In Chile, a humpback whale tried to swallow a young man but spat him out
A humpback whale tried to swallow but spat out a young Chilean man who was swimming in a dinghy in the Strait of Magellan, according to the Spanish newspaper Pais.
The incident happened on 8 February in El Aguila Bay, off the coast of the city of Punta Arenas, in the extreme south of Chile.
First, 24-year-old Adrian Simancas felt a strong blow on his back, which knocked him out of his inflatable kayak. Then he found himself in a mucous cavity, hearing strange noises and feeling a strong pull. He didn’t understand what was happening until he was violently thrown to the surface.
When I was inside, I remembered Pinocchio, who was also swallowed by a whale,” the young man told the publication in a telephone conversation.
As noted, Simankas escaped unharmed, and were it not for the fact that his father captured the unusual incident on video, his story might seem unreliable.
Humpback whales (Megaptera novaeangliae), which can weigh up to 48 tonnes and are around 19 metres long, feed on plankton, plants and fish. They have a small throat, making it difficult for the human body to reach their stomach. They rarely attack humans and are one of the world’s longest migratory species.