What Do Tiger Sharks Eat?

Do you have any idea what do tiger sharks eat? When it comes to intake, Tiger shark is certainly one of the weirdest sharks in the world. Also it has a bad reputation for eating human flesh which is extremely rare and so, it is better known as a man-eater. In reality, it’s quite natural for this species to gobble up almost anything which is available within its setting. Let’s get to know all about tiger shark diet.

Here is a list of some of the weirdest objects pulled out from the tiger sharks’ stomach: finger ring, rubber tire, rags, pieces of coal, driver’s license, bag of potatoes, aluminum foil, bag of money, paper, plastic bags, pig parts, black cat, boat cushions, leather, overcoats, cigarette tin, rats, monkeys, horse and donkey parts sealed tin of salmon and even explosives. No wonder they are known as ‘swimming garbage can’ for good reasons!

Since this shark preys on almost anything, it has a diverse diet and includes dolphins (spotted, common and bottlenose dolphins), octopus, sea snakes, spiny lobsters, sharks and rays, seabirds, horseshoe crabs, sea lions, marine turtles (loggerhead, leatherback and green sea turtles as well), seals, jellyfish and teleost fish.

A young individual preys on smaller fish like cephalopods, seabirds, jellyfish and crustaceans. No wonder it has a diverse variety of foodstuff on its menu.

what do tiger sharks eat — Sand Tiger Shark. Photo by South Carolina Aquarium

However, according to a recent study conducted on the stomachs of different shark species, certain changes were documented. The sharks are divided into three classes according to size i.e. smallest, medium-sized and largest class.

The sharks (smallest class) measuring up to 6.5 feet (2 metres) prey on telesot fishes for 90 percent of their diet. No evidence of sea turtle and marine mammals were found in this class.
These sharks (medium-sized class) measuring between 6.5 to 10 feet (2 and 3 metres) prey on telesot for 80 percent of their diet. Besides, 35 percent of their food consists of crustaceans. Less than 10 percent of these preyed on sea turtles and less than 5 percent on marine mammals.
The largest class of sharks measuring up to 10 feet (3 metres), rely 40 percent on telesost fish, 40 percent on sharks and rays (elasmobranchs) and 30 percent on crustaceans. About 25 percent of these sharks also fed on birds, 15 percent on sea turtles and less than 10 percent on marine mammals.