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Video: Whale Swallows Kayaker in Strait of Magellan

Humpback whale
NOAA file image

Published Feb 13, 2025 7:09 PM by The Maritime Executive

 

Last weekend, a whale swallowed a kayaker who was out for a paddle with his father in the Strait of Magellan, briefly engulfing him and dragging him underwater before letting him go. 

Chilean national Adrián Simancas was on an excursion Saturday near the San Isidro lighthouse, about 40 nautical miles south of Punta Arenas. As his father Dell Simancas was taking a video of the outing, the whale emerged from below and took both Adrian and the small kayak in its mouth. After a brief moment, the whale decided to spit out the unusual meal; the humpback's usual diet is krill and small bait fish, and it is unequipped to eat large prey. 

Dell yelled to his son to grab the boat and stay calm, and the whale disappeared below the surface. Dell towed Adrian back to safety on shore; despite the shock of the ordeal, his son was unharmed. 

"I saw something blue and white passing by my face, and I did not understand what was going on. And then I went under and I thought that he had eaten me," Adrian told local media after the accident. 

A similar incident happened off Avila Beach, California in 2020: a humpback surfaced and nearly swallowed a kayaker and a small yellow kayak, then let the human go. A GoPro video taken by the kayaker in that incident shows that the water was boiling with small fish just before the whale surfaced - suggesting that the humpback was chasing food when it breached the surface.