Whale briefly swallows kayaker off Chilean Patagonia, later on releases him unharmed

[Judi Lynn]

Kayaker Adrián Simancas after being briefly swallowed by a humpback whale off the Chilean Patagonia on February 8. (Dell Simancas via AP)

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

Last Saturday, Adrián Simancas was kayaking with his father, Dell, in Bahía El Águila near the San Isidro Lighthouse in the Strait of Magellan when a humpback whale surfaced, engulfing Adrián and his yellow kayak for a few seconds before letting him go.

Dell, just metres away, captured the moment on video while encouraging his son to stay calm. “Stay calm, stay calm,” he can be heard saying after his son was released from the whale’s mouth. “I thought I was dead,” Adrián said. “I thought it had eaten me, that it had swallowed me.”

He described the “terror” of those few seconds and explained that his real fear set in only after resurfacing, fearing that the huge animal would hurt his father or that he would perish in the frigid waters.

More:
https://www.telegraphindia.com/world/whale-briefly-swallows-kayaker-off-chilean-patagonia-later-on-releases-him-unharmed/cid/2083696

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Adrián Simancas, swallowed by a humpback whale in Chile: ‘When I was inside it, I remembered Pinocchio’
The 24-year-old Venezuelan, who was sucked in and then expelled by the animal in Punta Arenas, says that, at first, he thought he had been eaten


Maolis Castro
Santiago - FEB 14, 2025 - 07:36 EST
The first thing Adrián Simancas Jaimes, a 24-year-old computer technician, felt before being swallowed by a humpback whale while he was canoeing with his father, Meydell, was a hard blow to his back, which knocked him off his inflatable kayak. He was then swallowed. He was inside a slimy cavity, he heard strange noises, he felt a strong suction, and he could not figure out what was happening until he was violently expelled. Back on the surface, he discovered that he had been in the entrails of the cetacean and his experience — which was recorded and broadcast on Wednesday — went viral on social media. “When I was inside it, I remembered Pinocchio, who was also swallowed by one,” he says, laughing in a telephone conversation.

The ordeal happened on Saturday, around 3:00 p.m., in the southern bay of the city of Punta Arenas, in the far south of Chile. Meydell, a 49-year-old anesthesiologist, shouted to his son: “Calm down, grab the boat! Don’t get in! Go to shore!” Meanwhile, the whale continued to jump out of the water near the young man, after having caught him for a few seconds. “It was a surprise when it came up close to me. At first, I thought it had swallowed me whole, although I didn’t really know what it was, and then, when I got back to the surface, I realized it was a whale. I also knew that there wasn’t that much danger, unless it started jumping or knocked my dad off his boat, because then it would be very difficult for us to get back to shore,” he explains.

Humpback whales, which can weigh up to 48 tons and measure 19 meters in length in the case of females, feed on plankton, plants, and fish. They have a small throat, which makes it difficult for a human body to reach their stomach. They rarely attack humans and are known for being one of longest-traveling species in the world.

Adrián emerged unharmed, and if it were not for the fact his father had recorded it, perhaps his story would be hard to believe. The young man says that for a few minutes he felt almost paralyzed by the fear of another attack and he didn’t know what to do, but his father managed to guide him. “I thought I was going to be swallowed to death, that I’d been eaten. When I came to the surface, I was afraid I wouldn’t be able to get back to shore. When my father came to me, I knew everything would be fine.”

More:
https://english.elpais.com/international/2025-02-14/adrian-simancas-swallowed-by-a-humpback-whale-in-chile-when-i-was-inside-it-i-remembered-pinocchio.html

[70sEraVet]

1. I didnt see a link to the video the dad took.

Here's a news story that shows that video clearly.
https://m.

[Judi Lynn]

3. Wonderful! It adds so much to see the video and hear the two! Thank you, so much.

[GiqueCee]

2. Senor Simancas...

was undoubtedly only in the expanded, water-filled mouth of the whale before it spit him out. The whale couldn't swallow him if it wanted to; its throat is too small. Grey's are baleen feeders, and can only ingest krill and relatively small fish. He was likely floating above a baitball of prey when the whale briefly engulfed him, and them regurgitated him.
Still, a lucky fellow!

Edit note: Apparently, proper punctuation of ñ, is not permitted in titles.

[Judi Lynn]

4. After seeing your comment, I thought of the biblical story of Jonah!

Good grief!

The whale couldn't have swallowed Jonah, after all.



Hmmmmm!


No accent marks of any kind make it out alive from the title line. How MAGA-like. Too foreign!

[GiqueCee]

5. Neither Jonah's nor Pinocchio's...

... accounts stand up to scrutiny.

I love your OPs, BTW!