Upfront: Very Valuable Vomit

Ken Wilman and his dog with their ambergris.

          Very Valuable Vomit

An Italian ambergris perfume.

A sperm whale swimming in the ocean.

Ken Wilman didn't quite realize that the smelly 'rock' his dog found on a beach in northwest England, was actually very valuable whale vomit. The yellow, grey, and white 'rock' is actually ambergris, worth 1,000-a-pound, and is the secretion of the designational tract of sperm whales. The one that Ken Wilman and his dog found is worth an estimated $7,000, and is about as big as a head. Ken's dog probably found the foul smelling rock because a boxer's sense of smell is tens of thousands of times as sensitive to odors as yours. Only about 1% of sperm whales actually expel the ambergris, through the mouth and when it is smaller, the bowels; earning the epithet of 'whale vomit'. Ambergris starts out as a liquid that helps the whales with intestinal disorders to digest the harder prey; such as giant squid beaks, and then hardens to a rubbery rock in about 10 to 20 years. Lots of times ambergris is found in the Indian Ocean and the Pacific Ocean, so for it to be found in England is very rare. Ambergris will usually be floating out at sea or washed up on a beach. When it is recently passed, it will have a marine, fecal odor and have streaks of white due to the fatty portion, after months to years in the ocean; a chemical change occurs and it will change to a more grey-black, hard, waxy rock. Ambergris melts into a yellow liquid and boils to a white vapor. The smell changes from a repulsive odor to a earthy and sweet musk often used in fancy perfumes. Ambergris has been used for generations in medicine, food flavoring, and luxury perfumes, however it isn't common anymore due to the sperm whale being a vulnerable species. Egyptians still use ambergris for scenting cigarettes and the ancient Chinese referred to ambergris as "dragon's spittle fragrance". And people during the Black Plague in Europe, carried around overwhelming ambergris to 'prevent' them from getting the air-carried plague. During the Middle Ages, Europeans cured headaches, colds, epilepsy, and other sicknesses with ambergris. King Charles II of England liked to eat ambergris with his eggs. Ambergris was even mentioned in Moby Dick as having the irony of rich people having the essence of whale vomit. "Fine ladies and gentlemen should regale themselves with an essence found in the inglorious bowels of a sick whale." However, the possession and trade of ambergris is prohibited by the Endangered Species Act of 1973 in the United States of America. I hope you liked my whale (vomit) tale!

Keep on Chasin' Your Dreams, Caitlin

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