Ivory has the attractive property of sturdiness which allows it to be carved with ease withoug being vulnerable to splintering or shattering.  This allowed for the making of many pragmatic tools such as chopsticks and combs.

Selling ivory on the market can fetch up a pretty hefty sum; raw ivory can earn retailers between $1000 and $1200 per kilogram! Dwi Adhiasto, the Indonesia program manager for the Indonesia’s Wildlife Crimes Unit, said that most ivory from Sumatra is sold to local consumers in Indonesia and they typically are sold in the form of smoking pipes and trinkets. A 22 cm pipe can be sold from $250 to $300.

Even though the act of poaching is illegal, the poaching and sale of ivory is still an option that appeals to the poachers who are attracted to the higher disposable income.

This could be due to biases in information processing. The prospect theory explains that people give more weight to possible loss, than possible gain. Hence the optimal choice is not always chosen. In this case, the idea of losing potential revenue from the ivory sale in order to save an elephant’s life might not be appealing to the poachers at all. Since the demand for ivory is high, people would be more incentivised to engage in the act of ivory trading.