Tiger sharks are solitary except during the mating seasons or while communally feeding when a loose social hierarchy is followed, allowing larger, more dominant sharks to feed before smaller ones.
Tiger sharks are solitary except during the mating seasons or while communally feeding on large carcasses.
While communally feeding on carcasses, sharks give off signals signifying dominance and thus the order in which they feed. During these group feedings, tiger sharks have a loose social hierarchy where larger sharks feed first. Smaller sharks circle around the carcass until the larger sharks are full, then move in to feed. Violence is minimal during these scavenging feasts.
• Image | ©️ Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument, Some Rights Reserved (CC BY-NC 2.0)
• Sources | (Draper, 2011; Essapian, 1962; Gruber & Myrberg, Jr., 1977; Heithaus, 2001; Kalmijn, 2000; Kneebone, Natanson, Andrews, & Howell, 2008; Tang & Newbound, 2004; Thomson & Simanek, 1977)
