Siriporn
Niamrin, a 49-year-old woman from Thailand, found whale vomit worth more than
$250,000 on February 23 while walking on a beach in the country’s Nakhon Si
Thammarat province. Niamrin reportedly found the substance, also known as ambergris,
after a rainstorm, initially being unaware and coming to know of its identity
only after speaking to her neighbours, as per various media reports.

The neighbours noted that the smell emanating from the substance might indicate
that it is ambergris, and to test the same a naked flame was held to the 12-inch
long and 24-inch-wide mass, leading to it getting melted and then re-hardening, resembling
the physical properties of actual ambergris.

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Niamrin,
as per a report by Daily Mail, said that in case of the substance being genuine,
she would assist her community with the money she gets from selling it.

Ambergris,
also known as ambergrease or grey amber, is solidified whale vomit. The mass is
a waxy and flammable substance that originates in the intestine of the sperm
whale. The substance washes ashore mostly on the beaches of China, Japan,
Africa and the US.

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 Being essentially valuable due to waxy
quality, the mass reportedly protects guts of sperm whales from sharp beaks of
squids it normally consumes in the ocean. Normally possessing a foul stench, the
substance gains a sweet and earthy smell when exposed to sun, air and seawater
over a period of time.