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They will often travel long distances to reach that prey, routinely travelling more than 4,600 miles (7,500km) on their annual round-trip journey from tropical coral reefs to the open waters of the mid-North Atlantic, and back again. One tiger shark even travelled an astonishing 27,340 miles (44,000km) as it completed a three-year circuit around the Atlantic.
When they reach a favourite feeding ground, tiger sharks save their energy wherever possible. At Raine Island, they prefer to scavenge on dead and dying turtles rather than actively hunt healthy individuals.
Carlos Diaz/ Ocean Image BankThis might sound like the stuff of nightmares for weakened turtles but, in doing this, the sharks prevent disease from spreading. Plus, by keeping turtle numbers in check, they protect seagrass from overgrazing – a crucial habitat for many marine species.
Natasha Marosi, a researcher at the University of Exeter, UK, and founder of the Fiji Shark Lab, regularly spends time getting to know the tiger sharks that frequent the seas around Fiji. Despite their fearsome reputation, she says, these sharks have personality.
Of her many encounters with these hardy sharks, Marosi says they leave her with a variety of feelings – from unsettled to awe struck.
"The individuals I have encountered have been uniquely different and exhibited different behaviours." A young female named Tsunami, she says, "is all sass and fire", while another named Jawgina channels "vulnerability and a warrior spirit simultaneously".
Similar stories come from the Bahamas, too, with divers observing that some of the Tiger Beach tiger sharks appear bold, while some seem shy. "I love spending time in the water surrounded by these extremely large apex predators," says Hammerschlag, whose previous research shows these sharks have complex social lives, and even favourite friends.
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