Tiger Shark
The tiger shark is notorious for its habit of eating just about anything. It gets its name from the striped markings which are most prominent on juvenile sharks.
Class: Chondrichthyes
Order: Carcharhiniformes
Family: Carcharhinidae or Galeocerdonidae
Genus: Galeocerdo
Species: G. cuvier
Common Names: Tiger Shark
The tiger shark is sometimes referred to as the “garbage can of the sea” due to its reputation for eating just about anything it can fit in its substantial jaws. Younger tiger sharks prey on fish, jellyfish, squid and octopuses. As they grow older and larger, they will eat larger animals including dolphins, seals and sea lions, sea turtles (including leatherback turtles, which are the largest of all sea turtle species), and other sharks.
Sometimes even land-dwelling animals are found in tiger sharks’ stomachs. Horses, goats, sheep, and even bats have been eaten by tiger sharks. They are also known to accidentally eat non-edible items such as license plates, tires, fur coats, Barbie dolls, and more. One tiger shark was reportedly found with an entire suit of armor in its stomach!
Tiger sharks are apex predators. They typically swim very slowly, but are very powerful swimmers and will lunge with surprising speed when pursuing prey. The only animals known to prey regularly upon tiger sharks are orcas, or killer whales.
Female tiger sharks mate about once every three years. Tiger sharks are ovoviviparous, meaning eggs hatch within the mother, and the sharks are born live and completely developed. Young sharks will develop within the mother for 16 months, and litters can range between 10 and 80 baby sharks. When they’re born, they can measure over two feet in length.
The tiger shark is a very large shark with many distinctive features. It grows up 16 feet long and can weigh over 2,000 pounds. Only the whale shark, basking shark, and great white shark are larger. Other shark species such as the megamouth or Greenland sharks may grow as large, but they are less studied and understood than the tiger shark. Great hammerheads can grow to similar lengths, but do not weigh as much.
The tiger shark’s body color varies. It may be blue, green, gray or brown above, and is almost always white or yellowish on its underside. This provides it with countershading, meaning it is difficult for prey animals to see it from both above and below. Dark markings on its back that resemble tiger stripes are where the animal’s common name originates from. These markings become lighter and less defined with age, and very old sharks may appear to lack them entirely.
The head of the tiger shark is uniquely shaped, with a blunt, squared off nose. Its teeth are a very unique curved shape, with serrations that allow them to bite through very hard substances including bones and turtle shells.
Tiger sharks have a notorious reputation. While shark attacks, overall, are rare, the tiger shark is one of the main species responsible for attacks on humans. It is found along the coasts in tropical and subtropical areas, making it more likely to encounter human swimmers or bathers. It ranks only behind the great white shark in number of reported attacks on humans. However, such attacks are still very rare.
It has been historically placed with the requiem sharks in family Carcharhinidae, which includes 60 species of shark including the bull shark, blue shark, lemon shark, gray reef shark, oceanic whitetip shark, and whitetip reef shark, among many others. However, some scientists more recently include the tiger shark in its own family, Galeocerdonidae, of which it is the only living member.
The tiger shark is considered a Near Threatened species. It is hunted for its fins which are used in shark fin soup, and its liver which is used in traditional medicine. Its meat is also eaten. Its large size also makes it a target of big-game fishermen.
In the second half of the twentieth century, nearly 5,000 tiger sharks were killed around Hawai’i to help the tourism industry. Despite the damage dealt to the shark population, it was actually shown that culling these sharks did not reduce human encounters with tiger sharks.
References
Castro, Jose I. (2011). The Sharks of North America. New York, New York: Oxford University Press, Inc.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tiger_shark
https://welovesharks.club/some-of-the-weird-and-crazy-things-tiger-sharks-eat/
Safari Ltd Tiger Shark Toys