February 15, 2025, 9:04 am | Read time: 4 minutes
Everyone knows the famous scene from the fable Pinocchio in which the whale swallows the boy. But can whales really swallow people – as can be seen in a recent video? PETBOOK investigated the question.
Whales are considered peaceful creatures. But their size alone can be frightening for many. At over 30 meters long and more, you can imagine that the animal would probably not even notice if there was a human in the school of fish it was trying to devour. Ever since the fable Pinocchio by Carlo Collodi, in which the wooden boy is swallowed by a whale, the belief that whales can swallow humans has persisted. A recent video on Instagram even seems to confirm the myth. But is it really true? PETBOOK got to the bottom of this question.
Kayaker Swallowed by Whale?
On the Instagram page of the US news site CNN, you can see a humpback whale apparently swallowing a kayaker. The animal emerges from the water, and the father, who wanted to film his son in the boat, documents in the video how he disappears into the giant’s mouth.
Later in the video, the man who was briefly swallowed says that he felt something slimy and only registered the whale’s colors. About three seconds later, the father then reports that his son reappeared, along with his boat, a moment later. Apparently, the humpback whale, which had presumably surfaced to breathe, had noticed that it had a foreign object in its mouth and released it.
Can Whales Swallow Humans Whole?
After cases like this, one naturally wonders whether large marine mammals like the humpback whale swallow humans. The short and clear answer to this is no. It is not possible for whales to harbor humans in their bellies, as is the case in the story of Pinocchio.
Whales are mammals that feed on plankton, krill, fish, and other marine animals. But they are neither able to swallow nor digest humans. They simply lack the anatomical and physiological capabilities to do so.
Although large species, such as the blue whale, have huge mouths that can accommodate several humans at once, their gullets are relatively narrow and cannot provide enough space for a human body. Moreover, whales are generally very shy animals and do not normally attack humans unless they feel threatened or are attacked. The incident filmed here is probably a very unlikely coincidence – and one with a good outcome.
Are There Whales That Eat Humans?
So far, there are no known cases of whales deliberately eating or devouring humans. Although some whale species such as the sperm whale or killer whale (also known as the orca) are predators and occasionally eat larger animals such as seals and seabirds, there are no documented cases of whales deliberately attacking or devouring humans.
In 2021, there was one case in Provincetown in the US state of Massachusetts in which a humpback whale temporarily swallowed a lobster diver. The animal is said to have spat it out again after 30 to 40 seconds, as the US news magazine npr reported. The director of humpback whale studies at the Center for Coastal Studies in Provincetown classified the incident for the AFP news agency and said that although she had never heard of such an “accident” before, she thought it was entirely possible. Whales in search of food “push forward with their mouths open and swallow fish and water very quickly,” said Robbins. “Their mouths are quite wide,” but “their throats are quite narrow” – so it is completely impossible for them to swallow something as large as a man.
Have Humans Been Found in Whales?
There have been isolated reports in the past of cases where dead whales have been found with human remains in their stomachs. However, these reports are very rare, and in most cases, these were accidents in which the humans drowned and were then eaten by whales.
Conclusion: Whales that swallow humans do not exist. Most whales avoid humans and do not attack them for no reason. There are also no documented cases in which a whale has deliberately attacked and then swallowed a human.
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Sources
- Whalesharkdive.com, “Can a Whale Swallow a Human?” (accessed 3/17/2023)
- Nationalgeographic.com, “Humpback whales can’t swallow a human. Here’s why.” (accessed 3/17/2023)
- Scienceabc.com, “Can A Whale Swallow You Whole?” (accessed 3/17/2023)
- Whalefacts.org, “Can A Whale Swallow a Human?” (accessed 3/17/2023)