Shark - Tiger
name: Shark - Tiger
other names: N/A
Easily recognized by its pattern - and often by sheer size. Color is dark above, yellowish below. On smaller specimens, the darker markings take the shape of spots - hence the name "Leopard." The big ones become "Tigers" as the spots grow and blend together into stripes. The patterns, however, do vary a great deal.
The Tiger Shark is found worldwide in tropical and some subtropical waters. Although sometimes seen well offshore, it is not an oceanic species.
They are an opportunist when it comes to feeding. When a tiger shark is hungry it will swallow everything it comes across: Tarpon, moray eels, gray mullet, sole, other sharks, sea turtles, sea snakes, iguanas, crocodiles, frigate birds, cormorants, pelicans, penguins, albatross, sea lions, seals, dolphins, dead whales, crayfish, crabs, octopus, chickens, rats, pigs, sheep, dogs, hyenas, monkeys, leather coats, boat cushions, driftwood, conch shells, horseshoe crabs, an unopened can of salmon, a wallet, a two pound coil of copper wire, nuts and bolts, bundles of wool, cotton, silk, pens, plastic bags, cans, bottles, pieces of metal, bags of potatoes, coal, a drivers license, a cow's hoof, a tire, nails, the antlers of a deer, lobsters, a chicken coop with feathers and bones still inside, license plates, gasoline cans, cigarette tins, men, women, and children all have been found in the stomachs of tiger sharks at one time or another.
This is one of the larger shark species; the largest individuals are believed to exceed 18 feet and 2,000 lb. Adults mature at approximately 9 feet and litters are large, often comprising from 35 to 55 pups.
At anchor or drifting with live and dead bait often in combination with chum.
