A rare occurrence of a whale shark ( Rhincodon typus ) in a contaminated estuary in the Southwest Atlantic Ocean

An individual whale shark ( Rhincodon typus) was recorded on January 15, 2020, during the marine megafauna drone-monitoring. The animal was filmed for approximately 400 m of swimming at an average speed of 4.8 km/h, 650 m southwest of the mouth of a river impacted by the rupture of a mining tailing dam 5 years ago. The whale shark is a filter-feeding and highly migratory species. This is a rare record of this threatened species, representing the importance of recovering and protecting biodiversity in the Rio Doce river mouth region.