WHAT ISN’T AMBERGRIS?

As one wanders down the beach, there are literally countless items that you will come across and ambergris is perhaps the rarest item in the lot. It is not uncommon for an agency like Ambergris Bahamas to look through hundreds of pictures of beach finds on a near daily basis and discover that none are genuine ambergris. About 99.999% of finds end up not being genuine ambergris, this is because the beaches and shorelines of the world are littered with junk and flotsam debris that is everything but ambergris. Below we have listed the most common items mistaken for ambergris by searchers and beachcombers:
TAR / CONGEALED OIL
Tar and congealed or solidified oil formations are pitch black to a fudgy brown, they are softer and pliable but can also become solid and hard. They will smell very strongly of a petroleum scent and can make a gooey mess if you’re not careful handling them.






NATURAL TREE RESIN / POLYESTER RESIN
There are several forms of resin that are very commonly found. Both man-made and natural tree resins are items routinely mistaken for ambergris. They differ by always presenting with a slightly opaque or semi transparent interior that appears to be a sort of cloudy honey color. Also this material has little to no smell and when melted, this material will dry back hard almost instantly and does not remain tacky at all.






LATEX RUBBER
Latex rubber is a very common item mistaken for ambergris, It does appear to closely resemble the exterior appearance of ambergris but there is one major give away; It can bend and stretch and of course, as rubber would do, if you drop it on the floor it will bounce like a rubber ball. It smells like a latex rubber glove when melted and It can also be found in huge industrial square block sizes that can weight over 200 pounds.






PARAFFIN WAX / SOY WAX
Waxes are perhaps the most common item mistaken for ambergris, and several aged white pieces of wax have even fooled the experts. The difference between the two is on the inside. Waxes will always have a semi translucent interior and when melted they will run clear or yellow and return to a hard form moments later.
And as would be expected, when melted these items typically smell like candle wax.






TALLOW / LARD
Other items constantly mistaken for ambergris are rendered fats, these “fat bergs” are commonly produced in sewer systems of both cities and large ships. They eventually get expelled into the ocean and wash up on the shores. They can smell strong and musky, but crumble easily and are soft enough to smudge together in your fingers to make an oily paste. When melted, this material turns back into a dark and rancid oil that remains oily and does not return to a solid form.






PALM OIL / COCONUT FAT
As with tallow and lard, palm oil and coconut fats are produced and found in the same manner. In some cases palm oil was a solid cargo being shipped across the world and was lost overboard. But the characteristics are the same, it crumbles and is softer and can smudge in your fingers into an oily paste and will melt into a rancid darker oil that remains that way and will not return to a solid form.






PUMICE STONE / CUTTLEBONE
Pumice stones are the byproduct of underwater volcanic activity and are a natural and common item found all over the world. They are as hard as rock but very light in weight and are full of holes or bubbles. Similarly, cuttlefish bone are the skeletal remains of cuttlefish, a type of squid, and their center bone is lightweight and floats onto the shores. The most notable difference between these two items and ambergris is that neither of these will melt in any way.






CORAL / LIMESTONE
Corals and limestone are surprisingly a common item mistaken for ambergris, especially by those who are looking for the first time. Their appearance can be deceiving, but a key difference is that they are both forms of natural rock and as such are heavy and sink to the bottom of the sea, whereas ambergris will float.






ASPHALT / PAVEMENT
Another surprising item mistaken for ambergris are pieces of asphalt pavement, most commonly found where hurricanes and storms have destroyed roads in the past. These items are made up of both tar and rock fragments all pressed together and are the black surfaces of the roads we drive on.



SEA SPONGES / MARINE GROWTHS
Very commonly found after storms and disturbances to the sea floor are sponges and other forms of marine growths. These organisms were once attached to the bottom of the ocean before being broken off and washing ashore. They normally smell horrid and attract flies as they are dead and decaying. They are soft and squishy and can bend and twist easily, most of the time still being filled with rancid sea water. If handled they will leave a nasty stench on your hands that will take much work to remove.






PLASTICS / INDUSTRIAL PARTS
All manner of mans creations can be found on the shoreline, millions of tons of plastics litter the worlds coasts. Most of the time they are easy to discern as a milk jug or a water bottle, but sometimes fire and other circumstances form them into clumps and shapes that get confused for ambergris. The main differences will be the shapes and internal semi transparency. Plastics will be in their original forms or in blobs and splats from melting. Of course its not advisable to melt plastic, but if you do, you will smell that familiar plastic scent right away.






MARINE MAMMAL BODY PARTS
Occasionally dead whales or their body parts will wash ashore. While its true that on rare instances there is ambergris inside a dead Sperm whale, it is not an allowed or safe endeavor to try and retrieve it. Ambergris taken from the intestines of a dead Sperm whale have not cured in the oceans and thus lack nearly all of the elements that make it valuable. Also physical contact with rotting whale flesh is known to make people very sick as a multitude of dangerous bacteria are present in the decaying flesh and organs. Further to that, it is illegal in most countries to tamper with dead marine mammals for your own safety, and so the best choice is to leave these situations alone and report these findings to your local authorities.



DRIFTWOOD / FLOTSAM
The beaches are littered with a multitude of various items and to the untrained eye, yes even driftwood and buoys have been mistaken for ambergris. To really know what you are looking for we suggest that you spend some time reading our “Identifying Ambergris” page, as there are simply tons of types of flotsam on the beach and genuine ambergris represents only 0.0001% of it all.
Good Luck in your search!





