Thai Fisherman Offered $3.2 Million for Golden ‘Whale Vomit’

December 16, 2020

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.

Feature Image via Thairath

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