Résumé : |
Our planet is blue. We humans are perched on a few lumps of rocks that jut out from an otherwise watery surface and yet we are only just starting to understand how the sub-aquatic ecosystem works.
Its deep, dark waters have long been the source of mythical creatures, and to this day we frequently discover previously undocumented life-forms through deep water exploration. One thing that seems to unify aquatic life, especially when compared to our landbased existence, is that it can appear very strange and almost alien. Beach-combers are often the lucky recipients of many of the stranger offerings from the sea, and few are more unusual than a substance known as ambergris. Many people will have heard the name, and some may know that it is connected to whales and/or perfume, but few are aware of just what a remarkable substance ambergris is. And the fact that there are still aspects which are not fully understood means the air of mystery is maintained. Along with allure of fine fragrance, stories abound of people stumbling upon a football-sized lump of ambergris on a beach and going on to make a small fortune by selling it to perfume companies. Today the purchase price of ambergris is around US$20 per gram,1 so it certainly seems worth looking closer at what is lying between the rocks and driftwood along the shoreline. A 32 pound (14.75 kg) lump of ambergris was sold for US$236,000 after it was washed up on a beach in Australia in 2006. |