Tourist records shark jumping in lhabela The whale watching trip in Ilhabela, on the North Coast of São Paulo, ended with an unexpected record for tourist Brenda Beatriz, pedagogical coordination assistant and resident of Rio de Janeiro. When reviewing the videos recorded during the activity, she realized that she had filmed not a whale, but a mango shark (Carcharias taurus) jumping out of the water. The incident occurred in the Borrifos neighborhood, on the south side of the island, this Friday (10). The video was taken in an area where boats usually stop to watch the appearance of whales during the cetacean migration season. "At the time, I even thought it was a dolphin, because it was very fast. It went up and disappeared," Brenda told g1. According to her, the discovery only happened later, when she went to check what she had filmed. Mangona shark jumps in Ilhabela Brenda Beatriz/Personal archive ? Click here to follow the g1 Vale do Paraíba channel and region on WhatsApp "When it finished, I went to watch the videos and zoomed in to see what had jumped, because it's very fast. Then I saw it was a shark", says pedagogical coordination assistant Brenda Beatriz. The mangona shark is considered critically endangered by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN). Tourist Brenda Beatriz, who filmed a shark in the sea in Ilhabela Brenda Beatriz/personal archive The tourist said that she traveled to Ilhabela for the first time precisely to take advantage of the whale watching season. "I'm on break from work and I planned this trip to Ilhabela. It's my first time here and I was very excited for the whale season." She said she was surprised by the record. "I was ecstatic because I never imagined seeing a shark, especially with it coming out of the water. It was incredible. It's luck that has no explanation", declared Brenda. Mangona shark takes a leap in Ilhabela Brenda Beatriz/Personal archive Unusual sighting The tour was carried out by a company from Ilhabela that organizes nautical trips to observe cetaceans during this time of year. According to the owner, Leonardo Radi, the presence of sharks in the region is not uncommon, especially hammerhead sharks. He was on the boat at the time of the sighting. According to him, the animal filmed by Brenda is probably a mangona shark, identified by the characteristics of the dental arch visible in the images. The businessman stated that, although the species is easily found in the region, he had never witnessed behavior like that recorded by the tourist. "We know that the mangona (shark) exists on the (northern) coast and there is a considerable amount of the species, but jumping was the first time," said waterman and businessman Leonardo Radi. Radi stated that a few days ago he saw a tiger shark in the sea, considered a rare sighting on the coast of São Paulo. Species threatened with extinction According to biologist Renato Freitas, professor at the Federal University of Santa Catarina (UFSC), the mangona shark is a calm animal, but rare to be seen nowadays. It reaches three meters in length. "The mangona shark is a critically endangered animal, very difficult to observe in a natural environment, but it has this behavior of rising to the surface. It's something that no one knows yet, it opens its mouth like that, it looks like it's taking air. It's a very calm shark, although it has a threatening face because it has its teeth out," he said. Image shows mangona shark or wetlens bull shark / iNaturalist "Here in Brazil, it occurs from Espírito Santo all the way down to Patagonia, in Argentina. It's a pretty rare animal nowadays. It wasn't so much in the past, but it's a very rare animal today," he added. Renato Freitas is coordinator of the Tubas and Rays extension project, which seeks to demystify the stigma that sharks and rays are harmful animals to humans. Biologist and shark researcher, Priscila Marchetti Dolphine, indicates that it is a mangona shark based on the characteristics that appear in the video. Like Renato Freitas, she highlights that the species has become rarer to be seen in recent years and suggests hypotheses for the animal having jumped in Ilhabela "It is not possible to say with certainty the motivation just from the video. A very interesting hypothesis is related to the buoyancy physiology of the species. Like other sharks, the mangona shark has a liver rich in lipids that helps maintain buoyancy, but it also has the ability to rise to the surface and swallow air, temporarily storing it in the stomach. This mechanism can help control position in the water column and reduce energy expenditure to remain at a certain depth", he stated. The Alcatrazes Archipelago Wildlife Refuge, on the north coast of São Paulo, is used by the mangona shark (Carcharias taurus) as a breeding area. The finding is part of a study that recorded adult males, females with mating marks and a pregnant female in the conservation unit, indicating that the site is used in critical phases of the species' life cycle. See more news from Vale do Paraíba and the Bragantina region