An extremely rare lump of whale vomit found by a dog walker on a beach in the UK is expected to fetch £7,000 at the first auction of its kind. The chunk of ambergris - a waxy rock-like substance that can prolong the scent of perfume - was found washed-up on the shore at Anglesey, north Wales, earlier this year.
The ambergris, that measures 8 inches by 6 inches and weighs 1.1 kg, could have been floating in the sea for decades before it came ashore. Ambergris is produced in the intestines of sperm whales to protect them from the sharp beaks of squid which they eat and is passed as vomit, ‘mirror.co.uk’ reported.
The substance is used in the perfumery industry and has sold for thousands of pounds privately before.