El Tiger shark, is one of the largest sharks, its scientific name is "galeocerdo cuvier" but it is also known by the name of "the man-eater". These animals are feared, since there have been known cases where they have been the protagonist of attacks on humans, even more than the white shark.
Description of the tiger shark
When we see one of these majestic animals, we can see that they have bluish or greenish skin, however, their belly becomes white or more yellowish. Numerous uneven stripes can be seen along its body, very similar to the ones it has. Tiger, from there it derives its name. The younger the shark, these stripes will be much more visible, so it is assumed that as they age, they are becoming dimmer.
These animals have a large body in the upper part of it, and much thinner in the lower part. The head of tiger sharks is usually wedge-shaped and proportional in size to its upper body. The nose of these sharks is large and is located at the extreme part of the head. Its tail is unequal, this is because the dorsal lobe of its caudal fin is slightly longer than the ventral one.
The little of these sharks is large, in addition to that, and the most dangerous of them, is the toothed structure they have. Its teeth have a curved shape while the edges of the mimes resemble the teeth of a saw, which makes it highly dangerous for whatever its prey.
An adult shark of this species can weigh between 380 kilograms and 640 kilograms, however, there are records where some specimens can weigh even more than 800 kilograms.
When we talk about the size of these animals, we are referring to a shark that can easily measure between 325 and 425 centimeters in length, however, just as heavier than average sharks have been documented, it is also known that some can reach reach up to 5 meters and a half in length and are considered a giant tiger shark.
What is the habitat and distribution of the tiger shark like?
These animals can be found within almost all the world's oceans, one of the Shark characteristics most striking among their kind, except for the poles of the planet, however, the tropical and subtropical waters that they prefer. These sharks only inhabit salt water, whether in seas or oceans, they can be found mostly near the coastal areas of various beaches.
Tiger sharks usually live in places where there is an average amount of algae or marine plants, however, they can also seek to live in different places where they can find a greater number of food to feed on.
This species of shark is not considered a vulnerable or endangered species, even though it is constantly hunted in some parts of the world, either for human consumption or to obtain the different resources that they can take advantage of these animals. .
Over time, these are one of the sharks with the highest demand to be introduced into public aquariums. They are displayed in all their glory as they swim through their designated space. Something surprising about this species is that, living in captivity, especially in aquariums, they are quite receptive when a human enters their territory.
Although, as we mentioned earlier, this species is not threatened, biologists and scientists believe that if they continue to be poached as they have been for some time here, and without some kind of regularization and laws that protect themselves, they could begin to enter a vulnerable stage.
Tiger Shark Behavior
These are nomadic animals, that is, they are always on the move. They swim through the warmer currents, while, when the winter seasons arrive when the waters drop in temperature, the mimes prefer to stay in areas closer to the equator where it is much warmer in those seasons. The tiger shark generally prefers to inhabit shallow waters, because in this way, it manages to find many more prey than in deeper waters.
In general, these animals are solitary and nocturnal, however, there have been cases where they, at feeding time, gather in groups where a kind of hierarchy is established, the larger the shark, the more opportunity you will have to be the first to feed. According to the studies that have been carried out on this species, they are not usually aggressive towards each other while they feed, they are rather patient and relaxed. Another way to see them in groups is during the reproductive season.
How is the feeding of the tiger shark?
The tiger shark is a fish that has a carnivorous diet, it can feed on different species of marine animals, among them are other fish, turtles, various types of crustaceans and molluscs, seabirds and some marine mammals that they can find around them. He passed. There are documentations where these sharks are seen feeding on others of the same species, the reason why they do this is still not entirely clear.
They are animals that use stealth as a weapon in their favor, they are capable of being able to feel the pressure waves that are generated at quite low frequencies, that is why, even if there is water where vision is poor due to turbidity , these sharks manage to know where their potential prey is. In addition to this very advantageous sense, tiger sharks have very good eyesight and smell. It is not surprising that these are considered apex predators.
These animals have a process or routine that they follow to the letter when feeding:
- Prey detection.
- Surround its prey and follow it by forming circles around it.
- It approaches its prey and touches it with its nose.
- It ingests it completely if it is small, if it is a large prey, it will take bites of it.
Tiger sharks have been known to attack humans and subsequently eat you. It is not very common for this to happen, because after the attack, these animals generally leave the human aside since it is not a prey that they normally prefer to eat. However, there is a record of man-eating tiger sharks.
How is your reproduction?
First of all we must know that these animals reach sexual maturity after a long period of time, in the case of male specimens, they can reach sexual maturity around 7 years of life, while females reach it when they are approximately 8 years old. The females of this species do not mate annually, she does it every 3 years.
They are polygamous animals, that is, they do not have a designated partner, so, in each mating, both will be in contact with a different specimen. To date, there is not much tiger shark information and about their courtship rituals carried out by this species of shark, however, there are records showing that the males insert their sperm into the cloaca (the female's reproductive organ), while doing so, it bites its partner so that it remains motionless.
Matings of the tiger shark usually take place between March and May. The young will be born the following year within the months of April and June approximately.
These sharks are the only ovoviviparous animals within the family to which they belong, this means that the eggs fertilized by the male remain inside the mother's body until hatching, which occurs in an approximate period of 16 months after mating. After the eggs hatch, the hatched young leave the mother's body.
In general, at birth, tiger shark pups measure around 51 centimeters. At birth, they are completely independent, so they do not depend on the support of their mother to survive. Usually, around 30 or 50 pups are born, although there are reports of a case where 82 of them were born.
The growth of tiger shark pups is slow, which is why their sexual maturity is late. According to reports, the oldest known specimen of this species died when he was 50 years old, so it can be said that this is a fairly long-lived marine species.
Curiosities about this shark
- Previously, there were 12 species within the Galeocerdo family, to which the tiger shark belongs. Currently, there is only one living species of it left and it is precisely this species of shark.
- Although they are generally solitary animals, there are records where they group together to eat. In one of these records you can see the species eating the carcass of a whale while around it there are more exemplary eyes of its species, white sharks and saltwater crocodiles.
- In its natural state, this species of shark does not have a controlled diet, so they tend to eat anything they find either swimming or floating in their territory. There are records where all kinds of objects have been found inside the stomach of sharks found lifeless.
- In the event that a specimen of tiger shark is in captivity in a public aquarium, they always end up surprising their keepers when they eat something that they are not supposed to eat. A curious anecdote that can be told about one of these cases in captivity is that of a tiger shark that was admitted to an aquarium in Sydney, Australia, it had been living freely in the ocean. One day, his caregivers noticed that he was sick, the surprise came when the shark vomited and expelled a human arm from his stomach. The forensic experts, after an evaluation, reported that the arm was not torn off by the animal, it was cut and later thrown into the ocean, where the shark is supposed to have found it.
- It is known that many species of sharks occasionally have turtles as food, however, the tiger shark is the only species of shark that hunts them systematically, that is, they are an essential and common part of their diet. . Although it does not seem probable, the fact that this is so, instead of unbalancing the ecosystem, benefits it, since researchers have discovered that, in those places where an abundant group of these sharks live, the algae, which they generate are the main food of sea turtles, they grow much larger than in other places.
- Those biologists who specialize in the study of marine life have introduced the tiger shark into a group that was called "the big three", where reference is made to the three most dangerous and largest sharks in the ocean, the other two species that make up this trio are the sarda shark and the great white shark. Of the 350 species of sharks known to date, these three are considered the most dangerous in the world.
- The tiger shark is the species of shark that has had the most scientific names in the world. Currently its scientific name is Galeocerdo cuvier, however, before it arrived, it went through others:
• Squalus Cuvier.
• Squalus arcticus.
• Galeocerdo tigrinus.
• Galeus cepedianus.
• Galeus maculatus.
• Carcharias fasciatus.
• Galeocerdo rayneri.
• Galeocerdo obtusus.
• Carcharias hemprichii.
