Could a Sperm Whale Actually Swallow a Human?

The new movie Whalefall asks a question that sounds absurd on its face: what would happen if a person got swallowed by a sperm whale? But the film, based on Daniel Krauss's novel, takes the premise seriously enough to consult real marine biologists and build anatomically informed sets. On Science Friday, host Flora Lichtman spoke with director Brian Duffield and sperm whale expert Shane Garrow about whether such an event is physically possible, what the inside of a whale actually looks like, and why the answer is more interesting—and more disturbing—than you might expect.

The Anatomy of a Swallow

Sperm whales are the world's largest toothed predators, and their diet consists primarily of giant squid—animals that can reach 30 to 50 feet long and have tough, muscular bodies. That diet dictates their anatomy. Unlike humpback whales, which have enormous mouths but tiny esophaguses designed to swallow a slurry of krill or small fish, sperm whales have what Garrow describes as "probably the largest esophagus" among whales. In a very large sperm whale, the esophagus can be 30 to 40 centimeters in diameter—roughly the size of a tennis racket head.