A Thai fisherman is hoping to cash in as much as $3.2 million on some massive chunks of material he stumbled upon while walking along a local beach.
Strange thing: Narit Suwansang believes that what he came across last week along the coastlines of Nakhon Si Thammarat province is ambergris, a material sometimes referred to as “whale vomit,” Coconuts Bangkok reports.
- Suwansang said he got curious when he first saw the yellowish, stone-like material lying on the coast’s shallow waters.
- Not having seen anything like it before, the 60-year-old took the fragmented material home.
- The mysterious chucks were heavy and it took some help from his family members to retrieve them all.
- Upon careful observation and some online research, Suwansang and his family concluded that what he found may actually be ambergris, which is sometimes described as “floating gold.”
- He noted that part of the material melted in close contact with the flame of his lighter and emitted a musky odor.
- Ambergris, which is formed from a secretion of the bile duct in the intestines of the sperm whale, is a highly-valued natural treasure used by the perfume and cosmetics industries, according to the National Geographic.
Golden vomit: A Phuket businessman has reportedly offered to pay Suwansang 960,000 Thailand Baht ($32,000) per kilogram should it be certified by experts as Grade A ambergris.
- Suwansang’s find is the heaviest discovered in history at about 100 kilograms (220 pounds).
- It is estimated to net him around $3.2 million if the deal goes through.
- If found to be of lower grade, the whale waste product will be worth less.
- Suwansang is now awaiting confirmation from experts in marine biology who helped him analyze his “whale vomit.”
- In the meantime, he said he is going to register his find with the police, just in case it gets stolen.
