Whale vomit sells for billions, why is it so valuable?
September 16, 20242 Mins Read

International Desk: There are many people who get sick even if they see someone vomiting. But have you ever heard of animal vomit being sold in the market? That too in crores of rupees. Are you surprised to hear? This is absolutely true. Whale vomit is sold in the market for crores of rupees. You must be thinking, what is in this fish vomit that costs so much?

whale fish

Whale vomit is called ambergris. It takes years for a whale's stomach to develop ambergris. Whales eat thousands of squid. Sometimes the squid accumulates in the space between the stomach and intestines. And that after a long time turned into ambergris. Later the whale spits it out. Ambergris is slightly waxy.

But when it first comes out of the whale's mouth, it has a bit of a bad smell. But when it slowly hardens after coming ashore, it smells great. That is why ambergris is in great demand for making fragrances. This ambergris is used in the preparation of various medicines in addition to the expensive perfumes of the world. That's why scientists call whale vomit 'floating gold'.

However, acquiring or selling ambergris is a crime under Indian law. Recently the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) busted an ambergris smuggling racket. The DRI has recovered 18.1 kg of ambergris off the coast of Tuticorin in Tamil Nadu, which is worth around Rs 31.67 crore in the black market.

According to scientists, whale vomit contains alcohol. But at first, it smells like feces. Gradually it becomes like clay. Then while in water, it cools and turns into stone. It has a huge demand in the international market. To get it, some people illegally poach whales and smuggle them.