A Modern Day “Jonah” – Massachusetts Man Swallowed By Whale

Whether you are a Christian or not, there is a really good chance that you have heard the story of Jonah and the whale.

As the story goes, back in the day (about 780 years BC - or BCE, if you prefer), a man named Jonah was swallowed by a whale.  He spent several days in the whale before the behemoth spit him up.  And, according to the story, he lived to tell the tale.

Now, it sounds like we have our own New England version of Jonah.

According to WMTW, a 56 year old lobster diver was swallowed by a whale early Friday morning.

Apparently, instead of using traps like we do here in Maine, some Massachusetts lobstermen dive for the tasty crustaceans.

On Friday morning, Michael Packard was diving for lobsters just off Herring Cove Beach.  He was in about 35 feet of water when a humpback whale saw him as a tasty snack and gulped in down.

Not surprisingly, Packard was sure he was going to die.  Fortunately, as he had his scuba gear on, he was able to breathe while he was trapped in the whale.  After about 30 seconds, the whale decided the man was not going to make a good snack and threw him up.

He was scooped from the water and taken to the hospital.  Suffering only minor bruising, he was checked out and released.

Why was he swallowed?  Well, according to whale researchers, it was probably a "mistake" on the whale's part.  Humpback Whales are not known for swallowing random items.