A group of scientists led by Dr. Antonio Fernandez, Professor of Forensic Veterinary Pathology at the University of Las Palmas, extracted 9.5 kilos of extremely rare amber from a beached sperm whale during an autopsy.
Scientists determined that the amber, which has a market value of about 500 thousand dollars, caused a rupture in the intestines of the whale and that is why the whale died.
Prof. Dr. Antonio Fernandez said on July 3 that the amber, which is an extremely valuable raw material, especially for the perfume industry, will be sold and donated to the victims of the volcano eruption on La Palma Island in 2021.
AMBER, AN EXPENSIVE RAW MATERIAL FOR THE PERFUME INDUSTRY
Sperm whales feed on large quantities of marine life, but some parts of this marine life cannot be digested by the whale's digestive system and the whales vomit out this solidified substance, called amber.
On average, only one in every hundred sperm whales produces amber, so it is often discovered while swimming at sea.
For these reasons, amber, which is extremely rare, is extremely valuable as a perfume raw material because of its scent and the fact that the alcohol in it makes the perfume lasting.
