WOULD YOU FIT IN A WHALE'S MOUTH?
It may have already crossed your mind if a whale could eat a human. I am here to reassure you: that is something quite impossible to happen.
Well, let's go into details!
First, we have two big groups of whales, the baleen and the toothed whales. Animals like blue whales, humpback whales, fin whales or minke whales belong to the group of baleen whales. This means that these animals are filter feeders, eating small prey, so on their upper jaw instead of teeth they have baleen plates.
But what is this? So let's say that you, instead of teeth, have your toothbrush on your upper jaw, hanging from above keratin-made thin filaments in layers that create a barrier that doesn't allow solid things to pass through but where water can get away.
For them to eat large amounts of small prey, their lower jaw expands like a balloon and here it's when it gets tricky.
Since their lower jaw expands a lot, to fit all of the prey, in that occasion, yes you would fit inside the whale's mouth. If you look it online there are a few occasions where that happened and people were spit right afterwards, with no serious injuries. Because whales know that we are not part of their food!
These can happen when people are not very careful and don't respect the safety distance.
However, we would never be swallowed by these animals since their throat is quite narrow, fitting only a tennis ball. So rest assured no whale will come to try to taste you while you are on your whale watching tour!
Now, talking about the toothed whales, might be a little bit different.
These animals already have teeth and they are prepared to grab and tear apart flesh.
The sperm whale is the biggest toothed whale and the species that inspired Moby Dick's novel. Their throat is a bit wider because they mostly feed on giant squid. However, they will only confuse you with squid if you dive around 1km deep (where the giant squids like to hang out), which I would say is not an easy task for us humans.
Also, you have the Orca, an apex predator. Some orcas eat marine mammals so their teeth are prepared to tear apart the flesh but they also know which prey they are looking for, which normally are fat seals and whales. From all the encounters between humans and orcas recorded in the wild, they have never hurt a person.
It's of extreme importance to keep in mind that these are wild animals, they are in their home and we are the ones barging in. So always play safe and always respect wildlife.
Photographs were taken by our guide Rui Duarte.
Infographic if from Whale Scientists - https://whalescientists.com/
- Sara