A pathologist has found an object worth 500,000 euros (about 172 million HUF) in a dead whale in La Palma, Canary Islands – announce Watchman.
Antonio Fernandez Rodriguez, head of the Institute of Animal Health and Food Safety at the University of Las Palmas, examined the large intestine of the animal during the necropsy – and felt that something solid was attached to this part of the intestine. “What they took out was a stone-like object about 50-60 cm in diameter and 9.5 kg in weight,” he said. Fernandez determined that the person had died of digestive problems.
Turns out the nugget is amber, often referred to as floating gold and a holy grail of apothecaries for centuries. The fossil is valued at around 500,000 euros.
It is estimated that only one percent of large amberjack are capable of producing amber, which is valuable to perfumers, usually expelled from the bodies of animals through vomit and usually found at sea by fishermen. But sometimes, as in the case of the La Palma whale, the material builds up so much that it causes the whale to die.
Amber has a woody scent, like sandalwood, but it also contains an odorless alcohol (ambrene) that fixes and extends the life of scents, making it popular with perfumers. The university is now working to find a buyer for the amber, and the proceeds will be given to the victims of the 2021 volcanic eruption. In an effort to combat whaling, the US, Australia and India have also banned the sale or possession of amber.
(Cover illustration, Source: Shutterstock / Frank Lambert)
