Lobster diver was swallowed by humpback whale - video

Last Friday, 11 June, a diver fishing for lobster off the coast of Provincetown, Massachusetts, was swallowed by a humpback whale.

An unusual incident occurred on the east coast of the United States, near Provincetown, Massachusetts. A lobster diver was caught in the mouth of a feeding humpback whale. Fortunately, the ‘prey’ was too large for the animal to swallow, so the diver did not share the fate of the prophet Jonah.

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Michael Packard, who survived a very close encounter with a humpback whale, is doing well and his life is not in danger. The man has already managed to share his incredible story with the media. According to his account, when he was grabbed by a humpback whale, he spent about 30-40 seconds in the animal’s mouth.

Close encounter of the third degree

According to what he said, he and a colleague headed out on the water on Friday morning. It was another typical day at work. Mr Packard works professionally as a lobster diver. The conditions for this on the surface were great, with visibility underwater reaching as high as 6 metres.

In his account, the man outlined the events of the unusual dive. At one point, when he was already underwater, he suddenly felt a strong impact followed by complete darkness. His first thought was white shark attackThere is no shortage of them in the area.

I thought I had been attacked by a shark, but after a moment I realised I couldn’t feel my teeth anywhere. The next second I realised that a whale had grabbed me and was now trying to swallow me. I thought that was the end – Packard said in an interview with reporters

When faced with a deadly threat, millions of thoughts run through your head and it was no different for the unlucky diver in the mouth of a humpback whale. The man admitted that as he was preparing to meet death, he was thinking about his family, his wife and two teenage sons. Fortunately, the oceanic longfin whale quickly realised that the man was too big to swallow comfortably.

Unlike the diver, the animal remained completely calm and simply spat the inedible prey into the air. Michael Packard fell back into the water and was pulled out onto the boat by his colleague. The man, who had been waiting on the boat the whole time, also alerted the emergency services. Although it is questionable whether the rescuers believed the report of a colleague swallowed by a humpback whale…

You have to be tough

Despite his unusual and dangerous adventure, Michael Packard has no intention of giving up his profession. His wife insists that he find another job, but despite being 56 years old, he is still very much at home as a lobster diver.

Oceanic humpback whales often swallow masses of water with their mouths wide open in order to grab as much food as possible. Despite their enormous size and large population, which has managed to recover to 60,000 individuals from a state of endangered extinction, humpback whales are not in the habit of swallowing people. The event described should be regarded as an isolated incident with little chance of repetition.

Humpback whales, or oceanic longfinmakers, are huge marine mammals of the fin whale family. Adults can grow up to 17 metres in body length and weigh up to 45 tonnes. Interestingly, they only eat in summer and in winter they feed by burning the fat that is deposited in their bodies. The menu of these creatures includes various species of small fish such as Atlantic herring, coarse salmon, mackerel, saithe, silver livers and many others.