In News:

=> The Crime Branch in Pune and seized 550 grams of ambergris, also known as ‘floating gold’.  

What is Ambergris?

=> Ambergris means grey amber in French.      

=> It is sometimes referred to as whale vomit.    

=> However, Christopher Kemp, the author of ‘Floating gold: A Natural and (unnatural) history of Ambergris’, says this is not right.        

• According to him, Ambergris, a solid waxy substance originating in the intestine of the sperm whale (Physeter catodon).         
• As per Kemp, Ambergris is produced only by an estimated one per cent of sperm whales.     

=> It floats around the surface of the water body and at times settles on the coast.    

=> German physician Franz Schwediawer in 1783 called it “preternaturally hardened whale dung”.    

=> This excretion is so valuable it is referred to as floating gold.         

• Investigating agencies from across India estimate its value to be somewhere between Rs 1 to 2 crores per kilogram, depending on the purity and quality.

Why is it so expensive?

The reason for its high cost is its use in the perfume market, especially to create fragrances like musk.            

• It being extremely rare contributes to its high demand and high price in the international market.        
• Ancient Egyptians used it as incense. It is also believed to be used in some traditional medicines.     

Legalities and recent cases of seizure in India:

There is a ban on possession and trade of ambergris in countries like the USA, Australia and India, in several other countries it is a tradable commodity, though with limitations in some of them.         

In the Indian context, sperm whales are a protected species under Schedule 2 of the Wildlife Protection Act and possession or trade of any of its by-products, including Ambergris and its byproducts, is illegal under provisions of the Wildlife Protection Act, 1972.