Whale vomit is precious - Story of Ambergris

The story: News emerged that the Mumbai Police had arrested some people and seized nearly 9 kg of Ambergris. This is "whale vomit", a precious commodi

Whale vomit is precious - Story of Ambergris

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• The story: News emerged that the Mumbai Police had arrested some people and seized nearly 9 kg of Ambergris. This is "whale vomit", a precious commodity in world markets!
• Details: Ambergris (French for grey amber) is generally referred to as whale vomit, and is a solid waxy substance originating in the intestine of the sperm whale. It is produced only by an estimated 1% of sperm whales, and chemically it contains alkaloids, acids, and a specific compound called ambreine, which is similar to cholesterol.

1. It floats around the surface of the water body and at times settles on the coast. Because of its high value it is referred to as floating gold. 1 kg of ambergris is worth Rs 1 crore in the international market.
2. It is used in the perfume market, especially to create fragrances like musk. It is believed to be in high demand in countries like Dubai that have a large perfume market.
3. Ancient Egyptians used it as incense. It is also believed to be used in some traditional medicines and as a spice.

• Illegal trade: Due to its high value it has been a target for smugglers especially in coastal areas. There have been several cases where the coastline of Gujarat has been used for such smuggling. Since the sperm whale is a protected species, hunting of the whale is not allowed. However, smugglers are known to have illegally targeted the fish in order to obtain the valuable Ambergris from its stomach.
• Sperm whale: This is the largest of the toothed whales, ad easily recognized by its enormous square head and narrow lower jaw. It is the 'Physeter catodon', or cachalot. It is usually dark blue-gray or brownish, with white patches on the belly. It is thickset and has small paddle-like flippers and a series of rounded humps on its back. These are found in temperate and tropical waters throughout the world.
• Threats: The biggest threats emerge from habitat impacts including noise pollution and climate change. Other threats include entanglement in fishing gear, collisions with ships, and proposals to allow for a commercial hunt once again.
• Knowledge centre:

1. Whales versus Sharks - Whales are mammals but sharks are fish. Whales give birth to young ones, but some sharks are oviparous (i.e. lay eggs) although many give birth to live young too. Whales have bones whereas the sharks have no bones but only cartilage, making them much lighter for their size. Whales are much larger than sharks. The largest shark is the "whale shark", while the Antarctic blue whale is the biggest whale, and biggest animal on earth (approximately 33 elephants).
2. Evolution of whales - Both hippos and whales evolved from four-legged, even-toed, hoofed (ungulate) ancestors that lived on land about 50 million years ago. Unlike the hippo's ancestor, whale ancestors moved to the sea and evolved into swimming creatures over a period of about 8 million years. To swim, they move their tails up and down, rather than back and forth as fishes do. This is because whales evolved from walking land mammals whose backbones did not naturally bend side to side, but up and down.

 

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