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A new analysis of years of vocalizations by sperm whales in the eastern Caribbean has found that their system of communication exhibits a complex internal structure replete with a 'phonetic alphabet.'
The accused were nabbed by police after the latter approached them pretending to be buyers.
Ambergris is used to make perfumes and it costs around Rs 1 crore per kg in the international market.
In India, under the Wildlife Protection Act, it is a punishable crime to hunt sperm whales which produce ambergris, the police explained.
The sound was recorded on ‘hydrophone’, an equipment installed on the seafloor 50 feet below the surface between Vizhinjam and Poovar in Thiruvananthapuram district of Kerala.
Pilot whales are a species of oceanic dolphin that grows 7 metres (23 ft) long and can weigh up to 3 tonnes.
It is hoped that in the future the technique will lead to real-time information as stranding events of whales happen.
Of late the carcasses of a few whales and even an elephant seal had washed ashore on different beaches across Kerala.
The carcass in Thiruvananthapuram was identified by cetacean specialist Dipani Sutaria and professor Biju Kumar, the head of the aquatic biology and fisheries department at the Kerala University.
A statement by the Australian foreign ministry urged Japan to return to the International Convention for the Regulation of Whaling.