Aug 12, 2014 09:51 AM EDT By Russell Westerholm, UniversityHerald Reporter

On World Elephant Day, many activists are making the effort to bring attention to the majestic creatures, which are the subject of illegal poaching due to their ivory tusks.

According to recent data, between 30,000 and 35,000 elephants are killed every year for ivory. The Pittsburg Post-Gazette reported poachers have accounted for killing off 70 percent of Africa's wild elephant population in the last decade.

The Pittsburg Zoo is one of several organizations making conservation efforts with partners all over the world. Currently, zoos in Austria and England are fostering two baby elephants artificially inseminated from genetic material gathered in the wild from South African elephants.

The Pittsburg Zoo is assisting in the project that originated overseas. Such a project has not had much success in the past as freezing wild elephants' genetic material has not proved to be easy.

Organizations Wild Aid, the International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW) and Wildlife Trust are actively working to conserve the endangered animals.

"Every seizure of ivory represents the slaughter of elephants wherever they live, but mostly in Africa, in countries where poverty and political insecurity make it possible for poachers and trafficking cartels to operate unhindered," Jason Bell, director of the IFAW Elephant Program, said in a statement. "As animal lovers around the world get ready to celebrate World Elephant Day it's worth reflecting that, since the beginning of January, not a single week has passed without law enforcers confiscating shipments of ivory both large and small. At least 35,000 elephants a year die the cruelest of deaths to supply the trade."

In 2013, Wild Aid began a campaign to lessen the demand for ivory in China, hoping to put poachers out of a job. Their tactics include recruiting celebrity spokespeople to raise awareness, supporting lawmakers who wish to ban the sale of ivory and forming alliances with other similar organizations.

According to the Huffington Post, the Wildlife Trust saves and rehabilitates orphaned elephants who would not fare well in the wild on their own.

Other organizations hoping to preserve elephants in the wild include Save the Elephants, African Wildlife Foundation and the Clinton Global Initiative.

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