by Tim Harry

Created on: May 16, 2010

The Tiger Shark, Galeocerdo cuvier, is one of the deadliest of all sharks swimming the world’s oceans, and second only to the Great White Shark in terms of attributed attacks. The deadly nature of the shark is due in no small part due to its widespread nature, and its habit of entering shallow water.

The Tiger Shark is to be found in more temperate areas of the ocean, this though takes in many areas of the Pacific and Atlantic. There are many observed off of Hawaii and Australia but there is even a possibility that the Tiger Shark has made its way much further north to Iceland and the United Kingdom. The Tiger doesn’t just stay to deep water though like other sharks, and is as likely to be found along the shallow coastline as it is swimming along the bottom of the ocean.

The widespread nature of the Tiger Shark, the fact that it will live for upwards of fifty years, and the lack of any real threats to its survival have ensured that it is classed as being at Low Risk from extinction or Near Threatened.

When observed, the Tiger Shark is unmistakable and doesn’t really resemble any other shark. A requiem shark, it can reach lengths of four to six metres, and has a slender body and a big head. There have though been reports of Tiger Sharks reaching 8 metres. The Tiger Shark is dark grey in colour and in the younger sharks has vertical stripes reminiscent of a tiger, hence the name. These stripes though fade with age.

The Tiger Shark is primarily nocturnal, and is often observed to come inland during the night. Its impressive speed of in excess of 20mph, and excellent eyesight ensure that it can capture virtually anything it seeks to eat. Often known as the garbage can of the sea, Tiger Sharks will eat anything including fish, turtles, birds, other sharks or any rubbish that comes in to its path. The size of the Tiger Shark does ensure that it needs a lot of food, and as a result is aggressive and will not pass up the opportunity of any meal, even if it is human. Thankfully the Tiger Shark is solitary and will not hunt as a group of sharks.

Of course Tiger Sharks do come together to breed and the Tiger Sharks are a group that undertake Aplacental viviparous reproduction. As a result a female Tiger Shark will give birth to anywhere between ten and eighty live pups per litter.

The Tiger Shark is deadly and there have been numerous deaths that have been proven to be caused by it. Normally these are surfers caught in relatively shallow water. There are though only a handful of deaths from shark attack anywhere in the world, but each incident is widely reported. More people are killed by elephants than by Tiger Sharks though.

The Tiger Shark is part of nature and an impressive creature as well, as with many creatures though care does have to be taken and the dangers of co-existence with it acknowledged.

Sources -         http://www.shark.ch/

                          http://www.sharkallies.com/

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