JOHANNESBURG, South Africa Over and over again, the baby elephant scrapes its skin against the metal bars of a zoo in northern China, appearing agitated and distressed.

Not long ago this elephant lived with its family herd in the wilds of Hwange National Park, the largest reserve in Zimbabwe. Then it was caught, and along with three other young elephants, flown halfway around the world.

At Taiyuan Zoo, where Chinese animal lovers filmed the plight of the little lone elephant behind bars, another that came from Zimbabwe died soon after its long and difficult journey. The elephants arrived in late November, during a winter of record cold temperatures.

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Now animal rights groups in Zimbabwe are fighting to stop more of their country's baby elephants from being taken from the wild and sold to zoos in China, which pay handsomely for these animals from Zimbabwe's cash-strapped national parks.