What Comes from Whales?
Here's a great report that was mentioned in the Age on Tuesday ...
The product of a whale's intestines may make a South Australian family up to $1 million richer. The 14.75-kilogram lump of rare whale excretion, naturally expelled orally, was found by the family on a beach near Streaky Bay on SA's west coast.
They were baffled by the substance before inquiries revealed it to be ambergris - a wax-like substance originating from the intestine of a sperm whale that is greatly prized for its use in perfume. Ambergris was worth between $US20 ($A26.60) and $US65 a gram, said marine ecology consultant Ken Jury.
Mr Jury, who is representing the family, said ambergris was material that sperm whales could not digest and was belched from the whales as a foul-smelling substance. It was cleansed by sunlight and salt water after years of floating in the ocean.
The product of a whale's intestines may make a South Australian family up to $1 million richer. The 14.75-kilogram lump of rare whale excretion, naturally expelled orally, was found by the family on a beach near Streaky Bay on SA's west coast.
They were baffled by the substance before inquiries revealed it to be ambergris - a wax-like substance originating from the intestine of a sperm whale that is greatly prized for its use in perfume. Ambergris was worth between $US20 ($A26.60) and $US65 a gram, said marine ecology consultant Ken Jury.
Mr Jury, who is representing the family, said ambergris was material that sperm whales could not digest and was belched from the whales as a foul-smelling substance. It was cleansed by sunlight and salt water after years of floating in the ocean.
posted by Jeff at 10:08 pm
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home