Every now and then there comes along a story that’s hard to believe, but it’s hard to deny since there are those that can at least admit that Michael Packard’s story could be true. The lobster diver was nearly 45 feet beneath the surface when he stated that he felt a heavy bump and then realized that he’d been swallowed by a whale. In the whale’s defense, since it’s been well-documented that humpback whales, such as the one that accidentally inhaled Packard, don’t usually want anything to do with humans. Plus, there are ways that this could have gone horribly wrong since Packard could have easily been killed if the whale had panicked and closed its mouth over his head or neck. But it’s been stated that the whale’s esophagus is far too small to take in a human being, and as such it’s not much of a surprise that the whale surfaced before flinging Packard from its mouth. Thankfully the lobster diver only suffered a few minor bruises that he’s likely healed from at this time. But one can imagine that this was a rather terrifying experience.
Humpback whales have been said to lunge forward in the water when they’re feeding and given the amount of force that’s being used to take in massive amounts of water and everything in it, there’s no doubt that Packard, who was diving without a partner at that time, could have been pulled in. It’s easy to imagine how odd of a sensation that would be, however, especially since there was no warning before it happened and no one to alert Packard to the danger. For nearly a minute he became a modern-day Jonah, but thankfully things turned out alright by the time he was spat out. Imagining what could have happened and how things could have gone wrong is likely something that he’s given some thought to, but it does sound as though he was ready to get up and go back to work as soon as his bruises healed.
There’s no other way to say it except to repeat that this was a one in a million, if not more, chance that just happened and couldn’t have been prevented at that moment. It’s likely that Packard will go diving with a partner next time to eliminate the chances of being sucked up again, but it’s also likely that it won’t happen again for the rest of his life since this kind of thing isn’t exactly a common occurrence. His first thought apparently was that it was a shark and that he might be in deep trouble. But as it’s been stated more than once in many articles, sharks aren’t that likely to interact with humans unless it’s a case of mistaken identity, meaning the human in question resembles an animal that the shark would normally prey upon, such as a seal or other aquatic animal. But to think that a whale was just passing by and taking in a mouthful of food and happened to inhale a human being, there is a bit of humor there, but it’s very likely that Packard wasn’t able to laugh until he was on solid ground and discovered that all he’d sustained were a few bruises.
Obviously, the whale wasn’t too pleased about the situation either since it sounds as though the aquatic behemoth surfaced and thrashed about until Packard flew out of its mouth to land on his back in the water. It’s easy to picture those that were near rushing to help as the whale decided to simply take a powder and likely forget it ever happened. It’s very easy to think that there was no malice in the act since after reading so much on whales and watching numerous videos, it’s pretty simple to tell that whales aren’t super aggressive unless they need to be, and any aggression on this humpback’s part in this given situation was meant to dislodge the foreign object that was in its mouth. One can only imagine what that must have felt like since there are plenty of people that have swallowed bugs in their lives, not on purpose thankfully but by accident, and one can only think that it might be akin to that, but far less pleasant since the size difference is immense.
Still, this is a story that Packard can continue to tell as he gets older no doubt, and it’s bound to be one that a lot of people will think is false and will even think to discredit if they have the time and the notion. No matter how it happened, those that might want to comment weren’t there, and even a couple of whale experts have chimed in to say that it’s actually quite possible, but it’s not something that’s likely to be repeated.
Follow Us
