AMBERGRIS
A professor trying to solve the death of a beached sperm whale ended up discovering 21 pounds of whale-vomit worth half a million dollars

Matthew Loh
Wed, July 5, 2023 

A sperm whale and two young ones swimming under the surface, on November 10, 2011 in Mauritius Island, Indian Ocean.Alexis Rosenfeld/Getty Images

A university professor investigating the death of a beached sperm whale found $544,000 of ambergris.

The digestive substance is extremely rare, and highly valued in the perfume market.

The professor said he wants to sell the ambergris and give the profits to the town he found it in.

A scientist in the Canary Islands discovered a 21-pound lump of whale vomit worth around $544,000 in the intestines of a beached sperm whale.

Antonio Fernández, a professor from the University of Las Palmas, was inspecting the dead sperm whale at Nogales beach on May 21 when he found a huge clump of ambergris in it, per reported local news outlet Canarias7.

Ambergris is a rare and highly sought-after secretion produced in the digestive systems of sperm whales, and is typically only found in around one out of 100 specimens. It's valued in the perfume industry for its distinct odor and scarcity, and is often called "floating gold" or the "treasure of the sea."

Scientists believe the substance is excreted by sperm whales when they eat cephalopods, such as squid and octopus, and cannot digest the beaks of their prey. These remains are often vomited out, but sometimes they can mix with a waxy substance in the intestines to produce ambergris.

Fernández told Canarias7 that he was investigating the cause of death for this particular sperm whale, and was checking its colon.

"What I took out was a stone about 50 to 60cm in diameter weighing 9.5 kg," he said, according to The Guardian. "The waves were washing over the whale. Everyone was watching when I returned to the beach but they didn't know that what I had in my hands was ambergris."

Fernández, who's also the director of his university's animal health and food safety institute, said the whale died of sepsis caused by the chunk of ambergris, per The Guardian.

The professor also told Canarias7 on June 20 that he planned to give the valuable lump to local authorities in La Palma, so that it could be sold to help those affected by a devastating volcano eruption in 2021.

In 2021, a group of fishermen in the Gulf of Aden scored a hunk of ambergris worth around $1.5 million, which they sold to a buyer in the United Arab Emirates. The 35 fishermen purchased houses, cars, and boats from their profits, the BBC reported.

Commercial trade of ambergris is strictly regulated in some countries, including Australia and the US, which bans trade of the substance over concerns of exploitative whaling.