Michael Packard, 56, dedicated to lobster fishing with thousands of dives was diving off the coast of Massachusetts, about 20 feet, when suddenly something hit him hard and everything went dark.
He thought that he had ended up in the belly of a great white shark but, not finding his teeth, he realized that it was not possible.
In fact, it was a whale that had swallowed it, a young, inexperienced humpback whale.
Oh my God, I’m in the mouth of a whale and it’s trying to swallow me, I thought. I’m dying. There is no way out of here ”
“I realized that there was no way I could defeat a beast of that size. He was going to do whatever he wanted to me. He was going to spit on me or swallow me ”.
During the half-minute ordeal, Packard began to assess his situation more clearly. “Here I am, breathing air from my regulator. Will I breathe air into this whale’s mouth until it’s over? ”
The idea of being eaten by the whale is not actually possible, as the mammal’s throat is not large enough. In fact, when the poor animal realized that he had captured indigestible prey, he came to the surface and spat it out.
Michael Packard then escaped with minor damage and great fear, but he returned home on his own. And with great joy in his eyes for the narrow escape.
Humpback whales can grow up to 50 feet (15 m) and weigh around 36 tons.
Michael Packard recounts his experience inside the mouth of a whale
