For the most part, whales are not able to swallow people.
In fact, most whale species have throats that are far too small to be able to swallow an adult, so they wouldn’t be able to swallow a person if they tried.
Most whales are also not equipped with teeth designed to tear apart tough flesh and bone, which would be necessary for breaking down the parts of large mammals such as humans, and some species don’t possess any teeth at all.
All species of baleen whale, for example, do not possess teeth; instead, they have baleen plates that are designed to capture tiny prey, and many of the toothed whale family are composed of smaller whales, dolphins, and porpoises that lack the type of teeth, anatomical features, hunting behavior, diet and personality necessary to hunt and kill other marine mammals.
For most of these marine mammals, small fish, squid, octopus, krill, and various crustaceans make up the basis of their diet.
While most whales cannot swallow people, one species of the whale may swallow a human under the right circumstances.
This whale is known as the sperm whale.
Unlike most whale species, sperm whales have a relatively large throat, designed to consume large prey such as giant squid.
While these whales have large throats that would make it easier to swallow a human, most of their hunting takes place several miles below the sea, up to 3,000 ft., which is much deeper than a human can swim.
In fact, most hunting takes place so far under the ocean that it has been difficult for scientists and marine biologists to study the hunting methods of sperm whales, even with advanced technology.
This makes the likelihood of a sperm whale consuming a human extremely unlikely.
In fact, there has never been a recorded case of a sperm whale or any other whale actually consuming a human.
Aside from the sperm whale, the killer whale (the largest of the dolphin species) also possesses the ability to consume humans, since they have teeth designed for tearing apart the flesh of mammals.
These dolphins are known for, consuming the flesh of marine animals such as marine birds, seals, sea otters, polar bears, and whales.
While they have sharp teeth that could easily be used to break apart human flesh, these dolphins have never shown a desire to eat humans and thus aren’t likely to try to consume a person.
While there have been rare cases of killer whales occasionally attacking humans, this is rare.
These attacks are often caused due to the dolphin feeling threatened or becoming aggressive due to being isolated from their natural habitat for an extended time.
While these rare situations have happened, killer whales have never been interested in eating or consuming a person.
Instead, they would grab onto the person’s limbs, hair or clothing and pull them under the water.
It is believed that this may not always be an aggressive act either, as the killer whale may have thought that the person would not drown underwater, at least not so quickly.
It is always suggested that people take extreme caution when around these marine mammals, especially if there is no trainer around.
Potential threats to humans
While humans may be at little risk of being attacked or eaten by a whale, there are several threats that humans may face when in close contact with these large marine mammals.
Fortunately, for the most part, injuries or deaths in regards to whales harming humans is extremely low, and very few incidents have been recorded regarding humans being harmed by whales.
However, these possibilities do exist, so we’ll briefly explore these potential hazards.
Some of these potential hazards a person may face when in close contact with a whale include:
- Collisions with boats
- Hard physical contact with unprotected humans
- Being pulled underwater
- Being injured or crushed in the whale’s mouth (no records to our knowledge indicate this ever happening)
While rare, a small boat or yacht may collide with a whale (or vice versa), causing the boat to sustain damage, collapse or tip over.
In fact, there have been numerous instances of boats (up to 50 ft. long) being struck and taken down by large whales that breached the water and landed on a boat.
Another possible way for people to be injured by whales is to be struck by a whale directly while swimming in the water.
This is also rare as people aren’t usually in the vicinity of whales.
However, surfers and those traveling out to sea to swim or scuba dive may risk being hit by a passing whale swimming nearby or breaching the water.
Being pulled underwater by a breaching whale or getting caught in its mouth and pulled down or crushed are also possibilities.
While there have been several close encounters with large whales nearly engulfing people in their mouths, we do not have any confirmed cases of a whale crushing a human with their baleen plates.
As stated earlier, even if a whale can fit a human in its mouth, it cannot swallow the human because of its small throat, with the possible exception of the sperm whale.
Other oceanic animals that pose threats to humans
While being harmed by a whale remains a relatively unlikely event, several other oceanic animals can harm people by actively attacking them or being accidentally touched by a person.
These animals include
- Sharks
- Jellyfish
- Poisonous fish
- Eels
- Sea snakes
- Crocodiles
In most cases, these sea animals only pose a small threat to humans.
However, their attacks or defenses can seriously injure a person, and in some cases, a person can even die from being attached.
Animals such as the shark, which are often thought of as vicious predators and are known to attack people are usually less threatening than they appear.
In fact, it is estimated that less than 5% of shark species are actually considered a possible threat to people.
Of the sharks that attack people, it is estimated that 50 – 100 attacks are recorded every year.
While this number may appear quite high, it is relatively low compared to the number of people taking to the ocean and beaches every year.
Poisonous jellyfish, venomous sea snakes, and electric eels have also been known to harm people, and in rare instances, these attacks may lead to shock and/or death.
Lastly, crocodiles are commonly known for their aggressive nature and ferocious bite.
They are also known to inhabit wetlands and areas near the water where people may live.