In case you’ve ever wondered how pelicans swallow those large fish they scoop up in their throat pouches, one wildlife photographer took a video showing it go down . . . and I do mean literally go down. Mark Smith Photography captured the moment a pelican swallowed a large, flopping fish on film and shared it to his Instagram page for all who want to see it for themselves. It’s a bit disturbing to see the fish thrash around in the bird’s throat, but it’s also pretty fascinating. (Also, how long does it continue to wiggle after it goes down?!)
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“I know every single human has at least one time in their life asked themselves, ‘How does a pelican swallow a large fish?'” wrote Smith in his Instagram post sharing the video. “I think this was actually the most searched phrase on Google in 2024. Well, thankfully, I have a great video that answers that very question!”
Although Smith is kidding about this being one of the most-searched phrases in 2024, his video has nearly 17,000 likes, so it’s clear a whole lot of people appreciated seeing the bizarre video.
Watch a pelican swallow a large fish here:
It goes down surprisingly smoothly, right? For a flopping fish, at least?
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