Tiger Shark - Foods

Foods

The tiger shark is an apex predator and has a reputation for eating anything. It also possesses the capability to take on large prey. It commonly preys upon fish, crustaceans, mollusks, jellyfishes, dugongs, seabirds, seasnakes, marine mammals (e.g. bottlenose dolphins, spotted dolphins), and sea turtles (e.g. green and loggerhead turtles). The broad, heavily calcified jaws and nearly terminal mouth, combined with robust, serrated teeth, enable the tiger shark to take on these large prey. In addition, excellent eyesight and acute sense of smell enable it to react to faint traces of blood and follow them to the source. Due to high risk of predatory attacks, dolphins often avoid regions inhabited by tiger sharks. The tiger shark also eats other sharks (such as sandbar sharks) and will even eat conspecifics.

Tiger sharks may also attack injured or ailing whales and prey upon them. A group was documented attacking and killing an ailing humpback whale in 2006 near Hawaii. The tiger shark also scavenges on dead whales. In one such documented incident, they were observed scavenging on a whale carcass alongside great white sharks, Carcharodon carcharias.

The ability to pick up low-frequency pressure waves enables the shark to advance towards an animal with confidence, even in murky water. The shark circles its prey and studies it by prodding it with its snout. When attacking, the shark often eats its prey whole. Because of its aggressive feeding, it often mistakenly eats inedible objects, such as automobile license plates, oil cans, tires, and baseballs. For this reason, the tiger shark is often regarded as the ocean's garbage can.