Torn from their mothers, the kidnapped baby elephants lie wounded and weeping, their innocent eyes filled with pain no soul should bear.

A group of baby elephants who were sold to China by Zimbabwe are suffering terribly after just a few months in captivity.

Zimbabwe tore the young elephants away from their wild families before shipping them off to China in July. Photos obtained by National Geographic show just how poorly the young animals are faring, subjected to cramped, substandard living conditions and possible abuse.

One young elephant has a gaping wound on her hip, likely caused by another elephant’s tusk, and a possible abscess on her left hind leg, National Geographic reported.

Another elephant, seen here entwining trunks with a friend, has a swollen abdomen that could be caused by an infection.

They’re currently being held at a quarantine facility in China’s Guangzhou Province before being sent to a nearby safari park. Zimbabwe has been roundly criticized for its decision to kidnap the wild elephants and ship them off, particularly in light of the species’ rapidly dwindling numbers.

And it’s clear that if the loss of the elephants is a tragedy to the population and their families, it’s an even bigger disaster for the young elephants themselves.

Joyce Poole, co-founder of Kenya-based advocacy group Elephant Voices, told National Geographic that the injuries were the result of too little space and a lack of adult elephants – or qualified keepers – to manage the youngsters.