Australian Couple Finds $300,000 Worth of Whale Puke

Loralee and Leon Wright were minding their own business, walking along a rather deserted Streaky Bay beach in the State of South Australia when they found a strange lump floating in the sea. Mr. Wright thought it might be some sort of cyst from a marine animal and suggested they take it home. According to the Australian Broadcasting Corporation, Mrs. Wright replied, “You’re not putting that thing in my car.” However, he persuaded her, and good thing, too. It turned out to be a lump of ambergris worth about US$300,000.

According to Wikipedia, “Ambergris occurs as a biliary concretion in the intestines of the sperm whale, and can be found floating upon the sea, on the sea-coast, or in the sand near the sea-coast. Because lumps of ambergris with embedded beaks of giant squid have been found, scientists have theorized that the whale's intestine produces the substance as a means of facilitating the passage of hard, sharp objects that the whale might have inadvertently eaten.” In short, it’s whale puke.

Ambergris, however, is not like the vomit on the floor of a bikers’ bar. It has been a mainstay of the perfume industry for centuries, and it has also been used in medicine and even cooking (“no, thanks, really, couldn't eat another bite”). Wikipedia also says, “Depending on its quality, raw ambergris fetches approximately USD$20 per gram. In the United States, possession of any part of an endangered species — including ambergris that has washed ashore — is a violation of the Endangered Species Act of 1973.” Good thing then that the Wrights were in Australia.

They couldn’t find out much about this lump on the internet, so they contacted marine ecologist Ken Jury, who identified it. He has seen the stuff before, so it wasn’t hard. He told the ABC, “Two small pieces were found that I would suggest together would make up half the size of the one that's been found at Streaky Bay, and they realised something like $190,000 each.”

Life’s a funny thing. Sometimes, one works hard for nothing. Sometimes, one works hard for lots. And other times, one is walking on the beach and finds a few hundred thousand worth of whale spew. The important thing, as Mr. Wright can surely attest, is to know that the spew may have some value.


© Copyright 2006 by The Kensington Review, Jeff Myhre, PhD, Editor. No part of this publication may be reproduced without written consent.
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