Sperm whaling

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Sperm whaling is the human practice of hunting sperm whales, the largest toothed whale, for the oil, meat and bone that can be extracted from the cetaceans' bodies. Sperm whales are prized for the sperm oil, a waxy secretion that was especially popular as a lubricant and illuminant during the Industrial Revolution, and so they were heavily targeted in 19th-century commercial whaling, as exemplified in Moby Dick. Sperm oil has since been replaced by the cheaper kerosene-based products, but another unusual product, ambergris, is still valued as a perfume fixative. Although the animal is classified as a vulnerable species and commercial whaling has been banned since the 1970s, aboriginal whaling in limited numbers is still permitted for subsistence, notably from two villages in Indonesia.

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