Humpback whale swallows and spits out kayaker in incident captured on camera

CNN — A humpback whale briefly swallowed a 24-year-old kayaker last Saturday during a father-son excursion out on the icy waters around Chile’s southernmost Patagonia region. In the video, verified by CNN, Adrian’s father, Dell, is heard yelling to his son, who had been spat out of the whale, to “grab the boat.” Adrian then swims towards his dad’s pack raft and holds onto it as they pull away. “When I turned around, I felt on my face like a slimy texture; I saw colors like dark blue, white, something approaching from behind that closed… and sank me,” he said. Dell told CNN en Español he began recording when he noticed “pretty waves that seemed exciting.” He then heard “what sounds like a strong wave hitting behind me and when I turn around, I don’t see Adrian or his pack raft, so I got worried, and around three seconds later I see he’s shot up to the surface and the pack raft after him.” When asked if both father and son would go back to kayaking, they said in chorus: “Of course.” Wildlife scientist Vanessa Pirotta said the humpback whale was likely lunge-feeding on krill or fish at the time, and the kayaker was in its way.