Valuable Ambergris Seized In India: A Look Into The Whale Byproduct Worth Millions

A huge bounty of ambergris—often called "whale vomit"—that was seized from smugglers in India has been found to be worth several million dollars. Local authorities acquired the smuggled ambergris near the coast of Tamil Nadu, a state in South India. Around 22 pounds of ambergris was being smuggled, according to The Hindu, although India Today reported that the haul weighed just under 40 pounds. This past Saturday, authorities acted on a tip and intercepted a vehicle containing several people and the smuggled ambergris.

Ambergris is a valuable waxy substance that forms—in very rare cases—in the digestive system of sperm whales. It is also worth a great deal of money. "Ambergris is very expensive and costs around 1.5 to 2 crore rupees [$181,154 to $241,531] per kilogram [2.2 pounds]," Seema Latkar, the district police superintendent for the city of Mysuru, said at a Tuesday press conference, according to The Hindu.

This would place the ambergris bounty's value at somewhere between $1.7 million and $2.36 million but possibly as high as over $4 million. The tremendous value of ambergris comes from its scarcity, as it is found in only about 5 percent of sperm whales. The high demand for it in the perfume industry has led to significant hunting of sperm whales in the past, which has drastically reduced their populations.

Between 184,000 and 236,000 sperm whales were killed in the 1800s, with at least 770,000 killed in the mid-20th century before the 1986 moratorium on whaling. This decimated their populations from over a million worldwide before whaling began to only around 360,000 in the 1990s. Now, despite whaling being banned in most countries, many prohibit trade in ambergris, even if it is harvested from the ocean surface.

Ambergris can occasionally be found floating on the surface of the ocean, leading to its historical nickname "floating gold," according to the U.K.'s Natural History Museum (NHM). This unique substance not only possesses a fascinating history tied to whale hunting but also raises significant conservation issues as the demand for it continues.

Exactly how the ambergris gets from the whale's innards to the ocean surface is not known. Many experts believe that whales regurgitate it, hence the name whale vomit. Others think they release it from the other end of their digestive tract. Over the past two years, India's Directorate of Revenue Intelligence has seized nearly 100 pounds of ambergris that was being smuggled out of the country, according to India Today. The smugglers were arrested, the magazine's report said.

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