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?!)
“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?