Buckel whale swallows and spits out kayakers out in a filmed incident

Buckel whale swallows and spits out kayakers out in a filmed incident

In an amazing encounter, a 24-year-old kayak driver named Adrian Simancas was briefly swallowed by a humpback whale last Saturday during an excursion with his father in the icy waters of the South Chilean region of Patagonia. The terrifying moments were filmed by Adrian's father, Dell.

The unforgettable incident in the Beagle Canal

The video shows how the whale appears in the street of Magellan and Adrian picks up in his huge mouth for a few seconds before it releases it again. The father's fright can be clearly heard when he calls Adrian that he should hold on to the kayak after Adrian was emitted out of the whale.

a shock moment for Adrian

"I thought he swallowed me up," explains Adrian in the video. In conversation with Cnn en Español, he describes the feeling of having briefly gotten into the mouth of the humpback whale. "When I turned around, it felt like a slippery texture on my face; I saw colors like dark blue and knows, something that came closer from behind ... and grasped me," he reports. "At that moment I thought that I couldn't do anything and would die; I didn't know what it was."

The rapid return to the surface

Despite his uncertainty, Adrian felt his life jacket pulled him up: "Two seconds later I was back on the surface and started to understand what had happened."

Father Dell describes the events

Adrian's father, Dell, explained that he started filming when he saw the "beautiful waves" that looked exciting. "Then I heard a sound that sounded like a strong wave that came up behind me. When I turned around, I didn't see Adrian anymore and worried. About three seconds later I saw it shot at the surface, followed by his package kayak."

The passion for kayaking remains

When asked whether they both drive kayak again, they replied together: "Of course." The waters in Magellan's street are a popular tourist destination, known for outdoor activities and their fascinating flora and fauna. Kayaking with dolphins and humpback whales is one of the activities advertised on the official tourism website of the Chilean government.

lifestyle of the humpback whales

humpback whales usually feed on krill and small fish, as the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) reports. According to NOAA, humpback whales are popular with whale observers because they are actively on the water surface, often jump and whip the water with their breast fins or cocks.