Tiger sharks

Hi guys,

What's the deal with tiger sharks?

Most places you look, they're rated second only to whites as man-eating nasties, but I see heaps of pix of divers getting super close to tigers without any protective gear. Nobody goes near a white without a cage.

Are there certains times when they are safe?

In a few weeks I'm going to the barrier reef (again) and we occaisionally spot tigers from the boat, but usually avoid diving near them. But I'd love to get a photo of one if it were not so dangerous...

thx

Most of the Tiger shots you see posted are from the Bahamas. They are taken all throughout the year. As for a safe time or, are they safe, you need to approach all wild animals with caution. It also helps to recognize when they are displaying signs of agression. (Not when they bite you) Sharks do feed at night and I was told on our recent trip that it seems when the sun goes down it becomes the witching hour. A shark that was passive can start to bump divers etc.

I would talk to locals with more knowlwedge of the area.

Personally I have found the larger sharks to be quite cautious of divers. It's the reef sharks and their pack mentality that causes me to heighten my awareness.

I agree with Todd, and I wouldn't dive with Tiger sharks during dusk/dawn, but I think it is fine during the day. I don't know of a single case of a tiger shark attacking a diver.

Most tiger shark attacks are to swimmers and surfers in murky water. They are opportunistic feeders, and will bite anything that is in the surface. Sometimes they go almost outside of the water in beaches to grab birds. Great White sharks are different, they feed almost exlusively on mammals, so theoretically we are "officially" part of their diet. Also, great whites don't usually approach divers, so most great white sigthings involve lots of bait and blood in the water. In a similar situation I wouldn't approach a tiger either.

As Todd said, most tiger shark photos are from the Bahamas. They are common there, and usually found without the need for bait in the water. With no bait or blood in the water they are much more relaxed.

Luiz

They're also doing dives with tigers isans cages in South Africa, near Durban. Some of the pix you've seen posted are probably from there as well.

Frogfish

I tend to agree with Todd and Rocha's input. But perhaps still caution against feeling totally "Safe" when diving with them. I did see the Tigers grab the DM's fin but then also saw on of the Reef sharks grab at one of Todd's fins as well.

The most uncomfortable part of our Tiger dives for me was a relativley small but antsy little Reef shark that kept approaching me quite quickly.

As for diving in the evening with a Tiger, I've done that. And lived to tell the tale...Right Todd

Rand

Before I say anything: you should know that I work for Jim Abernethy's Scuba Adventures (www.scuba-adventures.com) so I am probably biased. That being said, we specialize in shark expeditions, and if you want ot reliably dive with tiger sharks without the use of a cage, the bahamas are the best place in the world to do so. The tiger sharks have a bad reputation, but are very safe to dive with. As with any animal encounter, it is important to be aware of the animal's behavior. That being said, there has never been an attack by a tiger shark on a diver who wasn't spearfishing. Most attacks are on surface swimmers/surfers, which appear similar to the main items in tiger shark diets, which are air breathing marine life such as turtles and dolphins. Underwater (especially on the bottom) tiger sharks are extremely cautious.

At dusk, the behavior of the sharks does change - they are more active. It can still be safe to dive with them - I have been in the water many times in the evening, and have done several night tiger shark dives. It's all a matter of how the sharks are handled by the dive crew - if you are going to pursue cageless diving with large sharks, make sure you go with a reliable operation with a good safety record. Your dive operation should have a crew member in the water at all times that there is any bait in the water, to make sure that it is handled safely and the sharks' behavior is monitored. Many people on this site can make recommendations about good diving operations for shark observation. Good luck in pursuing this interest.

I tend to agree with Todd and Rocha's input. But perhaps still caution against feeling totally "Safe" when diving with them. I did see the Tigers grab the DM's fin but then also saw on of the Reef sharks grab at one of Todd's fins as well.

 

The most uncomfortable part of our Tiger dives for me was a relativley small but antsy little Reef shark that kept approaching me quite quickly.

 

As for diving in the evening with a Tiger, I've done that. And lived to tell the tale...Right Todd

 

Rand

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Ahh yes, a short but quality experience. I don't remember which Olympics you swam the 100m in again?

Before I say anything: you should know that I work for Jim Abernethy's Scuba Adventures (www.scuba-adventures.com) so I am probably biased. That being said, we specialize in shark expeditions, and if you want ot reliably dive with tiger sharks without the use of a cage, the bahamas are the best place in the world to do so. The tiger sharks have a bad reputation, but are very safe to dive with. As with any animal encounter, it is important to be aware of the animal's behavior. That being said, there has never been an attack by a tiger shark on a diver who wasn't spearfishing. Most attacks are on surface swimmers/surfers, which appear similar to the main items in tiger shark diets, which are air breathing marine life such as turtles and dolphins. Underwater (especially on the bottom) tiger sharks are extremely cautious.

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Jim Abernathy's Scuba Adventures does a great job in providing safe and exciting shark encounters. This was trom this summer's trip to West End, Grand Bahama.

Here's the 100% crop, showing how truly close the sharks come to the photographer.

Yep pretty close and I loved it!

Todd,

Did you get her number?

Joe

Tigers are sharks that grow to a large size and have a disposition towards indiscriminate biting due to a variety fo things that have been removed from their stomachs. In a dive situation where there are several divers, all blowing bubbles, the tigers will most likely act hesitant. They rely on ambush attacks (their coloring helps them blend into water) and if they know you see them they will usually act fairly docile. I have handled and tagged many tigers as part of a NMFS project in Bimini, Bahamas and while you should respect them you dont need to fear them...

PS - swimming a 10ft tiger in the dark with my bare hands is definitely a rush but one I wouldn't want to do many times...

cheers!

- MP

My perception is that people in the Pacific are more afraid of tiger sharks than people in the Caribbean and Red Sea. I wonder if they behave differently?

Cheers

James

Last year we found a dead pilot whale an the beach in West Caicos,it was there for few days,couple of days after we discovered about three tiguer sharks swimming around it.We thought about getting in the water with scuba guear and try to take some photos but we change our mind afterwe saw the size of some of these guys I think the were a little upset because the pilot whale was just outside the water.Finally one of the local dive operations put the death carcass in the water and I heard after was that one of the tiger sharks bit the prop of the dive boat.

I have a lot of respect for these sharks but at the same time I would love to get the chance to be in the water with them

Regards

David

James, the tigers are known man eaters in the pacific (well what's left of the shark population anyways). I've only seen tiger sharks off the coasts of Australia, Vanuatu/Solomons islands, PNG and of course Hawaii.

I don't know if behavior is ocean specific. For instance, the tigers off the west coast of australia near Coral Bay are skittish. I ran into one while trying to shoot a dugong. They don't hang around.

On the other side of the indian ocean, the tigersharks are regularly fed at Aliwal Shoal for divers. But they don't just hang out at the feeding zone. So they will swim up to divers thinking they'll be hand fed tuna or sardine. I knew that but apparently one of the divers I was with didn't and panicked and did an emergency ascent. The diver survived unscathed but imagine when a 16ft tiger shark approaches a diver right up to his head and opens the mouth. Apparently, lotsa newbie spearos in the area fly out of the water due to Betsy and her friends being too neighborly.

As for prop attacks, sharks regularly go for the galvanic discharge of props. I had a friend who was "using the facilities" at the back end of the boat when a shark hit the props. Suffice to say the boat had to be cleaned.

Best example of what would happen if they did decide to nibble on you... I saw a little 8 ft tiger chomp a hawksbill turtle in half at the shell off Vanuatu. And my old VH1000 has marks of an inquisitive tiger bite, which I willingly relinquished until he was done chewing on his treat.

And my old VH1000 has marks of an inquisitive tiger bite, which I willingly relinquished until he was done chewing on his treat.

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Another good reason to have a big aluminum housing for D2X or 1DsMkII series and big strobes with long arms

I am kind of curious about shark behavior in different water as well. I always heard that bullsharks are also rather unpredictable but all reports of bullshark encounter by divers in the Gulf of Thailand (rather rare nowaday but some people do claim frequent sighting around Chumporn Pinnacle, not that I ever saw one!) are that they are quite skittish and nothing to worry about.

At san benadicto in 92 when we spotted Tigers tank diving-We told the free diving bluewater tuna spearfisherman- names like Terry Mass and others-they got out of the water. Just a feeling but we got as well. The area the food sources and the light all play a huge roll in what the sharks will do. The more you know the better you will be as to when to swim with sharks. Mark

Here's a fun clip of a tiger and a freediver

Tiger Shark Buzz

I clicked on that link (from Scubed) and to my surprise....I was on that trip! Guess I might as well fill you in. The diver was Stephen Wong, a photographer from Hong Kong. In late 2001, he joined our group of freedive spearfisherman on a trip to the Coral Sea in hopes of getting some photos of tigers.

He was right to sign on with a group of bluewater hunters. We usually see tigers daily while hunting tuna. Stephen was used to scuba diving but we talked him into giving freediving a try for getting close to the tiger sharks. He took to freediving quite well and was doing dives to 60 feet before long.

After dripping a little bit of tuna oil into the water and setting a few fish carcasses on the bottom, we eventually had a very large tiger shark show up. Stephen started freediving down and getting pictures. This shark was the fattest tiger I have ever seen. The thing looked pregnant it was so fat.

After several freedives to the bottom, Stephen started for the surface. The shark, which seemed to ignore him previously, suddenly took notice. In the film, Stephen does not notice the shark turning at him at first. When you see Stephen start to swim like crazy.....that is when he sees the tiger shark coming at him!

The cameraman was Andy Ruddock, a long time champion Australian freediver with a typically Australian sense of humor. He never missed a second of the encounter with the video camera and frankly, I think he secretly hoped to get some "more exciting" footage!

Most of my tiger shark encounters have been while bluewater hunting. I have never lost a tuna to a tiger but some of my buddies have. One time, I put the tuna gun down and grabbed my digital camera to get some shots of a 14 foot tiger shark cruising over the bottom of a reef. I never felt comfortable with only a camera between me and the tiger shark. I have never been chased out of the water by a tiger but one tried to eat a friend of mine freediving in Mexico.

Joe Tobin

In Umkomaas, SA (Indian Ocean), I chartered Mark Addison's operation (excellent) to photograph tiger sharks, seasonal visitors to the area, Aliwal Shoals. The dives were done as a drift, in open water with no bottom. The bait was just below the surface and my safety diver and I were the only ones in the water. He had fins and mask, on the surface, and I was on scuba, below. The RIB drifted nearby, never far away - maybe 40ft.

In the beginning, the sharks were ok, manageable. As the afternoon wore on, they became bolder and more competitive among themselves. On several occasions, the safety diver had to quickly dive down (reason for him not using scuba) and literally push the sharks away from me (pictured). Soon thereafter, we were "pinned" on the surface (imagine that) and were not able to dive deeper than 3-4ft. without having a shark approach us. The spooky thing was after being pushed away, the tigers would turn around and come right back, not fast, but slow and very determined. Reminded me of the Pac Man video game.

The diver (I think Stephen was his name) at one point told me we should get out of the water and back on the boat. I didn't argue.

regards,

mpo