Physical properties Īmbergris is found in lumps of various shapes and sizes, usually weighing from 15 grams ( 1⁄ 2 ounce) to 50 kilograms (110 pounds) or more. Fossilised ambergris from 1.75 million years ago has also been found. In 2021, fishermen found a 280 pound piece of ambergris off the coast of Yemen, valued at US$1.5 million. Most commercially collected ambergris comes from the Bahamas in the Atlantic, particularly New Providence. Īmbergris is found in primarily the Atlantic Ocean and on the coasts of South Africa Brazil Madagascar the East Indies The Maldives China Japan India Australia New Zealand and the Molucca Islands. The slim chances of finding ambergris and the legal ambiguity involved led perfume makers away from ambergris, and led chemists on a quest to find viable alternatives. Ambergris is rare once expelled by a whale, it often floats for years before making landfall.
Christopher Kemp, the author of Floating Gold: A Natural (and Unnatural) History of Ambergris, says that it is only produced by sperm whales, and only by an estimated one percent of them. It is speculated that an ambergris mass too large to be passed through the intestines is expelled via the mouth, but this remains under debate. Because the beaks of giant squids have been discovered within lumps of ambergris, scientists have theorized that the substance is produced by the whale's gastrointestinal tract to ease the passage of hard, sharp objects that it may have eaten.Īmbergris is passed like fecal matter. It is sometimes found in the abdomens of dead sperm whales. The word "amber" comes from the same source, but it has been applied almost exclusively to fossilized tree resins from the Baltic region since the late 13th century in Europe.įurthermore, the word "amber" is derived from the Middle Persian (Pahlavi) word ambar (variants: ’mbl, 'nbl).Īmbergris is formed from a secretion of the bile duct in the intestines of the sperm whale, and can be found floating on the sea or washed up on coastlines. The word ambergris comes from the Old French " ambre gris" or "grey amber".
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