Jaw-dropping: Kayaker survives being swallowed by a whale

A humpback whale gave a kayaker the surprise of his life while paddling off the coast of Chile.

Adrián Simancas was on a day out on the sea with his dad when a massive whale popped up from the water and scooped him up in its mouth.

It only lasted a few seconds before the whale let him go - safe and sound.

Adrián's dad was just a few meters away and caught the whole thing on video, while encouraging his son on to stay calm.

"I thought it had eaten me and swallowed me," Adrián said after his ordeal.

Can a humpback whale swallow a human?

Adrián needn't have worried too much as a humpback whale can't physically swallow a human whole.

Even though these aquatic giants have huge mouths, their throats are not big enough to swallow something as large as a person.

Humpback whales typically eat small creatures called plankton - gulping in lots of seawater and filtering out their food from the water.

They also tend to feed by opening their mouth wide to gulp down as much prey as possible, and experts believe an incident like swallowing Adrián was likely an accident.

Has this happened before?

Incidents of humpback whales swallowing people are incredibly rare.

One recorded incident happened almost four years ago in June 2021.

A lobster fisherman was diving off the coast of Massachusetts in the United States when he was also swallowed by a humpback whale.

Michael Packard ended up in the giant marine animal's mouth for about 30-40 seconds before being spat out again.

"All of a sudden he went up to the surface and just erupted and started shaking his head," said Michael at the time.

"I just got thrown in the air and landed in the water. I was free and I just floated there. I couldn't believe… I'm here to tell it."

Humpback whale facts

• Humpback whales can grow to be nearly twice the length of a bus, about 50ft (15m) and weigh about 36 tons - that's around five times the weight of a very heavy African elephant.

• They are known for their long migrations, traveling up to 16,000 miles in a round trip between feeding grounds.

• Each humpback whale has a unique pattern on the underside of its tail called a fluke. Researchers use these markings to tell different whales apart.

• Male humpback whales are famous for their complex songs, which can last up to 20 minutes. While all humpback whales can make sounds, only males are thought to be able to "sing".

• According to the World Wildlife Fund, their global population is about 60,000 and their numbers have risen in recent years.