Can whales swallow people? Viral Kayaker Video explains: NPR

A screenshot of a video from the Associated Press shows Adrián Simanca’s kayaking on the street of Magellan, a few moments before a whale opened and briefly devoured it.

Associated Press/Screenshot from NPR

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Associated Press/Screenshot from NPR

A father-son duo Kayaking off the coast of Chile has made waves after shaping a video of a apparently humpback whale that briefly draws one of them into their mouths.

Adrián Simancas was on Saturday in Magellan’s street in Southern Chile Kayak when the whale suddenly appeared and, according to the Associated Press.

“I thought it had already eaten and swallowed me,” the 24-year-old later told the AP. “When I thought I had died, it was of course a lot of terror because I thought, no, no, I couldn’t do anything.”

His father, Dell, filmed at that time and caught the entire incident from a safe distance in front of the camera. He told Cnn en Español that he started recording when he saw “pretty waves that seemed exciting” – but there it was much more below the surface.

The younger Simancas told CNN that he met him from behind and raised him.

“When I turned around, I felt a slimy texture on my face,” said Simancas. “I could see colors like dark blue and white, which approached from behind, close around me and put me under.”

Dell’s video, which was posted by the AP, shows the whale that is on the head and then disappears under water with Simancas and its yellow inflatable kayak.

After a few seconds, both the kayak and its life -ranking passenger moved back to the surface. But Simancas says that his relief was quickly overtaken by fear that his father would happen or that he would get hypothermia from being in the water.

Simancas managed to grab the boat and swim to his father, who paddled her to safety. When he thought about his experience, he suspected that the whale meant no damage.

“When I got out, I knew that it was of course out of curiosity that the whale had come to me or maybe communicate something,” he said.

Wal experts have a different theory.

A “one-in-a-million” stable

Two researchers said NPR that the most likely explanation was that Simancas accidentally stood in the way of a feeding whale – one who was hungry for krill and little fish for a person.

“I suspect that the whale was just as surprised as the kayak driver,” wrote Dr. Joooke Robbins, director of the Humpback Whale Studies Program at the Center for Coastal Studies in Massachusetts, in an e -mail.

Bumping whales feed through a fish school quickly by quickly falling through a fish school and then stretching out the water through their bears, the edge panels they have in their mouths instead of teeth.

If something – or someone – incorrectly penetrates your way, it can “be unintentionally devoured (and only for a moment),” explains Robbins.

“I am sure it closes its eyes so that it is not damaged by anything, and I think” Said Dr. Iain Kerr, the CEO of the non -profit ocean alliance of whale preservation.

Reports of such incidents are rare, but not unknown: In 2021, a lobster diver from Massachusetts said that a humpback whale had opened and spat on it.

But in contrast to Jona of the Old Testament, these men did not spend three days and nights in the stomach of the whale – they didn’t even achieve it, nor could they have it.

Whales cannot swallow people

Experts say it is simply not possible that a whale closes something as big as one person. While their mouths are massive – as wide as 10 feet – their throats are much smaller, about the size of a human fist.

Kerr says that bumping whales don’t even want to try, especially when you consider that this could lead to a potentially life -threatening jaw injury.

“You are not interested in eating and hurt us,” he adds. “It is not an advantage. Many of these animals live this life in energy balance – what energy is needed until I can catch my prey and cetera.”

However, experts encourage people in all visible areas to give animals a large berth-in the United States, the federal law requires at least 100 meters for both types.

While some whale populations bounce off, says Kerr says that others die “a kind of death of 1,000 cuts” from threats such as ship attacks, line knitting and pollution. And although Simancas’ video has made diverse, Kerr says that it is much more difficult to translate this attention to actually help whales.

“The reality is that the oceans are downhill and gravity never sleeps,” says Kerr. “I tend to say healthy whales, healthy oceans, healthy people. Even if they don’t like whales, it is still worth understanding what is going on in our oceans, and whales are barometer of the health of the ocean.”

He hopes that this whale in the spotlight will inspire the viewers to get involved, be it more about the dozens of different whale species or donations for local charity in the ocean.

“The more you love something, the more you want to keep it or keep it healthy,” he adds.