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 meters (yards) 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 told The Associated Press. “I thought it had eaten me, that it had swallowed me.”

  • Stamets
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    436 days ago

    Unlikely you’ll ever be in this situation but fun fact: Whales have enormous mouths but itty bitty throats. They can’t swallow anything larger than a grapefruit so unless it hauls in your infant? You’ll probably be fine if you stay calm. Just maybe a little traumatized.

    • @bisby
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      286 days ago

      Unless it dives with you in its mouth.

    • qaz
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      126 days ago

      Maybe, but it also depends on how long you can keep your breath. I doubt you will be fine if it dives.

    • Flying Squid
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      56 days ago

      Yeah, this is less of an eat and more of a mouthwash.

    • vaguerant
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      fedilink
      -26 days ago

      Do they always spit out stuff that’s too big? I put stuff that’s bigger than my throat in my mouth all the time. That’s what chewing is for.