WHALE SWALLOWS KAYAKER, TEMPORARILY

At least you weren’t swallowed by a whale today. A humpback whale briefly swallowed a kayaker off the coast of Chile before quickly releasing him unharmed. Last Saturday, Adrián Simancas was kayaking with his father, Dell, in the Strait of Magellan. Dale was filming his son when, suddenly, a humpback whale surfaced, mouth open, fully engulfing Adrián and his yellow inflatable kayak for about five seconds before Adrian and the kayak popped up back on the surface. Dell, just 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. Adrián told The Associated Press: “I thought I was dead. I thought it had eaten me, that it had swallowed me.” Despite the terrifying experience, his father remained focused, filming and reassuring his son. Adrián managed to reach his father’s kayak and both returned to shore uninjured.
(Amazing video here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=muOBrsm5DPc)
* Though one of them was a little slimy.
* He could have been krilled.
* Pinocch-uh-oh.
* He’s lucky the whale was into catch-and-release.
* I guess whales don’t like the spicy food.
* Nice of dad to keep that camera steady while his son is swallowed by a whale. “This’ll REALLY get the clicks,” he thought, in Spanish.