Buzz
Tiger sharks, along with other large and aggressive species like the bull shark and great white, have gained notoriety for consuming an astonishing variety of unsavory items. But when examining what’s inside their stomachs, the tiger shark (also known as 'the garbage bin of the ocean') stands out with its surprisingly non-discriminatory taste.
In the macabre list that follows, we won’t be discussing the sharks’ fondness for lifeless objects such as corroded license plates. Instead, we’re focusing on a shocking assortment of creatures from the animal kingdom that have ended up as shark meals.
10. An Entire Teacher
The International Shark Attack Files, the most extensive database on shark attacks, reports that there have been 2,866 confirmed unprovoked shark attacks worldwide since 1580. Western Australia is infamous for having the most dangerous waters, with the highest number of fatal shark attacks globally.
While shark attacks on humans remain relatively rare (with only 98 confirmed cases of unprovoked attacks in 2015), they do occur. One of the most chilling man-eating shark incidents took place off the coast of South Australia in February 2014.
28-year-old teacher Sam Kellett was freediving and spearfishing with friends near Edithburgh (close to Adelaide). According to eyewitnesses at the coroner's inquest into Kellett’s death, a shark attacked him and devoured him entirely. The only items found at the scene were his speargun and two lead weights.
9. Household Pets
Pet owners living in Australian coastal areas should stay vigilant, as there are numerous documented instances of dogs being attacked and consumed by sharks.
In his 1958 book, Shark Attack, Sir Victor Coppleson recounts the discovery of a bulldog's head and forelegs, still attached to a rope around its neck, found inside the stomach of a tiger shark captured in Sydney Harbour. He also mentions a case where a spaniel, complete with its collar, was found in the stomach of a tiger shark caught off Bondi Beach.
Sadly, the unpredictable paddling movements of dogs are believed to be one of the reasons sharks target them. However, one can't help but wonder if negligent dog owners play a role in their pets’ tragic end at the jaws of predators.
After all, both dogs in Coppleson’s accounts were wearing collars or leashes! Perhaps their owners should have been more aware of potential threats while enjoying the view along the beach, instead of letting their guard down.
8. A Tattooed Limb
Though many sharks have been known to attack humans and ingest body parts, one of the most notorious incidents took place in April 1935. A tiger shark captured off the coast of Australia fell ill within a week of being moved to Coogee Aquarium. The shark later vomited up the left forearm of a man, complete with a unique tattoo, shocking the small group of aquarium visitors.
Fingerprint analysis—and confirmation of the tattoo's identity by his wife and brother—revealed that the severed arm belonged to a minor criminal named Jim Smith, who had been missing for several weeks. A further investigation of the limb showed that it had been cut off with a knife, rather than being ripped off by the shark itself.
This triggered a murder investigation. Ultimately, Patrick Brady, a convicted forger, was arrested and charged with Smith’s murder. However, Brady’s defense attorney claimed there was insufficient evidence for a conviction, arguing that the arm “did not constitute a body” and that Jim Smith, minus his arm, could still be alive!
The infamous case, dubbed “The Shark Arm Case,” later inspired several books, including The Shark Arm Case by Vince Kelly and The Shark Arm Murders by Alex Castles.
Despite numerous theories, the mystery surrounding the tattooed arm remains unsolved.
7. Cattle
It appears that sharks have a taste for beef, as cows and other livestock occasionally find their way onto the menu.
One notable event, captured on video in October 2016, shows underwater footage of a tiger shark devouring a horned zebu cow in the Indian Ocean. The video was uploaded to YouTube and quickly picked up by news outlets worldwide.
6. Crocodiles
Tiger sharks certainly have hearty appetites and aren’t shy about going for larger meals. It’s no surprise that they sometimes enjoy the occasional saltwater crocodile.
In 2013, when a massive crocodile head washed up on a beach in Saint Lucia, South Africa, locals immediately suspected it had been the victim of a shark attack. As photos quickly spread online, people began speculating about the crocodile's fate. The cleanly severed head and visible tooth marks supported the theory that the croc had been targeted by a great white shark.
In the competition of top predators, however, large saltwater crocodiles are far more likely to overpower sharks, especially in shallower waters.
In August 2014, a group of tourists in the Northern Territory witnessed Brutus, the infamous Adelaide river crocodile, crushing a bull shark in his jaws. After a brief struggle, Brutus, who was estimated to be 5.5 meters (18 ft) long and over 80 years old, defeated the shark and disappeared beneath the water’s surface with it.
Brutus was later spotted disappearing into the nearby mangroves with the shark still clenched in its jaws.
5. Birds
The tiger shark’s love for seafaring birds is well-known. However, land birds and songbirds have also been found in sharks’ stomachs, including yellow-billed cuckoos, mourning doves, wood thrushes, and Bahama yellowthroats.
The discovery of sharks consuming terrestrial birds came from Marcus Drymon, a researcher at Dauphin Island Sea Lab in Alabama. During a routine shark tagging session, Drymon observed a tiger shark expel some feathers. He was fairly certain the feathers came from land birds, not seabirds, which led to further investigation into the dietary habits of sharks by Drymon and his team.
Over the course of the next two years, the researchers examined the stomachs of 50 tiger sharks and found bird remains, including feathers, beaks, and feet, in about half of them. Further analysis confirmed that some of the bird parts came from land birds, as Drymon had suspected, with remains from meadowlarks, tanagers, and woodpeckers being identified.
So how did land birds end up as part of the tiger sharks’ diet? One theory points to offshore oil rigs in the Gulf of Mexico as the culprit. Each year, hundreds of migrating birds are killed when they crash into the oil rigs.
Studies suggest that the birds are disoriented by the lights on the oil rigs, causing them to collide with them or become exhausted and fall into the water. This provides an easy meal for predators like tiger sharks. Some scientists theorize that the sharks have learned to hunt in areas where birds are abundant, which helps explain why so many sharks in the region have land bird remains in their stomachs.
However, the oil rig theory doesn't explain one strange land bird–eating incident. When a tiger shark’s stomach contents were examined, the remains of several chickens were found... along with their chicken coop!
4. Polar Bear Remains
In 2008, while examining the growing number of harbor seal deaths, researchers made a startling discovery: the remains of a polar bear inside the stomach of a Greenland shark, one of two sleeper shark species found in the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard.
Further examination of the shark’s stomach revealed the absence of typical scavengers, like organisms that usually infest decaying meat. This led the scientists to speculate that the Greenland shark may have attacked and killed the young polar bear. However, shark experts leaned toward the theory that the shark had consumed the bear’s already-dead body.
3. Sharks
Sharks are cannibals! Tiger sharks, in particular, include smaller sharks as part of their regular diet.
In January 2016, astonishing footage captured a 2.2-meter (7.2 ft) tiger shark devouring a banded houndshark at the COEX Aquarium in Seoul, South Korea. The video shows the tiger shark swallowing the smaller shark whole, with only the tip of its tail still visible in the tiger shark’s mouth. Several amazed visitors watched the incident unfold.
The aquarium's PR manager, Oh Tae-youp, suggested that the tiger shark likely bit the other shark out of surprise when it accidentally collided with the banded houndshark in its own territory.
2. Dolphin
Larger sharks, including tiger sharks, bull sharks, and the great white, are known to hunt smaller dolphin species, with some attacks even caught on film. Research into the feeding patterns and behaviors of tiger sharks has also found dolphin remains in their stomachs.
However, dolphins don’t just sit back and become prey. They view sharks as one of their natural adversaries. If a shark enters a dolphin’s territory, the dolphins often work together, surrounding any weak or injured member of their pod. Then, they fight back by charging the sharks, often targeting their gills with powerful nose rams, injuring or killing the predators.
1. Venomous Snakes
If you're planning a swim in Shark Bay, Western Australia, keep your guard up. The bay not only has a sizable population of tiger sharks, but it's also home to numerous other shark species and at least six types of venomous sea snake.
Even though sea snakes are extremely venomous, species like the olive-headed sea snake and the bar-bellied sea snake are frequent meals for tiger sharks, which are immune to their venom.
