Animals sent to NKorea for business, officials say

Wildlife authorities in Zimbabwe on Wednesday defended selling two baby elephants and other animals to North Korea, and said veterinary experts sent to the Asian nation were satisfied it is suitably equipped to care for them.

The two 18-month-old elephants, in quarantine in holding pens in western Zimbabwe, were priced at $10,000 each. Officials said the animal airlift also includes breeding pairs of giraffe, zebra, antelope, hyenas, monkeys and birds.

Conservationists, though, say the elephants are unlikely to survive the trip by air separated from their mothers.

Vitalis Chadenga, head of the wildlife department, told reporters the deal was …