Fun Facts About Tiger Sharks
You must have seen a shark in your life, if not in real life, then on the internet or books, right. You know several things about sharks, but I’m sure you must not have read these shark facts that you will go through in this article. Today you will learn some interesting fun facts about tiger sharks that will amaze you.
What Are Tiger Sharks
It is a large predator that can attain a length of over 5m. These belong to a species of requiem shark. The population of tiger sharks can be found in many temperate and tropical water.
Let’s study some of the interesting, fun facts about tiger sharks.
What Tiger Sharks Eat?
Do you know what tiger sharks eat? You must be thinking that they only eat other fishes, right? But, you’re mistaken. A remarkable fact about tiger sharks is that they are aggressive predators famous for eating anything they can capture. They eat fishes, sea birds, invertebrates, sea turtles, stingrays, sea snakes, and even smaller sharks. They are also witnessed eating trash or garbage, mainly wood, metal, plastic, fishing gear etc., they are known as the ocean’s garbage can.
Another fun fact about sharks is that they are known to bite people. When a large number of people use the ocean, the rate of fatality increases. Several cases have been reported to the authorities regarding the killings tiger sharks have done in different areas.
How Tiger Sharks Mate?
Do you know that tiger sharks mate with internal fertilization? An interesting shark fact for kids is that tiger sharks give birth to as many as 80 small young ones. Tiger shark gives live birth, but the interesting fact about sharks is that, unlike other mammals, they are not connected to their young ones through a placenta. Inside the individual eggs, embryos develop and later hatches.
Born to Be Predators
A fun fact about sharks for kids is that young tiger sharks start eating coastal fishes and invertebrates as they are already natural predators when they are born. The adults and juvenile tiger sharks live in a slightly different habitat because other tiger sharks can eat them. Another interesting fun fact about juvenile sharks is that they live in protected bays and estuaries, unlike the adult sharks that prefer living in high-energy coral reefs or open coasts.
Do All Tiger Sharks Have Stripes?
When you hear tiger words, you think of the vertical stripes. But in the case of tiger sharks, these stripes evolve over time and then fade away. A cool fun fact about shark stripes is that a baby tiger shark or pup has round, grey spots. When they grow up, the dots fuse to form stripes. These stripes start fading away at a certain age, and you can barely see lines on a completely grown shark.
What Type of Water Tiger Sharks Prefer?
Although tiger sharks are considered coastal species, these sharks’ geographic distribution includes temperate and tropical waters around the whole world. So these sharks can migrate from one water to the other easily. A cool fact about tiger sharks is that they are primarily seen in the tropical to warm temperate waters.
One of the Largest Shark Species
An interesting fact about sharks for kids is that tiger sharks can grow up to 19 feet. It means that they can grow as big as 5.7m long. Another fun fact about tiger sharks is that they can weigh as much as 2,000 pounds, around 900 kg. So, tiger sharks come in the list of the largest species of sharks. The giant shark ever recorded is 18 feet long and weighed more than 3000 pounds. An interesting fact about sharks for kids is that the female tiger sharks grow more significantly than the male tiger sharks.
Why Are Tiger Sharks Called Tiger Sharks?
Do you know why this species of shark is known as tiger shark? A cool shark fact is that tiger sharks are named for their distinctive spots or vertical gray stripes present on the side of their bodies.
Teeth of Tiger Sharks
An amazing shark teeth fact is that tiger sharks have notched teeth. If you open up a shark’s mouth, you could see a tiger shark’s teeth have dramatic notch tips that point towards the sides. Another interesting shark teeth fact is that both sides’ teeth are like a
mirror image on one another.
The teeth of a shark have to perform dual functions. They help the shark grasp a fish and help in shearing quickly and find the prey through the thickest hides. You’ll be shocked to learn this interesting fact about sharks that if they accidentally break a tooth, they can regrow it in 24 hours.
Only Sharks That Hunt Sea Turtles
An interesting shark fact for kids is that tiger sharks might be the only sharks that regularly hunt sea turtles. When a shark attacks a turtle, it has to get a good grip over it. But the turtle doesn’t make the hunting easy; they turn themselves sideways, pushing themselves too wide to bite. So tiger sharks avoid going after young turtles and hunt down the old or sick ones.
Sand Tiger Sharks
People often confuse tiger sharks with sand tiger sharks. But a shark fact is that sand tiger sharks are cousins of great white sharks. These are the only sharks that come to the surface to gulp some air.
Age of Tiger Shark
A fun fact about sharks for kids is that tiger sharks can live up to 50 years of age. But there is no specific age to which these sharks are known to live. But research has shown that tiger sharks are most likely to live longer than 12 years of age.
An Excellent Hunter
Tiger sharks are known as solitaire hunters. A fun fact about tiger sharks is that they hunt along and are mainly nocturnal. They are famous for their excellent hunting, and so are the most dangerous predators found in the ocean.
Rich Source of Vitamin A
People hunt down sharks for the sake of vitamin A source. The liver, fins, and skin of a shark are enriched with vitamin A, which has several health benefits.
You must have learned some new and interesting facts about sharks from this article. Sharks are becoming extinct so try not to hunt them down!
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