Tiger Shark

The tiger shark, Galeocerdo cuvier is a species of requiem shark and the only member of the genus Galeocerdo. It is found in many tropical and temperate oceans, and is especially common around central Pacific islands. This shark is a solitary, mostly night-time hunter. Its name derives from the dark stripes down its body, which fade as the shark matures.

The tiger shark is a predator, known for eating a wide range of animals. Its usual diet consists of fish, seals, birds, smaller sharks, squid, turtles, and dolphins. Tigers have been found with man-made waste such as license plates or pieces of old tires in their digestive tracts, thus the moniker, “the wastebasket of the sea”.

This shark may be easily identified by its dark stripes which resemble a tiger’s pattern. Its dorsal fins are distinctively close to its tail. They may encounter humans because they often visit shallow reefs, harbours and canals.

Second only to the great white shark in number of recorded attacks on humans, the tiger is considered to be one of the sharks most dangerous to humans, along with the great white, bull shark and the oceanic whitetip shark.