This lunge generates drag that forces water, along with prey, into their mouths. They hunt by opening their mouths to about 90 degrees before lunging at high speed with a swift swipe of their tails. Rather than teeth, humpback whales have 270 to 400 nail-like strands called baleen plates.
In photos: A rare albino Risso's dolphin Deep blue sea: Winning underwater photographs In photos: Tracking humpback whales in the South Pacific Ocean No one gobbled up by a humpback could end up in the beast's stomach, but the creature's 4 ton (3.8 metric tons) tongue could easily crush a person. Despite being one of the largest whale species - growing up to 60 feet (18 m) long, and weighing an impressive 40 tons (36 metric tons) -the school bus-size giants predominantly dine on tiny sea creatures such as small fish, krill and plankton, meaning their throats are usually only 4 to 8 inches (10 to 20 centimeters) wide. Getting swallowed by any marine creature is hardly going to make anyone's day, but Packard was somewhat fortunate that he was grabbed by a baleen whale. Astonishingly, Packard survived the biblical encounter with no greater injury than a dislocated knee. Packard was hauled back onto his fishing boat by his topside crew mate, who had been anxiously surveying the water's surface for signs of bubbles from Packard's oxygen respirator. I couldn't believe … I'm here to tell it." "I just got thrown in the air and landed in the water," he said. But then the whale, clearly keen to remove its unwelcome, and inedible, guest, surfaced, shook its head and spat him out.
He estimated that he remained trapped inside the mouth of the leviathan for 30 seconds, and he was still able to breathe through his scuba respirator. "And I thought to myself 'OK, this is it - I'm finally - I'm gonna die.'" Packard's thoughts turned to his wife and his two sons, ages 12 and 15.
and he's trying to swallow me,'" Packard told WBZ-TV News. "Then I realized, 'Oh my God, I'm in a whale's mouth. At first he thought he had been attacked by a shark, as great whites frequent the area, but he soon realized he couldn't feel any teeth.
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