Tiger Shark

The tiger shark is a large and well-known shark in the requiem shark group.

Size and Weight
This is the largest shark in the requiem shark family. It can grow up to 16 feet long, but is usually more like 10-13 feet long. It weighs 800-1400 lbs in most cases.

Description
The tiger shark has stripes on it's body which give it it's name. The stripes are more visible when tiger sharks are young; they fade as they grow older. It has blue, grey, brown, or sometimes even greenish skin on it's back and white on it's underbelly. Their heads are broad and sort of flat or wedge shaped. The teeth of a tiger shark are curved, serrated, and have a special design to help tear and slice prey. They are sharp enough to pierce some types of metal!

Range and Habitat
Tiger sharks inhabit temperate and tropical waters in most oceans worldwide. They will often inhabit shallow seagrass beds in their youth, but when they are older and full grown they will move to somewhat deeper waters. Tiger sharks are most common around tropical islands in the Pacific as well as the Caribbean Sea.

Prey/Diet
These sharks are probably most well known for their appetites. Their normal prey is sea turtles, crustaceans, rays, skates, seals, and many types of fish. In addition, they have been found with cans, bottles, liscense plates, coats, nails, pig and horse body parts, baseballs, and even old tires in their stomachs! This has given them nicknames like "garbage-guts" and "the garbage can of the sea".