders to do it are too scared to speak out,” said Johnny Rodrigues, head of the Zimbabwe Conservation Task Force.