What’s the coolest thing you’ve ever found (and kept)?
Whilst beach-combing on the Oregon coast, along with moonstones and carnelians, I found a chunk of ambergris. As reputed, it had-and has (I still have it) a delicate fragrance. It was smooth and waxy- standing out in contrast from its surroundings.
It was like a gift from the sea. While I can’t be sure from which kind of whale it was – we have gray, humpback, and blues – it is like a tangible proof they’re real; not just spouts off in the far distance.
9 responses to “coolest thing I’ve found”
Ambergris is only found in sperm whales. actually. What a find! As you may be aware, it’s actually VERY valuable, though some countries don’t permit its sale… Ounce for ounce, ambergris is more expensive than gold—it’s used by perfumers.
Wow! I knew it was valuable – I didn’t know it is still.
The REALLY high-end perfumers. A number of countries won’t allow its sale, though (which is meant to be protective of the sperm whales—although ambergris doesn’t have to come from DEAD whales… I guess they didn’t want people killing whales looking for it, though.)
Can you imagine ‘milking’ a sperm whale for its ambergris?! They’d probably let you if you gave them a treat. lol
I’m picturing squid-flavored whale treats! 🙂 You could just follow behind them with a big net—most scientists think they poop it out (or at least, it’s in the digestive tract when they find it in dead whales, so that’s the prevailing theory…)
I’d be stunned if it weren’t from some area similar to our salivary glands.
It actually forms around squid beaks (squids being sperm whales’ main food), they think to protect the digestive tract from getting scratched up—kind of like how pearls form around irritants like sand that get in oyster shells. That’s why they find it in the gut, in dead whales—and why they think it gets pooped out (and (though no one has ever actually SEEN it get pooped out, so it’s not a certainty—there’s also a theory that they vomit it out like owls do with pellets of bones-and-such…)
Very cool. Amazing how many ways we can smell like lilac!
could be analogous to nebothian glands; is ambergris aphrodisiac for them with pheromones? then would be perivaginal.