Any day in your life can turn into a real nightmare of terror, and that is what happened to Adrian Simancas and his father, Dell, who were having a quiet day of kayaking in the waters of Patagonia and suffered an episode worthy of a movie. They were, as we said, in Bahía El Águila, near the San Isidro Lighthouse, when suddenly, a humpback whale suddenly emerged from the water and swallowed Adrian’s kayak (along with him). This moment was recorded on video by his own father, who, between surprise and fear, did not know very well how to react when seconds later the whale returned him intact (perhaps he did not like the taste very much).
In the video, Dell, the father, can be heard exclaiming “stay calm, stay calm” trying to rescue his son who remained in the whale’s mouth.
“I thought I was dead”
Adrián said that during those seconds he felt an indescribable fear. “I thought it was my end, that it had swallowed me completely,” he confessed after the event. However, the whale simply let him go and submerged back into the sea as if nothing had happened.
Beyond the moment he was inside the animal’s mouth, what really worried him was what came next. The protagonist of this chapter commented that his fear came when he returned to the surface, because he feared that the whale could harm his father or give him hypothermia in the icy waters he was in, in which case it would be impossible to reach the shore. Fortunately, he managed to swim to his father’s kayak and together they returned safely to the coast.
The cold waters and dangers of the Strait of Magellan
The place where the incident occurred, the Strait of Magellan, is known not only for its landscapes and biodiversity, but also for its frigid and dangerous waters. It is located south of Santiago (Chile) and is one of the best-known tourist attractions for the possibility of extreme sports. Although at this time of year it is summer in the southern hemisphere, the water temperature rarely exceeds 4 degrees Celsius, a real igloo. That is why, anyone who falls into the sea runs the risk of hypothermia if they spend too much time in the water.
But the Strait is also known for other events. It is also a frequent meeting point between humans and humpback whales, which tend to migrate to these waters precisely because of the characteristics of the biosphere at this point on the map. Whale attacks on humans are extremely rare, since these animals do not see people as prey. In fact, the case of Adrián Simancas seems to have been an accident, probably because the whale did not detect it in time before opening its mouth to feed.
Is it common?
As we said, whale attacks on humans are very rare, although it is true that in recent years there has been an increase in this type of incident, and this is due to the fact that there is now much more maritime traffic, which causes numerous vessels to collide with these animals.
Experts also warn that climate change is causing the migration patterns of these cetaceans to change, and could be one of the main causes of these “collisions”
Now, Adrian and his father take it with humour, and it is probably a story that is trending topic at all family dinners, but at that time no one knew if they would come out alive from that moment. One more reminder of the power of nature and that we have to be aware when we enter these habitats that we are “tourists” in their homes!