Underground Elephant Partners With Born Free to Save the Elephants

Underground Elephant, a performance based ad agency, has decided to take action to help protect its namesake, the underground elephants of Mount Elgon. Partnering with the international wildlife specialists the Born Free Foundation and its sister charity, Born Free USA, Underground Elephant is ready to save elephant lives.

Startlingly, the number of Elephants in Kenya, Africa, dropped drastically from 100,000 in the 1970's to around 16,000 in 1989 when thousands a year were being illegally killed for their ivory.

Strenuous efforts by conservation organizations and the Kenya Government have seen numbers rise to 33,000 today but poaching pressure is on the increase once more and elephant lives are at risk.

Poaching and the ivory trade are not the only threats. In some parts of Kenya elephants must go to extreme measures to find the salt their bodies need. The elephants which live on the slopes of Mount Elgon in Western Kenya have developed a unique survival strategy which means that each night, feeling their way in the dark, groups of the mighty pachyderms make their way hundreds of feet through underground caves in search of mineral deposits.

The caves, which are lined with salt crystals and have been mined by generations of elephants, are hidden deep in the mountain's forests but, sadly, their remoteness offers little sanctuary. Poachers hungry for elephant ivory know where the elephants go each night and, over the years, have taken a deadly toll.

Will Travers, CEO of both Born Free USA and Born Free Foundation, welcome the new partnership with Underground Elephant.

"Underground elephants? It's not only the name of a caring company, they really do exist and now the team at Underground Elephant is joining forces with Born Free to help protect African elephants in the wild and prevent the abuse of elephants in captivity. I am thrilled about our new alliance which will not only spread the word about our work but also deliver practical support to elephant conservation on the ground. Elephants matter and elephants need our help. I urge everyone to join with Born Free and Underground Elephant in making the world a safer and more compassionate place for elephants."

The elephants need help now more than ever. In 2009 thus far, Kenya has lost nearly 100 elephants to poaching in comparison to 57 the year before. The increase in poaching is not restricted to Kenya and it is estimated by some experts that as many as 36,000 of Africa's 500,000 elephants are being killed illegally for the ivory trade each year.

Born Free has fought the ivory trade for decades but without extra help it's possible that elephants will disappear altogether from some parts of Africa in the next few years.

Want to help save the elephants? Underground Elephant does too! All it takes is a few clicks of your mouse and you can be a part of this worthy cause. During the Ad:Tech New York Conference week of November 4th through November 6th, for every 20 people that sign up for Underground Elephant's Facebook page or sign up on our website, the company will adopt a wild elephant in Kenya. The money raised will be delivered to Born Free for its elephant protection work. Together, with your participation, Underground Elephant can make a difference. Help save an elephant, and help fight the ivory trade.

About Underground Elephant:
Underground Elephant, is dynamic performance driven ad agency located in the heart of downtown San Diego. Despite its young age, the company is quickly gaining ground and becoming the fastest growing internet ad agency. The organization is determined to create a movement behind multiple marketing machines.

Services include on a performance model: custom marketing solutions, lead generation, brand management, web design, and technology development.

Sometimes the best solutions are right below the surface. When you are ready to go underground let us know. Visit UndergroundElephant.com to learn more.

About Born Free:
Born Free Foundation (www.bornfree.org.uk), based in the UK, was started by Bill Travers and Virginia McKenna, the actors who starred in the classic wildlife movie Born Free. Today, run by their son Will Travers, Born Free supports numerous compassionate conservation projects in more than a dozen countries – including the famous 'underground elephants' which live on the slopes of Mount Elgon in Western Kenya.

Born Free USA (www.bornfreeusa.org), headquartered in Sacramento, CA, takes a leading role in the United States in efforts to end the abuse and cruel treatment of captive elephants in circuses and zoos as well as supporting international wildlife conservation efforts.

Both organizations work to end the poaching of elephants and the trade in their ivory. Despite a partial global ivory trade ban, it is currently estimated that up to 36,000 elephants a year are being illegally killed.