North East Brazil - cetacean strandings and meteors

Rio Grande do Norte (Northeast Brazil). At least 77 strandings of marine animals — including baleias (whales) and dolphins were recorded on beaches along the Rio Grande do Norte coast in the first 33 days of 2026. This includes multiple cetaceans such as sperm whales (cachalotes) and likely others, though species-level details for each stranding weren’t listed in initial reports. Reported by the Centro de Estudos e Monitoramento Ambiental (CEMAM) and Projeto Cetáceos da Costa Branca.

Below is the last year of events. Because of the numerous cetacean strandings, I haven't listed them all.

2025, March 18. Equatorial Atlantic Ocean. Airburst. Coordinates: (1.5S, 30.4W). 694 km NE off the coast of Brazil, State of Rio Grande do Norte. Altitude: 27 km. Velocity: 20.1 km/s. e = 11, -e = 0.33 or 330,000 kg/TNT.

2025, April 23. Brazil. A very large bright fireball exploded in the sky over southern coast at 22:03 UTC on April 23, 2025.

2025, September 9. South Atlantic, 77km off the coast of Brazil in Ceará. Airburst. Time:17:49:10UT, 14:433 time zones. Coordinates: (2.3S, 39.5W). Altitude: 24.0km. Velocity: 20.72km/sec. Energy: e = 15.3e10, -e = 0.44 or 440,000 kg/TNT. Travelling east. Seen inland as far as 140 km and 216km from event. Several observers reported persistent trails lasting up to 90 seconds. It displayed properties of concurrent and delayed sound.

2025, July 18. Brazil, Pontal do Sul beach resort in Pontal do Paraná. A juvenile humpback whale was found dead. The animal, measuring approximately 8 meters long, was already in advanced stages of decomposition.

2025, December 8. Brazil. Major Northeast Brazil Fireball: A "giant" and very bright meteor was recorded crossing the skies of Ceará, Rio Grande do Norte, Paraíba, and Pernambuco. Two days later on December 10, 2025 – Northeast Fireball Streak: another bright fireball was reported specifically over Brazil's Northeast region.

2026, February 1. Brazil, north east, beach of the capital of Rio Grande do Sul, Via Costeira, in Natal. Cachalot (sperm whale) carcass came ashore in advanced state of decomposition. The whale was dead for some weeks and was 8 to 9 meters long (likely a juvenile or young adult). 

Image: Sérgio Henrique Santos/Inter TV Cabugi