I find the anthropomorphisms of "swallowed" and "ate" and "cheated death" so annoying that it's hard to read the article. I really wish science writers would tone this nonsense down. It gets in the way.
This guy obviously knows how to talk to big media. But maybe NYT is not the right place for you to read science news?
I imagine it won't be long before that's an add-on, so you don't even have to leave the page. "Hemingway this up for me", and boobs your uncle.