A huge formation known as ambergris, a treasure estimated at over 500,000 euros: it is the one found in the belly of the sperm whale that died in mid-May on a beach on the island of La Palma, in the Canary Islands, according to the BBC.
It would be a block of more than 9 kilos, which was the cause of death from intestinal obstruction of the cetacean.
Ambergris, produced by the bile secretion of the cetacean, has a market value between 50,000 and 80,000 euros per kilo; It is mainly used for the manufacture of perfumes.
The sperm whale of 13 meters in length and weighing about 20 tons was recovered on the beach of Nogales, in La Palma, last May 21, already in a state of putrefaction.
The result of the autopsy carried out by the professor of the Ulpgc, Antonio Fernanzez, quoted by local media, indicates that the ambergris found in the intestine of the cetacean is produced by "one sperm whale out of a hundred and not everyone excretes it naturally".
It is estimated that only 1% of these large cetaceans produce the precious sedimentation.