ohannesburg - Nine Zimbabwean elephants, which animal rights activists say were cruelly abused by an elephant-back safari operator, will return to the wild on Monday after being rehabilitated.

The elephants were rescued from a ranch that trains elephants to carry tourists, the International Fund for Animal Welfare said Friday. Elephant-back safaris are popular among tourists in Africa.

At the ranch, the elephants were kept for long periods in chains, causing them injuries to their legs and distress at being kept apart, IFAW said.

One of the elephants died of malnutrition and abuse, the Fund said.

The elephants were confiscated in April by the Zimbabwe National Society for the Protection of Cruelty against Animals (ZNSPCA).

On Monday, IFAW will begin releasing the giant pachyderms back into the wild in Hwange National Park, Zimbabwe's largest wildlife reserve. The animals will spend time in a rehabilitation enclosure first before being set free.

IFAW has drawn attention to the recent upsurge in elephant-back tourism in southern Africa, warning of the dangers not only to the animals but also to their handlers and tourists.

In South Africa, the organization says, at least three handlers have been killed since 2005 and two British tourists were seriously injured when they fell off an elephant in
2007. (dpa)