General Characteristics of Tiger Sharks

The tiger shark is a common large breed of shark and, although they can be found all over the world, are frequent visitors off the Florida coast and the Caribbean. The tiger shark is known for its aggressive behavior and desire to eat almost anything, which makes it dangerous to humans.

  1. Diet

    • The tiger shark is one of true scavengers of the world. They have been known to eat, cattle, pigs, other live stock and anything else it can reach. Its common prey includes small sharks, porpoises, turtles, marine birds, shellfish, squid and marine mammals, but they are not picky eaters. Studies of the stomachs of dead tiger sharks have turned up a large number of inedible and inorganic objects, including licence plates and tires.

    Appearance

    • The tiger shark is named after the back stripes that appear on males when they are 7 to 9 feet long, and females when they reach 8 to 10 feet long. Fully mature tiger sharks grow to 10 to 16 feet in length and weigh up to a ton. The tiger shark head is broad and flat with a snout shorter than the width of its mouth. The body is long and slender near the tail. When tiger sharks are young, they will have spot-like shapes on their back and are sometimes called "leopards." The stripes form when the spots fuse together during maturity. Tiger sharks are not orange and black; the colors range from a blue or green gray to black on top and a light gray to white below.

    Teeth

    • The teeth of the tiger shark are cockscomb-shaped and very heavily serrated. Each tooth features a deep primary notch and has large serial cusplets along the rear edge of the serrated tooth. These specially designed cutting machines are perfect for tearing open hard-shelled prey, such as turtles. The shape of the teeth, with minor modifications through evolution, closely resembles the teeth of its ancestors.

    Habitat

    • Tiger sharks are most commonly found in tropical, temperate waters. They will operate in open sea as deep as 120 meters, but will also get near beaches and shallow coastal waters. Tiger sharks enjoy hunting diverse prey in the coastal areas where freshwater runoff reaches the ocean. Tiger sharks are prone to swim into lagoons at night to feed, then return to the sea by day.