We all know that the value of gold is very high, and a small piece can be exchanged for a large amount of money. However, if there is an animal feces that is more expensive than gold, you may feel a little surprised. This animal is the sperm whale, which can exceed 50 tons, which is the largest of the toothed whales. After the sperm whale's secretions are dried, they become "ambergris", which is a silver-gray or black solid waxy combustible substance with a unique aroma.
The first piece of ambergris in the world was discovered by humans during the Han Dynasty in China, when some fishermen, while fishing, accidentally found some white drifting objects floating on the surface of the sea, so they fished home. At first, people found that the smell of such objects was not very good, but after drying, these drifts can emit a lasting fragrance, which is very popular with people.
This fragrance is even more fragrant than musk. Later, when the officials of the imperial court learned of this news, they purchased these drifting objects and dedicated them to the emperor for use, at that time, the ancients had a very limited understanding of this incense, believing that it was formed by the "saliva" left by the dragon when it slept in the sea, so it was named ambergris, and later, this incense became more and more famous in the world.
So, how was ambergris born? In fact, the principle is very simple, it is actually the feces of sperm whales. The sperm whale's food is a variety of marine life, and when it swallows these animals in its belly, some of the bones are difficult to digest. At this time, it just stimulates the stomach and intestines of the sperm whale, so some secretions are produced, which are wrapped around these solids and excreted.
After more than ten years of oxidation, seawater soaking, saponification, ambergris is formed. The color of this incense will slowly become lighter and whiter, and the value will become higher and higher after that. Nowadays, a pound of ambergris has a value of millions, but also because this incense has to go through a long period of change, as the saying goes, things are rare and expensive. It's not hard to see why it has such a high price. Just pick up some and you can become a multimillionaire.
There is also the gradual reduction of sperm whales, resulting in less and less ambergris, becoming more and more rare. Sperm whales have been hunted commercially since the 18th century, and at their peak, 5,000 sperm whales were hunted each year around the world. In the marine animal world, animals such as dolphins and seals are masters of diving. But when it comes to diving champions, it's certainly the sperm whale. It uses the breath-holding method, which allows you to dive in the sea for an hour. Due to slow movement, it is easy to be arrested and killed.
Since 2000, sperm whales have been classified as vulnerable (vu) animals in smaller numbers. This makes people think about the relationship between humans and the earth, and at the moment, everyone is facing a situation of biodiversity loss. This is closely related to human activities, what kind of earth will we leave behind for our children? This is a problem that the world's human beings must face.