Sperm whale secretion could net U.K. man $68K payout

Man stumbles upon waxy byproduct of sperm whale digestion, used to make pricey perfumes

The Associated Press

Posted: Jan 31, 2013 11:12 AM ET

Last Updated: Jan 31, 2013 12:31 PM ET

Ambergris is a waxy byproduct of sperm whale digestion that has traditionally been used to make perfumes, spices, and medicines (Center for Whale Research/Associated Press)

One very smelly sperm whale secretion may soon make one lucky British beachcomber a very happy man.

Fifty-year-old Ken Wilman has told British broadcasters that he had been walking his dog along Morecambe beach in northern England when they discovered a soccer ball-sized piece of ambergris, a waxy byproduct of sperm whale digestion that has traditionally been used to make perfumes, spices, and medicines.

Ambergris can be pricey, and in interviews broadcast Thursday, Wilman said that he had been offered $68,000 US for the musky material.

One expert said the find appeared legitimate and praised Wilman's quick thinking.

Callum Roberts, a professor of marine conservation at the University of York, said, "Fortune favours the prepared mind."

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