---
title: "Tiger Shark (Galeocerdo cuvier) | AnimalTracks.wiki"
description: "A shark with a reputation for eating almost anything, serrated teeth that can pierce sea turtle shells, and a habit of hunting at night."
image: "https://animaltracks.wiki/images/animals/tiger-shark-1.webp"
published: "2026-09-01"
updated: "2026-09-16"
---
# Tiger Shark (*Galeocerdo cuvier*)
> **Status**: Checked against 8 sources, listed under Sources below.
> **Tagline**: A shark with a reputation for eating almost anything, serrated teeth that can pierce sea turtle shells, and a habit of hunting at night.
> **Soundtrack Vibe**: Industrial Rock & Cyberpunk // Ministry, "N.W.O."
> **Soundtrack Links**: [Spotify](https://open.spotify.com/track/2D9LxUcR9zWxQtxiHsMA0n)
> **Vibe Match**: Frenetic industrial metal tempo and grinding samples, for serrated teeth that saw chunks from much larger animals with a back-and-forth shake of the head.
## Biological Superpowers & Stats
- **Taxonomy**: *Galeocerdo cuvier*
- **Danger Level**: Deadly
- **Conservation Status**: Near Threatened ([IUCN Red List](https://doi.org/10.2305/iucn.uk.2019-1.rlts.t39378a2913541.en))
- **Superpower**: Deeply notched, serrated teeth that, with a saw-like shake of the head, tear chunks from much larger animals and can pierce sea turtle shells
- **Habitat**: Tropical and temperate seas worldwide except the Mediterranean, generally preferring murky coastal waters; common in river estuaries and harbors, and found around the lagoons and coral atolls of oceanic islands
- **Diet**: Sea turtles, rays, other sharks, bony fish, sea birds, dolphins, squid, crustaceans and carrion, plus garbage, often found in sharks caught in harbors
- **Tags**: shark, coral-reef, apex-predator, solitary-hunter
## Natural History & Behavior
## An Appetite for Almost Anything
The tiger shark has a reputation for eating almost anything. One large female caught in the Red Sea held two empty cans, a plastic bottle, two burlap sacks, a squid, and a 20 cm fish. Garbage dumped into harbors and river inlets often turns up in the stomachs of sharks caught there. Its usual prey, which varies by region, includes sea turtles, rays, other sharks, bony fish, sea birds, dolphins, squid, crustaceans and carrion.
Tiger sharks commonly reach 3.25 to 4.25 m long and weigh 385 to 635 kg. The largest reach over 5.5 m and are estimated to weigh over 900 kg. In a Hawaii tagging program, sharks over 450 cm long were very rare: just 2 of 420 captured. Vertebrae from tiger sharks caught off Western Australia were aged up to 31 years old in females and 21 in males.
## Saw-Edged Teeth
Each tooth has curved cusps, finely serrated edges and a deep notch on the outer margin, and teeth in the upper and lower jaws are similarly shaped. Combined with a saw-like shake of the head, those teeth tear chunks from much larger animals, and they can pierce the shells of sea turtles. Lab tests on tiger shark and shortfin mako teeth found the mineral in them is fluoroapatite, and the hard outer layer is about six times harder than the dentin beneath it. The same study found that each tooth's job, tearing for the mako and cutting for the tiger shark, is set by its shape rather than its chemistry.
## Hunting by Stealth
A tiger shark most likely relies on stealth rather than strength and speed to catch prey, and its camouflage lets it get within striking range. If prey flees, it may back off instead of chasing at high speed, but it can manage a short burst of speed once prey is within range. Sensing organs called ampullae of Lorenzini, on the end of its snout, detect electromagnetic signals given off by fish. It feeds mainly at night, moving further inshore and closer to the surface.
> **A Nose for Open Water** A study of 58 species of sharks, rays and their relatives measured the olfactory bulbs, the part of the brain that receives signals from the smell nerve. Relative to the rest of the brain, the largest bulbs belonged to open-water sharks, especially migratory species such as the great white and the tiger shark.
Tiger sharks are solitary except during mating season or while feeding together on a large carcass. At those feeds, larger sharks eat first in a loose pecking order, and violence is minimal.
## A Wide Range Under Pressure
Tiger sharks live in tropical and temperate waters around the world, except the Mediterranean Sea. They are commonly found in river estuaries, harbors and other inlets, and around the lagoons and coral atolls of oceanic islands. Often seen at the surface, they have been reported at depths of 350 m. They move into temperate waters in warmer months and return to the tropics for winter.
Queensland, Australia, has run shark-control nets and baited drumlines since 1962, and the program grew to span 1,760 km of coast. Tiger shark catch rates there were relatively stable until the early 1990s, then fell 74% over the next 25 years. The IUCN lists the tiger shark as Near Threatened.
## Frequently Asked Questions
### What do tiger sharks eat?
Tiger sharks have a reputation for eating almost anything. One large female caught in the Red Sea held two empty cans, a plastic bottle, two burlap sacks, a squid, and a 20 cm fish, and garbage dumped into harbors and river inlets often turns up in the stomachs of sharks caught there. Their usual prey, which varies by region, includes sea turtles, rays, other sharks, bony fish, sea birds, dolphins, squid, crustaceans and carrion. *(Source: [Florida Museum of Natural History, Discover Fishes]())*
### What makes tiger shark teeth so good at cutting?
Lab tests on tiger shark and shortfin mako teeth found the hard outer layer is about six times harder than the dentin beneath it. But the job each tooth does, tearing for the mako and cutting for the tiger shark, is set by its shape rather than what it is made of. *(Source: [Enax et al. 2012]())*
### Do tiger sharks keep their stripes their whole lives?
Not at full strength. Tiger sharks are born with tiger-like stripes on their back, and the stripes fade as they grow older. *(Source: [Animal Diversity Web, University of Michigan]())*
### Are tiger shark numbers falling?
In Queensland, Australia, yes. Catch rates of tiger sharks in the state's shark-control nets and drumlines stayed relatively stable from the early 1960s to the early 1990s, then dropped 74% over the following 25 years. Worldwide, the IUCN Red List classifies the tiger shark as Near Threatened. *(Source: [Roff et al. 2018]())*
## Sources
1. [Galeocerdo cuvier (tiger shark). Animal Diversity Web, University of Michigan.]()
2. [Galeocerdo cuvier. Florida Museum of Natural History, Discover Fishes.]()
3. [Emmons et al. (2021). Age and growth of tiger shark (Galeocerdo cuvier) from Western Australia. Marine and Freshwater Research.]()
4. [Ferreira & Simpfendorfer (2019). Galeocerdo cuvier. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2019: e.T39378A2913541.]()
5. [Enax et al. (2012). Structure, composition, and mechanical properties of shark teeth. Journal of Structural Biology.]()
6. [Meyer et al. (2014). Growth and Maximum Size of Tiger Sharks (Galeocerdo cuvier) in Hawaii. PLoS ONE.]()
7. [Roff et al. (2018). Decline of coastal apex shark populations over the past half century. Communications Biology.]()
8. [Yopak, Lisney & Collin (2014). Not all sharks are "swimming noses": variation in olfactory bulb size in cartilaginous fishes. Brain Structure and Function.]()
*Published September 1, 2026. Last updated September 16, 2026.*
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