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Whale 'Vomit' Sparks Cash Bonanza

ramonmercado

ramonmercado

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Whale 'vomit' sparks cash bonanza

An Australian couple who picked up an odd-looking fatty lump from a quiet beach are in line for a cash windfall. Leon Wright and his wife took home a 14.75kg lump of ambergris, found in the innards of sperm whales and used in perfumes after it has been vomited up.

Long lusted-after due to its rarity, ambergris can float upon the oceans for years before washing ashore on beaches.

Worth up to $20 a gram, Mr Wright's find on a South Australian beach could net his family US$295,000 (£165,300).

At first Mr Wright and his wife Loralee left the strange lump on the beach where it was found.

However, two weeks later the couple returned to Streaky Bay and found it still lying there.

Floating gold


AMBERGRIS FACTS
Found in warm water oceans around the world
Bile secreted by sperm whales as a digestion aid
Solidifies and floats on water, sometimes for years
Used in perfumes, medicines, flavourings
Banned in US under endangered species legislation

Curious, Mrs Wright persuaded her husband to take it home.

Internet investigations failed to resolve the mysterious matter of the lump's identity, so the couple turned to local marine ecologist Ken Jury for help.


"I immediately decided it was ambergris - it couldn't be anything else," Mr Jury told Australia's ABC radio.

Mythologised for thousands of years, ambergris has been referred to as "floating gold" by scientists and scavengers who long for a windfall amid the surf.

Expelled from the abdomen of the giant sperm whale, often while hundreds of miles away from land, ambergris is a natural excrement thought to be used by the whale as a digestion aid.

The hard beaks of giant squid, a main source of food for the whale, have often been found inside lumps of ambergris.

Initially, ambergris is a soft, foul-smelling waste matter that floats on the ocean.

But years of exposure to the sun and the salt water of the ocean transform the waste into smooth, exotic lumps of compact rocks that boast a waxy feel and a sweet, alluring smell.

"It's quite remarkable when you think about it because when the whale throws this out, it's discarded material that they can't digest," Mr Jury added.

"[But] after 10 years, it's considered clean and all you're getting then is the wonderful musky, very sweet perfume, which I've got to say is ultra smooth - it's unbelievable."

Story from BBC NEWS:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/1/hi/w ... 642722.stm

Published: 2006/01/24 12:21:26 GMT

© BBC MMVI
Click to expand...
 
Boy finds rare whale vomit on beach at Hengistbury Head

An eight-year-old boy has discovered a rare piece of whale vomit on a Dorset beach which could be worth up to £40,000.
Charlie Naysmith found the 600g lump of ambergris in a patch of seaweed at Hengistbury Head in Bournemouth.

He said that when he first found it he thought it was a "normal stone".
But after looking it up on the internet with his father, Alex, they discovered that it was likely to be a rare form of vomit from a sperm whale.

Ambergris is found in the innards of the sperm whale and used in perfumes after it has been vomited up.
It is sought after because of its rarity and can float on the ocean for years before washing ashore.

Mr Naysmith, from Christchurch, said the lump his son found probably is about 20 years old and said he had been told it could be worth up to £40,000.
He said: "It's very rare.
"You don't hear of it coming around very often and it's only [found] in small amounts usually.
"In olden days they used it in perfumes and some medicines.
"I don't know if it's necessarily worth that much these days, but fingers crossed."

Charlie says he has already made plans for what he will spend the money on if they can sell the ambergris.
"I'm going to make a nature reserve for animals in this country," he said.

Mythologised for thousands of years, ambergris has been referred to as "floating gold" by scientists and those who search for a windfall amid the surf.
It is a natural excrement thought to be used by the whale as a digestion aid and is expelled from its abdomen often while hundreds of kilometres away from land.
The hard beaks of giant squid, a main source of food for sperm whales, have often been found inside lumps of ambergris.

Initially, it is a soft, foul-smelling matter that floats on the ocean but through exposure to the sun and the salt water over years it turns into a smooth lump of compact rock which feels waxy and has a sweet smell.

It is still used in perfumes, although many perfume makers now use a synthetic version instead of ambergris because it is associated with whaling and the sperm whale is a vulnerable species.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-dorset-19431540

This report echoes almost word-for-word parts of the 2006 BBC report from Australia! ;)
 
Both rather "ripe" stories, you two. Repeat after me "I must check the date of the story before posting.".
 
Monstrosa said:
Both rather "ripe" stories, you two. Repeat after me "I must check the date of the story before posting.".
Click to expand...

I knew you would bring that up.
 
ramonmercado said:
Monstrosa said:
Both rather "ripe" stories, you two. Repeat after me "I must check the date of the story before posting.".
Click to expand...

I knew you would bring that up.
Click to expand...

It's enough to make you vomit, really it is.

Wish I found some whale vomit.

That sounds weirder than it is.
 
Monstrosa said:
Both rather "ripe" stories, you two. Repeat after me "I must check the date of the story before posting.".
Click to expand...
Huh? What's bugging you? Different places, dates, and people involved:

Australia: 2.01.2006 Leon Wright
Dorset: 30.08.2012 Charlie Naysmith
Morecombe: 01.02.2013 Ken Wilman
 
Monstrosa said:
It's an old story,not new, that's all I was saying.
Click to expand...
The one I posted is about 15 months old. But it's interesting to put them all together, n'est-ce pas? No doubt ambergris has been drifting to shore for centuries, all over the world, and will continue to do so.

And there's plenty of even older stories on here anyway...
 
Yeah, it doesn't matter that they're old, I guess.
 
All that glisters isn't Ambergris

Tests show 'rare ambergris' found on Anglesey is rubber

A substance thought to be a lump of rare, potentially valuable whale vomit has turned out to be.... rubber.
Andrew Hughes found what he hoped was ambergris - produced in sperm whales' intestines - on Anglesey.
He hoped it could be worth many thousands of pounds to the perfume industry, although the value of ambergris is disputed.

Dr Vera Thoss, of Bangor University, conducted tests over two days and said it was "basically a lump of rubber".
Although unable to say exactly what the substance was, she said she believed it was probably a latex or runny rubber, which showed characteristics of being burned - possibly on a ship which caught fire.

Mr Hughes found the substance while looking for fishing bait with a friend at Porth Dafarch, near Trearddur Bay earlier this month.
But, after discovering the find was worthless, he said he could see the funny side of it.
"We weren't getting our hopes too high anyway because we're down to earth," he added.

Internet reports suggested that if it proved to be ambergris it could be worth tens of thousands of US dollars to the perfume industry.
However, Steve Pearce, a chartered biochemist and former president of both the British Society of Flavourists and British Society of Cosmetic Scientists, said there are many alternatives to the once-prized ambergris.

He added: "There may be one or two artisan perfumers who would pay some money for it - a few tens of pounds.
"I've not heard of people buying it."

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-nort ... s-25852322
 
Dogwalker who found 'whale vomit worth £100k' discovers it's worthless
Ken Wilman's dreams of riches are ruined after an expert says the large smelly rock he found on walking along Morecambe beach isn't prized ambergris
By Telegraph reporter
8:43AM GMT 26 Mar 2015

A dog walker who thought he had struck gold for two years after finding a large lump of smelly whale vomit has been told it is just a worthless rock.
Ken Wilman was walking along Morecambe beach in northern England when his dog, Madge, discovered the large, hard smelly rock.
A French dealer then offered Mr Wilman, who is unemployed after hurting his back in a motorbike accident, 50,000 euros if the 3kg lump turned out to be sperm whale vomit, or ambergris.
But Mr Wilman's dreams were ruined after an expert informed him the rock has no value.
"If I had my time over again, I would kick the rock to one side and walk away," Mr Wilman told the Mirror. "I wish I'd never found it.
"I've got to accept what happened and get on with it."
Ambergris has a peculiar smell which has been used in scents like Chanel No.5.
Sperm whales eject it into the sea when they have a stomach or throat problem.

etc...

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/new...vomit-worth-100k-discovers-its-worthless.html

(Mr. Wilman's case was first reported upthread, but some confusion about Ambergris stories ensued - whoever thought Message Boards were a good idea? :rolleyes:)
 
Well, what kind of rock was it then to make people think it was ambergris?
 
Wonder if it's something to do with pollution? Should the authorities be notified in case there will be more?
 
Two men both from Morecambe, both named Wilman find identical "ambergris" lumps only to find it isn't. Their dogs look identical too. What are the chances?
 
Ambergris found on Anglesey beach sells for £11,000

Ambergris found by a dog walker on an Anglesey beach has sold at auction for £11,000.
The 1.1kg (2.4lb) chunk of whale vomit, known as ambergris and used mainly in perfume, sold to a phone bidder in France on Friday - exceeding the estimated price of up to £7,000.

Auctioneer Adam Partridge said he was "elated" at the sale, in Macclesfield.
"Somebody brought this smelly waxy rugby ball-shaped lump to us and asked us to sell it for them," he added.
"There are many things which can be mistaken for ambergris - fat, rubber and palm oil amongst others - but after doing some research and consulting the authorities on such things, we found out that what we had was indeed very valuable.
"We've had lots of unusual items pass through the doors over the years, but this is by far the weirdest."

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-north-west-wales-34362556
 
"Somebody brought this smelly waxy rugby ball-shaped lump to us and asked us to sell it for them . . . "

That's why I made a loss on my Welsh man-porn site. :(
 
Though the ambergris doesn't have to be extracted from the whale.
 
Hmm, years ago I was told that ambergris was impacted whale dung. Now they say it's vomit? Is this based on new research, or have squeamish people just decided that puke is less gross than poop?
 
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