Our Monthly Chomp for April focuses on tiger sharks and tourism of the Bahamas.
Tiger shark general facts
Size: 15 – 18 ft, 4-5m | 1,900 lbs
Habitat: Warm, coastal, temperate waters around the world in open ocean or close to shore.
Diet: While they are affectionately referred to as garbage cans of the sea, they quite like fish, dolphins, other sharks and turtles. Their teeth are uniquely shaped to cut thru the shell.
Reproduction: Ovoviviparous (eggs hatch inside the uterus and then the embryos develop further until birth.) Pregnancy lasts up to 16 months with 10-80 live pups every 3 years. Ultrasounds have discovered tiger pups inside the mother before birth can become cannibalistic and eat their siblings!
IUCN listing: Near threatened
Protection: None
Did you know…
- Although there stripes are iconic, the stripes begin to disappear as juveniles grow older. The brighter the stripes, the younger the shark.
- Tiger sharks give birth to huge liters of 30 – 80 pups. Those pups are fortunate to not have been consumed by their siblings in the womb! They are 6 – 13 lbs when born.
- Occasionally, they’ve been known to share the dinner table with white sharks and crocodiles.
Study: June 2014 to May 2015, Tiger Beach, Bahamas
Do we humans interfere with tiger sharks natural behavoir?
Tiger Beach in the Bahamas is known for its snorkeling, diving, and ecotourism focused around seeing tiger sharks spanning approximately 1.5 km2.
Over 42 tiger sharks were tagged with an acoustic tag that tracked them day and night. They found that, while most sharks did not stay in the area for an extended period of time, there were a few that stayed in the area and established residency.
Interestingly, for most of the year sharks entered and exited the area with the exception of the summer when the majority were absent. There has been some speculation if the heavy ecotourism in the area has affected the behavior of tiger sharks. This study revealed no evidence suggesting tiger sharks are altering their behavior in response to human presence.
Citation:
Hammerschlag, N., Gutowsky, L., Gallagher, A., Matich, P., & Cooke, S. (2017). Diel habitat use patterns of a marine apex predator (tiger shark, Galeocerdo cuvier) at a high use area exposed to dive tourism. Journal of Experimental Marine Biology and Ecology, 495, 24-34.