What’s in a whale’s stomach is as precious as gold

The life of a group of prisoners in the war-torn country of Yemen has suddenly changed. A rare thing found in the stomach of a whale has changed their fate.

Like any other day, they went fishing in the Gulf of Aden. At one point they saw a dead sperm whale floating in the sea water. Even then they did not think that there was a precious substance in its stomach.

The fish smelled so bad that they suspected there was something in it. The fishermen then brought the fish to the shore. And they saw something inside their stomachs that they couldn’t imagine.

The name of this precious thing is Ambergris whose market value is more than 15 million US dollars.
what is ambergris

Ambergris is formed when the juice released from the sperm whale’s digestive system clots and hardens.

Scientists say that this marine animal releases this kind of juice to protect its digestive system.

Saidur Rahman Chowdhury, a marine scientist at Chittagong University, said: “The sperm whale secretes this juice in order to prevent its own digestive system from damaging or leaking various sharp and hard parts, including the bones, of other marine animals or fish that it eats as food. “

He said that this juice secreted inside the stomach usually freezes in small lumps and comes out with the excreta of the whale. But when that juice accumulates and becomes big, then it can not come out of the anus.

Scientists believe that in such a situation, the sperm whale expels the juice accumulated in its stomach through the mouth. For this reason, ambergris is also referred to as whale vomit.

Ambergris is a solid, but flammable, waxy substance released from the anus or mouth of a sperm whale.
where it can be found

Not all sperm whales produce this ambergris in their stomachs. It can be found in some worms. And this ambergris is not produced in the stomach of any whale other than the sperm whale.

Why it’s so valuable

Yemeni fishermen have sold the ambergris they found in the stomach of a dead whale in the Gulf of Aden for $1.5 million.

They are very happy with this huge amount of money. They never thought they would get so much money. It’s like a dream for them.

The money from the sale of ambergris has been divided among fishermen, with which some have bought houses and cars. Some are planning to get married. Some of the money was given to the poor.

The price of one kilogram of ambergris in the market is about 50 thousand US dollars. It is also known as natural gold because of its high price.

One of the reasons for its high price is its affordability.

Mr. “It’s very rare,” he said. It is found in only one to two percent of sperm whales. It is believed that this ambergris can be found in only three thousand whales in the whole world. “

“Also, these 3,000 whales are alive. Amber is not going to come out of it. He must either be killed, or collected from his stomach after he dies. That’s why the price has gone up to lakhs of rupees, “he said.

Another reason why it’s so valuable.

In many countries, the sale and use of this ambergris is prohibited. Its price also increases due to being sold in the black market.
What is useful

This ambergris is used in the perfume industry.

Samudra Saidur Rahman Chowdhury of Chittagong University said, Ambergris is used to bring the tone of musk or mrignavi and make the fragrance last longer.

“” “After the advent of alternative chemicals, well-known brands of expensive perfumes still rely on naturally-sourced ambergris to maintain their uniqueness.” “

That is why it is in great demand by perfume companies.

When the Yemeni fishermen reached the dead whale floating in the sea, a strong stench was emanating from it. Bringing the fish to the shore, they cut open its stomach and extracted ambergris from it.

Scientists say that fresh ambergris emits a bad smell. But as it gets older, the scent gradually fades.
Number of sperm whales

The sperm whale that has the potential to get ambergris in its stomach is an endangered species.

Scientists estimate that there are about three million sperm whales in the world today. But they estimate that there were 1.1 million sperm whales before whaling began.

Due to whaling the number of sperm whales has come down to 25 percent now.

However, in recent times, the number of whales has stabilized due to the imposition of various regulations on whaling and increased surveillance. Scientists say that the number of these sperm whales is not decreasing much right now.

First of all, fish are used as food. Apart from the various organs of this animal, the commercial use of oil and fat is also another reason for whaling.

Many whales are also hunted in search of ambergris.

Mr. “Earlier, synthetic chemicals were not a substitute for many valuable things in whales,” Chowdhury said. For these things, the whaling begins. Now there are alternatives to all this, but there are still some whales being hunted, but that’s for their meat. “
Whales in the Bay of Bengal

There is no information to confirm the existence of sperm whales in the Bay of Bengal. However, scientists say that since this whale is scattered all over the world’s oceans, it is also likely to be in the Bay of Bengal.

Saidur Rahman Chowdhury, a marine scientist at Chittagong University, said: “We don’t know of any spotting reports of sperm whales in the Bay of Bengal. The sperm whale will not come to the North Bay because it does not wander in the sea less than 1000 meters deep. “

The total area of the world’s oceans is about 362 million square kilometers. The area of the Bangladesh part of the Bay of Bengal is only 1,18,000 square kilometers. In this way, if the sperm whales of the whole world are distributed equally, then some sperm whales are supposed to enter the Bay of Bengal.

“Sperm whales can come to the depth of two and a half to three and a half kilometers in the Bay of Bengal. Since there are about three lakh sperm whales in the world, there are likely to be 100 to 150 sperm whales in the Bay of Bengal in terms of density, “he said. Chaudhary.

He said the possibility of sperm whales coming to Bangladesh is very low due to the low depth in the coastal part of the country.