Wildlife traffickers are able to get up to 30 kilograms of ivory from a single elephant. If the market value of the a kilogram is $300, then the ivory from a single elephant would generate up to $9,000 on the black market.
According to a report in the Guardian, a corrupt wildlife ranger who allows poachers smuggle ivory would receive a cut of around 20 percent, or $2,000 in the example listed above.
In comparison, a ranger in Cambodia was being paid $30 a month in 2013, or $360 a year in salary. In Thailand, a lack of funds for supplies and gear leads to forest rangers conducting training exercises with tree branches. And in Tanzania, if a poacher is caught, he is subjected to a $13 fine.
(More on the effects of corruption.)
Source: Oliver Milman, “Ranger corruption ‘impeding global fight against poaching’,” Guardian, March 27, 2013.