QUESTION Luiza Moreira de Camargo, Pinhais, PR
– (Marcio Moreno/)
This unfortunate person would probably die of polytrauma while still in the animal’s mouth, and would not pass from there. Pinocchio and Jonas Bible forgive us, but people being swallowed by whales is fiction. These sea giants are very selective in choosing what they digest, preferring to stick to a diet made up of small fish and crustaceans.
Despite the size of whale–blue, its mouth is not wide enough for a human to fit inside without being crushed when closed, and its esophagus is only 10 cm in diameter, preventing the ingestion of anything much larger than an orange. And, before you ask, check below if other big mouths in the animal kingdom could achieve this feat.
– (Marcio Moreno/)
sperm whale
distant cousin of whale–bluesince it belongs to another group of cetaceans (Odontoceti), this giant squid tends to devour whole giant squid, which can reach 18 m in length. So theoretically, yes, a sperm whale could swallow a human. If everything went «all right», that person would die of asphyxiation inside the first of four chambers of the stomach of the animal. Then it would be digested by the animal’s enzymes.
– (Marcio Moreno/)
Crocodile
In the largest known specimens, the head of this reptile does not exceed 45 cm in external width, so its throat opening is much smaller and would hardly allow the passage of an entire person. This is why these animals tear their prey apart before ingesting food. I.e: torn apart, yes, whole, no.
– (Marcio Moreno/)
anaconda
The anaconda, as well as its python cousin, have been seen devouring large animals at once, such as calves, antelopes, caimans and capybaras of up to 55 kg. So the answer is yes. It is possible for it to swallow a human being whole, as long as you are a thin and short person. The snack in question would already be dead by the time it was swallowed, as these snakes kill their asphyxiated prey by crushing it, dislocating several bones in the process.
In 2014, environmentalist Paul Rosolie donned carbon armor and tried to be swallowed by a snake. It was half right, half wrong. See below:
CONSULTANCY Paulo Jubilut, biologist at Biologia Total
SOURCES Websites Discovery Channel and magazine Smithsonian