Whale Vomit Found On Welsh Beach Sells for £11,000

A man walking his dog on a Welsh beach made a very valuable find. It was piece of the whale vomit known as 'ambergris'. It is formed in a sperm whale’s digestive system and is passed as vomit. Scientists believe it is used to coat irritating objects in the whale’s intestines. The dog walker found the item on a beach in Anglesey (Welsh: Ynys Môn), which is an island off the north-west coast of Wales (Cymru). Yesterday the 2.4lb (1.1kg) chunk of ambergris was sold at auction for £11,000. The material is used in the perfume industry where it is used to enhance the scent or prolong the duration a fragrance lasts. It is a rare find which makes it very sought after.

The sperm whale (Physeter macrocephalus), or cachalot, is the largest of the toothed whales and can live for more than 60 years. Mature males are an average of 52 feet (16 metres) long. Sperm whales feed primarily on squid. Females and young males live together in groups. Females give birth every four to twenty years, and care for the calves for more than 10 years. It is noted for its clicking vocalisation, which can be as loud as 230 decibels underwater. It makes the loudest sound produced by any animal. It also has the largest brain of any animal, more than five times heavier than a human's. 

From the early eighteenth century and into the late 20th, the species was a prime target of whalers. A disgusting practise which by the late 1930s, saw more than 50,000 whales killed annually. In 1986, the International Whaling Commission (IWC) banned commercial whaling in order to increase the whale stock. However, there are pressures from some countries to lift the ban on certain whale stocks for hunting. This should be opposed and whaling should be illegal. As environmentalists point out that unless it is stopped, whales could go extinct in the near future.

The beautiful sperm whale is now protected by a whaling moratorium and is listed as a vulnerable species. This is one which has been categorised by the International Union for Conservation of Nature as likely to become endangered. They are amongst many species threatened  by the activities of humans. A recent report on declining sea bird populations warned of the dismal state of the world’s oceans and the effect humans are having on the planet. A problem that is exacerbated by a world population growing to an unsustainable degree.