Page 462 - Mexico Diving From the Caribbean to Pacific Isles
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omewhat curious, this shark will not hesitate to curiously age of fatal attacks and is regarded as one of the most dangerous
shark species. They often visit shallow reefs, harbors, and canals,
S approach divers a few feet away only to scurry away shortly creating the potential for encounter with humans. The tiger shark
also dwells in river mouths and other runoff-rich water. While the
thereafter. They usually are found in the northern coast of Moorea tiger shark is considered to be one of the sharks most dangerous
at Tiki point, with the peculiarity of only female sittings. They are to humans, its attack rate is low. The tiger is second on the list of
also found mostly in the vicinity of the reef walls and outside in number of recorded attacks on humans, with the great white shark
the passes, from the surface to 100 meters in depth. being first. Whale Shark -
T iger Shark - The tiger shark is a relatively large macropreda- T he whale shark is a slow-moving filter feeding shark and the
tor, capable of attaining a length over 5 m (16 ft). It is found largest known fish. The largest confirmed individual had a
in many tropical and temperate waters, and it is especially com- length of 12.65 meters and a weight of more than 21.5 metric tons.
mon around central Pacific islands. Its name derives from the dark Unconfirmed reports of considerably larger whale sharks exist.
stripes down its body which resemble a tiger’s pattern, which fade Whale sharks can grow to the size of a bus. The whale shark holds
as the shark matures. The tiger shark is a solitary, mostly nocturnal many records for sheer size in the animal kingdom, most notably
hunter, and is notable for having the widest food spectrum of all being by far the largest living non-mammalian vertebrate, rivalling
sharks, consuming a variety of prey ranging from crustaceans, fish, many of the largest dinosaurs in weight. The species originated
seals, birds, squid, turtles, and sea snakes to dolphins and even about 60 million years ago. The whale shark is found in tropi-
other smaller sharks. The tiger shark has been known to eat ined- cal and warm oceans and lives in the open sea, with a lifespan of
ible manmade objects that linger in its stomach, and it has a repu- about 70 years.
tation as a “garbage eater”. The tiger shark is considered a near
threatened species due to finning and fishing by humans. The tiger
shark ranks in size only behind the whale shark, the basking shark,
the great white shark, and the great hammerhead. Due to high
risk of predatory attacks, dolphins often avoid regions inhabited
by tiger sharks. The tiger shark is responsible for a large percent-
