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Whale Vomit If you stumbled upon a smelly huge chunk of whale vomit — also called ambergris, it looks much like a rock — you might not consider it a stroke of luck. But think again.
Ambergris in dried form. Ambergris (/ ˈ æ m b ər ɡ r iː s / or / ˈ æ m b ər ɡ r ɪ s /; Latin: ambra grisea; Old French: ambre gris), ambergrease, or grey amber is a solid, waxy, flammable substance of a dull grey or blackish colour produced in the digestive system of sperm whales. [1]
Spermaceti / s p ər m ə ˈ s iː t i ˌ-ˈ s ɛ-/ is a waxy substance found in the head cavities of the sperm whale (and, in smaller quantities, in the oils of other whales). Spermaceti is created in the spermaceti organ inside the whale's head. This organ may contain as much as 1,900 litres (500 US gal) of spermaceti. [1]
"Whale pump" – the role played by whales in nutrient recycling in the oceans (based on Fig. 1 of Roman & McCarthy (2010) [1]) Whale feces, the excrement of whales, has a vital role in the ecology of oceans, [2] earning whales the title of "marine ecosystem engineers." This significant ecological role stems from the nutrients and compounds ...
The whale is currently in cold storage as experts decide the next best steps. In the meantime, genetic samples have been sent to the New Zealand Cetacean Tissue Archive at the University of Auckland.
Paleontologists in Egypt uncovered an ancient underwater version of a turducken. (For those of you who have never heard the majestic term, that's a turkey inside a duck inside a chicken. They get ...
Historically, whaling took a heavy toll on sperm whale populations. Prior to the early 18th century, sperm whales were hunted in Japan and Indonesia. Legend has it that sometime in the early 18th century, supposed to be not far from 1712, Captain Christopher Hussey, while cruising for right whales near shore, was blown offshore by a northerly wind, where he encountered a school of sperm whales ...
Orcas, or “killer whales,” can grow up to 27 feet long and weigh as much as six tons. Known as the ocean’s top predator, they’re extremely intelligent, with their own languages of clicks ...