A humpback whale briefly swallows kayaker in Chilean Patagonia — and it’s all captured on camera

[Portre]

 A humpback whale briefly swallowed a kayaker off Chilean Patagonia before quickly releasing him unharmed. The incident, caught on camera, quickly went viral.

A humpback whale briefly swallows kayaker in Chilean Patagonia — and it’s all captured on camera

[Robotic Jew]

How terrifying. 

[dragon1440]

I go my whole life, 40 yrs, and have never heard of someone getting swallowed by a humpback (well except for a myth about a guy and a fish). Now within a year I head of it happening twice........... Maybe they are trying to tell us something.

[Jon the frog]

Kayak turned brown from the inside out.

[Stiff]

Hmmm. That gives me an idea for a book...

[Cho Jinn]

I appreciate the father's clam demeanor.  The last thing anyone needs, under any circumstances, is hysterical screaming.

[Stiff]

1 minute ago, Cho Jinn said:

I appreciate the father's clam demeanor.

Deliberate? Or serendipity? 😂

[Susanc241]

I just wondered whether the dark base of the kayak looked like a small shoal of small fish to the whale.  They do coral fish into tight packs before devouring them en masse.  Just a thought.

[Kittens Are Jerks]

Interesting article where scientists give their two-cents on the incident.

Did a whale swallow a kayaker? The truth behind the viral video
https://www.npr.org/2025/02/14/nx-s1-5297762/whale-swallows-kayaker-video-explained

One new thing I learned was this:

Experts say it's just not possible for a whale to swallow something as large as a person. While their mouths are massive — as wide as 10 feet — their throats are much smaller, roughly the size of a human fist.