A lobster diver made headlines on Friday when he narrated miraculously surviving being "swallowed" by a humpback whale off Cape Cod, Massachusetts.
Lobster Diver Vs. Humpback Whale
Michael Packard revealed to the Cape Cod Times that he felt a shove, and "the next thing I realized it was totally black." He remembered struggling inside the mouth of the whale for about 30 seconds before it came up to the surface and spat him out.
Though a humpback could fit a human inside its large mouth easily - which can reach about 10 feet - it's scientifically not possible for the whale to gulp down a human once inside, according to Nicola Hodgins of the Whale and Dolphin Conservation, a U.K. nonprofit. A throat of a humpback is approximately the size of a human fist, and can only expand to around 15 inches in diameter so a bigger meal can be accommodated.
In the case of Packard, she says, he was likely "engulfed as opposed to swallowed" before the whale knew its mistake and spat him out immediately - likely a shocking experience for both Packard and the whale, which was just trying to feed on some fish. Hodgins says Packard was in the wrong place at the wrong time.
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Incidents of Whale Swallowing Humans
It's not the first time that humans have allegedly ended up in the mouth of a whale: In 2020, kayakers were found in the mouth of a feeding humpback in California, as well as a tour operator in South Africa's Port Elizabeth Harbour in 2019.
Most popularly, the Bible tells the story of Jonah, who a whale swallowed to save him from drowning. Even Geppetto - Pinocchio's father, is swallowed by a whale in the classic children's story. The believe of whales swallowing humans has been a part of mythology for long - so much so that a lot of people believe it to be true.
Yet it's impossible scientifically for all except one whale species - the sperm whale - to gulp down something as large as a human being.
Baleen
On the uncommon occasion that a human finds themself inside the mouth of a whale, it's almost surely an accident - in part since humans are not what whales eat.
Toothed whales, like sperm whales, possess teeth and consume prey both squid and fish. Meanwhile, baleen whales - like humpback, gray, blue, and minke whales - possess unique bristles in their mouths in place of teeth and feed on tiny prey like krill, plankton, and small fish.
Referred to as baleen, these bristles are made of a powerful yet flexible protein known as keratin - the same thing human nails and hair are made of - and are organized in plates like a comb. When feeding, the whale takes a large gulp of seawater and makes use of the baleen like a sieve to keep food in its mouth while pushing the water out through the gaps.
Related Article: Man Recounts Horrifying Experience After Getting Swallowed by Humpback Whale
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