Tiger shark: Difference between revisions

The tiger shark commonly attains adult length of {{convert|3.5|to(-)|4.7|m|ftin|0|abbr=on}} and weighs between {{cvt|300|and|900|kg|lb|-2}}.<ref>{{cite journal |url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/259701582 |doi=10.1371/journal.pone.0084799|doi-access=free |title=Growth and Maximum Size of Tiger Sharks (Galeocerdo cuvier) in Hawaii |year=2014 |last1=Meyer |first1=Carl G. |last2=O'Malley |first2=Joseph M. |last3=Papastamatiou |first3=Yannis P. |last4=Dale |first4=Jonathan J. |last5=Hutchinson |first5=Melanie R. |last6=Anderson |first6=James M. |last7=Royer |first7=Mark A. |last8=Holland |first8=Kim N. |journal=PLOS ONE |volume=9 |issue=1 |pages=e84799 |pmid=24416287 |pmc=3885620 |bibcode=2014PLoSO...984799M }}</ref><ref name="auto">{{cite journal |author1=Michael R. Heithaus, Aaron J. Wirsing, Jordan A. Thomson, Derek A. Burkholder |title=A review of lethal and non-lethal effects of predators on adult marine turtles |journal=Journal of Experimental Marine Biology and Ecology |date=2008 |volume=356 |issue=1-21–2 |pages=43–51 |url=https://www.academia.edu/download/42215993/A_review_of_lethal_and_non-lethal_effect20160206-21141-bbfvq6.pdf |publisher=Elsevier |doi=10.1016/j.jembe.2007.12.013 |bibcode=2008JEMBE.356...43H }}{{Dead link|date=August 2024 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref> The [[International Game Fish Association]]'s all-tackle record is {{cvt|810|kg|lb}}.<ref>{{cite web |title=IGFA Member Services |url=https://igfa.org/member-services/world-record/common-name/Shark,%20tiger |website=igfa.org}}</ref> It is [[Sexual dimorphism|sexually dimorphic]], with females being the larger sex. Mature females are often over {{convert|3.7|m|ftin|0|abbr=on}} while mature males rarely get that large.<ref name=flmnh/><ref>Marin-Osorno, R., Ezcurra, J. M., & O’Sullivan, J. B. (2017). ''Husbandry of the Tiger shark, Galeocerdo cuvier, at the Acuario de Veracruz, México''. The elasmobranch husbandry manual II: Recent advances in the care of sharks, rays and their relatives, 23–32.</ref><ref name= Meyer>Meyer, C. G., O'Malley, J. M., Papastamatiou, Y. P., Dale, J. J., Hutchinson, M. R., Anderson, J. M., Royer, M. A. & Holland, K. N. (2014). ''Growth and maximum size of tiger sharks (Galeocerdo cuvier) in Hawaii''. PLoS One, 9(1), e84799.</ref><ref>Randall, J. E. (1986). ''Sharks of Arabia''. University of California.</ref> Exceptionally large females reportedly can measure over {{convert|5|m|ftin|0|abbr=on}}, and the largest males {{convert|4|m|ftin|0|abbr=on}}. Weights of particularly large female tiger sharks can exceed {{convert|1300|kg|lb|abbr=on}}.<ref name= Meyer/><ref>Hinman, B. (2015). ''Keystone Species That Live in the Sea and Along the Coastline''. Mitchell Lane Publishers, Inc.</ref><ref>Ramirez, F., & Davenport, T. L. (2013). ''Elasmobranchs from marine and freshwater environments in Colombia: A review''. Current Politics and Economics of South and Central America, 6(4), 483.</ref><ref name="auto"/> One pregnant female caught off Australia reportedly measured {{convert|5.5|m|ftin|0|abbr=on}} long and weighed {{convert|1524|kg|lb|abbr=on}}. Even larger unconfirmed catches have been claimed.<ref name=Wood>{{cite book |last=Wood |first=Gerald |title=The Guinness Book of Animal Facts and Feats |year=1983 |publisher=Guinness Superlatives |isbn=978-0-85112-235-9 |url-access=registration |url=https://archive.org/details/guinnessbookofan00wood }}</ref> Some papers have accepted a record of an exceptional {{convert|7.4|m|ftin|adj=on}}, {{Convert|3110|kg|lb|adj=on}} tiger shark, but since this is far larger than any scientifically observed specimen, verification would be needed.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Simpfendorfer |first1=C. A. |last2=Goodreid |first2=A. B. |last3=McAuley |first3=R. B. |year=2001 |title=Size, sex and geographic variation in the diet of the tiger shark, Galeocerdo cuvier, from Western Australian waters |journal=Environmental Biology of Fishes |volume=61 |issue=1 |pages=37–46 |doi=10.1023/A:1011021710183 |bibcode=2001EnvBF..61...37S |s2cid=39996373 }}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last1=Tobuni |first1=I. M. |last2=Benabdallah |first2=B. A. R. |last3=Serena |first3=F. |last4=Shakman |first4=E. A. |year=2016 |title=First documented presence of Galeocerdo cuvier (Péron & Lesueur, 1822) ({{sc|Elasmobranchii}}, {{sc|Carcharhinidae}}) in the Mediterranean basin (Libyan waters) |journal=Marine Biodiversity Records |volume=9 |issue=1 |pages=94 |doi=10.1186/s41200-016-0089-3 |doi-access=free }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Galeocerdo cuvier, Tiger shark : fisheries, gamefish |url=https://www.fishbase.se/summary/886 |website=www.fishbase.se}}</ref> A 2019 study suggested that [[Pliocene]] tiger sharks could have reached {{convert|8|m|ft|abbr=on}} in maximum length.<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Pimiento|first1=C.|last2=Cantalapiedra|first2=J.L.|last3=Shimada|first3=K.|last4=Field|first4=D.J.|last5=Smaers|first5=J.B.|year=2019|title=Evolutionary pathways toward gigantism in sharks and rays|journal=Evolution|volume=73|issue=3|pages=588–599|doi=10.1111/evo.13680|pmid=30675721|s2cid=59224442|issn=1558-5646|url=https://cronfa.swan.ac.uk/Record/cronfa48696/Download/0048696-05022019162842.pdf }}</ref> There is variation in the speed of growth rates of juvenile tiger sharks depending on the region they inhabit, with some growing close to twice as fast as others.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Meyer |first1=Carl G. |last2=O'Malley |first2=Joseph M. |last3=Papastamatiou |first3=Yannis P. |last4=Dale |first4=Jonathan J. |last5=Hutchinson |first5=Melanie R. |last6=Anderson |first6=James M. |last7=Royer |first7=Mark A. |last8=Holland |first8=Kim N. |date=2014-01-08 |title=Growth and Maximum Size of Tiger Sharks (Galeocerdo cuvier) in Hawaii |journal=PLOS ONE |volume=9 |issue=1 |pages=e84799 |doi=10.1371/journal.pone.0084799 |pmid=24416287 |pmc=3885620 |bibcode=2014PLoSO...984799M |issn=1932-6203 |doi-access=free }}</ref>

Between 1959 and 20001976, 4,668 tiger sharks were [[culling|culled]] in the state of Hawaii in an effort to protect the [[tourism]] industry.{{Where|date=October 2023}} <ref>https://www.himb.hawaii.edu/ReefPredator/Tiger%20Shark%20Active%20Tracking.htm</ref>Despite damaging the shark population, these efforts were shown to be ineffective in decreasing the number of interactions between humans and tiger sharks. Feeding sharks in Hawaii (except for traditional Hawaiian cultural or religious practices) is illegal,<ref name=Hawaii_Statutes/><ref name=WPRFMC/> and interaction with them, such as [[Shark cage diving|cage diving]], is discouraged. South African shark behaviorist and shark diver Mark Addison demonstrated divers could interact and dive with them outside of a shark cage in a 2007 [[Discovery Channel]] special,<ref name=Donahue/> and underwater photographer [[Fiona Ayerst]] swam with them in [[the Bahamas]].<ref name=Donahue/><ref>[http://www.magazines.co.za/issue/200905201.html Riveting Shark Encounters: Fiona Ayerst recounts ... gentle tiger shark in the warm silky waters of the Bahamas] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140819090040/http://www.magazines.co.za/issue/200905201.html |date=2014-08-19 }}. Magazines.co.za (June/July 2009)</ref> At "Tiger Beach" off Grand Bahama, uncaged diving with – and even the handling of – female tiger sharks has become a routine occurrence.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.blueworldtv.com/webisodes/watch/tiger-shark-handling |title=Tiger shark handling |publisher=Jonathan Bird's Blue World |access-date=February 28, 2017 |archive-date=February 26, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170226050919/http://www.blueworldtv.com/webisodes/watch/tiger-shark-handling |url-status=live }}</ref>

Warming Atlantic Ocean currents have caused tiger shark migration paths to move further north, according to a University of Miami study.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Climate Change is Driving Tiger Sharks Into New Waters With Shocking Speed and Unknown Consequences |url=https://outrider.org/climate-change/articles/climate-change-driving-tiger-sharks-new-waters-shocking-speed-and-unknown |access-date=2024-01-31 |website=Outrider}}</ref>

The Tiger shark,sharks possess a unique significance as 'aumakua, revered as family guardians in Hawaiian culture. The Tiger shark, regarded as an intelligent and highly perceptive spiritual entity, assumes the role of a messenger bridging the gap between humans and the divine. In the Hawaiian belief system, 'aumakua take on various forms, either animals or objects, representing ancestral connections and manifestations of departed family members. This perspective underscores the intricate web of interdependence among plants, animals, elements, and humans, underscoring the imperative to honor and coexist harmoniously with nature.<ref>{{cite web |title=The Cultural Significance of Sharks in Hawaii |date=25 July 2023 |url=https://www.hawaiiactivities.com/travelguide/cultural-significance-sharks/ |publisher=Dimple}}</ref>