Tiger shark
Description
The Tiger shark is known for its vertical tiger stripes on its body. They grow up to 5m long and weigh 385-635 kg. They are solitary and nocturnal hunters, feeding mainly on squid, fish and turtles. They are known live 50 years. Tiger sharks are one of the largest sharks of the world. Tiger sharks are apex predators which means they are at the top of the food chain. Tiger sharks have a great eyesight and a great sense of smell. They can easily detect small traces of blood. The female Tiger shark grows much bigger than the male Tiger shark. They have been nicknamed as "the garbage can of the sea" because they eat almost everything including plastic bottles, oil cans, baseballs sometimes even explosives. They have special pores located beneath the skin around their snout. These pores are capable of detecting electric fields. If one of their teeth break they can regrow it during the next day. Some of the native Hawaiians think that Tiger Sharks are a scared spirit of one of their ancestors. According to an ancient legend the mother of Great king Kamehameha asked for Tiger shark eyeballs during her pregnancy, because it is believed that their eyes have magical powers and by eating an eye one would be able to see better and to even see the future. ( But they are all ancient legends so not for real)
Classification
Scientific name - Galeocerdo cuvier
Order - Carcharhiniformes
Family - Carcharhinidae
Kingdom - Animalia
Class - Chondrichthyes
Phylum - Chordata
Genus - Galeocerdo
Distribution
Tiger sharks are found throughout the world's temperate and tropical waters, It is a wide ranging species that is at home both in open oceans as well as shallow coastal waters. This shark has a notable tolerance for any different kind of marine habitats, but it mostly prefer murky water and coastal areas. It is often found in river estuaries, harbors and other inlets. They always choose suitable habitat because they can find a variety of prey items. They undergo seasonal migrations. They move into temperate waters from the tropics in warmer months and return to the tropics during winter. They also make long oceanic migrations between islands and are capable of travelling long distances in a short amount of time.
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They are the only species of sharks who are ovoviviparous. The female develop eggs inside their bodies but do not lay them. The egg stays inside its body where it is nourished by the yolk of the egg, then it hatches and continue to develop. It take about 16 months for a pup to be born. They only have pups once every 3 years due to their long gestation process and troublesome mating process ( during mating process the female Tiger shark is badly bitten by the male Tiger shark). Once a pup is born it is not given any after care and it is forced to find its own food. The pups stick together in order to stay safe. Due to them being abandoned as pups, many of them end up being preyed on by the larger of their own kind. When Tiger sharks are getting older they loose their tiger stripes.
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Even though Tiger sharks are top predators, they are not safe from predation. Many can still be eaten by the Great White shark, other sharks, and killer whales. They also face threats like habitat loss, degradation, climate change, creation of barriers, over fishing and over exploitation as well as lack of awareness and information about migration patterns and their importance. Even though they are predators they also have a right to live so please don't hurt them.
