One Of The Ocean's Deadliest Apex Predators Lurks And Hunts In The Shallows

Thalassophobia is the clinical term for having an intense fear of deep, open bodies of water. But in some cases, there's plenty to fear in the shallow waters we like to hang out in when spending a day at the beach. And while many predators prefer not to be around humans, the tiger shark (Galeocerdo cuvier) isn't one of them. In fact, it's the shark with the most confirmed attacks on humans next to the great white, and is considered one of the most dangerous sharks of the sea.

With a dark, striped body that hides it in brackish water — and gives it its common name, but fades over time — the tiger shark hunts along coastlines around the world, though it's most often seen along the beaches of North and South America and around the top of Australia. It's often called a "garbage can with fins" because of the things that have been found in their stomachs: purses, wood, cans, plastic bags, you name it the tiger shark has most likely had it for lunch. 

If you ever spot a tiger shark, you might be fooled into thinking it's a slow shark you could outswim, as it's known to patrol the waters in a sluggish manner. But once it's found something to hunt, that sluggish glide turns into a powerful burst of energy, moving the shark to its intended target before it has a chance to flee.

Yes, tiger sharks are terrifying, but they're also a fascinating, misunderstood species the numbers of which are dwindling. What little we know of them is only thanks to the ones we've been able to study, and the fewer sharks we find, the more secrets that help us understand their selachian adaptations and behavior — for our protection and theirs — will be lost forever.

Here's what we know: We think they can grow as long as 7.5 meters or 24.6 feet. They live to around 12 years of age and have no real predators; other apex predators like orcas and other sharks will hunt them in open waters but not in the shallow depths tiger sharks prefer. Their litters can have up to 82 pups, and God help you if you come across a litter at night, because that's when they're most active. However, we think that most human attacks are accidents and relatively rare, averaging only one a year in the waters around Hawaii, which is one of their favorite spots. 

Tiger sharks are incredibly important for maintaining balance in their environment, keeping many other aquatic species populations under control. And though the IUCN Red List categorizes them as "Near Threatened" — a relatively low category of endangered species — we think their population has declined as much as 30% within the past 60 years, though researchers expect that number to rise even higher in the coming years if we don't intervene.