Yes, a human has been swallowed whole. This extraordinary event occurred when a commercial diver was engulfed by a humpback whale.
The Michael Packard Incident
In a truly astonishing and rare occurrence, Michael Packard, a commercial lobster diver, was swallowed whole by a humpback whale off the coast of Cape Cod, Massachusetts, on June 11, 2021.
Packard was about 10 feet from the bottom, engaging in his diving work, when he suddenly found himself inside the whale's mouth. The experience was described as "truly biblical," highlighting the immense scale and unexpected nature of the incident.
- Victim: Michael Packard, a commercial lobster diver.
- Date: June 11, 2021.
- Location: Off the coast of Cape Cod, Massachusetts.
- Animal: Humpback whale.
- Outcome: Remarkably, Packard was not seriously harmed and was expelled from the whale's mouth after about 30 to 40 seconds. He suffered minor injuries, primarily bruising.
How Did This Happen?
Humpback whales are baleen whales, meaning they have baleen plates instead of teeth. They feed by opening their enormous mouths to engulf large quantities of water and small prey like krill and small fish. They then filter the water out through their baleen, trapping the food inside.
While their mouths are large, their throats are relatively narrow, typically only big enough to swallow small fish. This is why a human being swallowed whole by a whale, especially a baleen whale, is considered an extremely rare, if not unique, event. Michael Packard's survival and subsequent expulsion from the whale's mouth makes his account particularly remarkable. The whale likely swallowed him by accident, mistaking him for a large school of fish, and then expelled him upon realizing he was not food.
