Within the shark species, the Tiger shark is one of the most popular. It is one of the most studied species and the one that has more information together with the great White shark. A lot is known about all its characteristics, its behavior and its way of life.
In this article we are going to study it in depth to be able to give you as much information as possible about it.
Key features
When we talk about the tiger shark, we are referring to this species that belongs to the genus Galeocerdo. It is also known by the common name of sea tiger. Its family is the Carcharhinidae. It is obvious that the name is due to its resemblance to the tiger. This is because when they are young in age, the back is usually covered with stripes similar to those of tigers.
These stripes fade until they disappear when they grow up and become adults. The tiger shark is quite a predator. Its role in balancing the ecosystems where it lives is quite important. Thanks to him, many of his prey cannot graze, eating all the plants in the underwater meadows. This means that the species can live in a balance between the new meadow that is generated and that which is consumed by the herbivorous species. If it weren't for these sharks, there would be an overpopulation of grassland-eating species and they would eventually disappear.
In addition to everything we are naming, it is considered one of the sharks with the largest size. From this comparison we exclude the whale sharkOf course.
Description
We find an animal with a size between 3 and 4,5 meters in length. Some specimens They can measure up to 7 meters and weigh up to 600 kilos. As you can see, it is a fairly large animal and one of the largest that exist. Its color is white on the belly area and blue or green on the back. These colors make it ideal to be able to hide from its prey and surprise it. It also serves to avoid being captured by other predators.
On its back there are stripes that make it look like tigers when they are young. Later, as they develop, they are lost. Their jaws are quite strong and capable of crushing even the hard shell of a turtle. The teeth are highly sharp and are distributed in a way that makes attacking very easy. The shape of the head is quite flattened. It almost looks like a rectangle.
In terms of sight and smell, it has a high capacity to know the prey and smell them from kilometers. This makes them become true predators feared by many species. However, as we have mentioned before, they exert a quite important function for the balance of the ecosystems where they develop.
The ability to replace teeth is perfect to alleviate the problems of tears and broken teeth. Like many other sharks, they are able to detect the electric field thanks to a sensory organ they have. The behavior of this animal is solitary. You will rarely see him forming groups. Usually, their life expectancy does not exceed 50 years.
Habitat and feeding of the tiger shark
Tiger sharks often live in waters around the world. Although they are capable of developing in any environment, They prefer to live in tropical and subtropical areas due to the warmth of the waters.
The areas where they are most abundant are the Caribbean, the Gulf of Mexico, the Bahamas, the Canary Islands, the Mediterranean, Japan, Indonesia, Australia, New Zealand, Hawaii, Haiti and the Galapago Islands. Which makes us see that it has a large population in general.
As for his diet, he is not demanding when it comes to eating. Of course, it is a total carnivore. It can feed on many marine animals. Human beings are not part of their diet, so there is no danger about it.
Among the food that he usually frequents we find fish, squid, crustaceans, octopus, lobsters, rays and birds. The latter he captures in carelessness on his part when they are near the surface. If conditions require it, they are capable of eating other sharks. What they do tend to eat and that is really impressive to see are sea turtles. Although they defend themselves with the shell, it is nothing to the strength of the tiger shark's teeth.
The surprise factor is essential to prepare your attack. It is because of this that they have good hunting success. With their camouflage they hide to assault the prey. It tends to hunt at night, when its hunting success is greatest. If the prey notices before being captured, it may be able to flee if it is able to sneak through narrower places. Let's not forget that the dimensions and weight of the tiger shark can make it more clumsy in pursuit.
Reproduction
This animal reproduces in an ovoviviparous way. That is, they have their young inside but wrapped in an egg. The egg hatches inside to give rise to the new individual. Before mating, they have to reach sexual maturity. The male is capable of reaching it at 7 years old while the females have to wait until they are 8.
A fact that is usually curious for everyone who learns about these sharks is that mating only occurs once every 3 years. But nevertheless, each female is capable of having between 30 to 50 young. The young can remain in the mother's body for up to 16 months. This reproduction rate is quite high considering that they are considered as the last link in the food chain. Depending on the food and the environmental conditions of the place, the animals may survive well or not, so not all the offspring reach their adult stage.
I hope that with this information you can learn more about this impressive shark.