Minnesota Zoo - Animals - Sand Tiger Shark

The sand tiger shark pups hatch from their eggs within the mother’s body. They are already close to three feet in length when they are born and swim freely.

Overview
Fun Facts
Behind the Scenes
Detailed Information
Conservation

Animal Bites
Length: 7-9 feet
Life Span: 13 years or more
Average Weight: 250-300 lbs

Conservation Status
Vulnerable

Where at the Zoo
Discovery Bay

Habitat
Ocean

Taxonomic Category
Fish
Carnivore

Where in the World
Africa
Asia
Australia
Central America & Caribbean
Europe
India
North America
South America

Sand Tiger Shark
Carcharias taurus

What They Eat
A habit of hovering with little movement in the water makes the sand tiger shark a great ambush hunter. They are also known to form small groups (shark groups are called shivers) while pursuing larger schools of fish. Bony fish, smaller sharks, lobsters, squid and crabs are all potential prey.

Where They Live
Sand tiger sharks inhabit warm, shallow, coastal waters around several countries, including the Atlantic coast of the United States. They are notably absent from the eastern Pacific. These sharks swim throughout the water column but spend the majority of their time near sandy bottoms and rocky reefs.

What They Do
These fish swim with their mouths agape, revealing up to 94 teeth, which has earned them the alternative name of ragged-tooth sharks. Despite their fearsome, toothy appearance, sand tiger sharks are not aggressive sharks and very rarely attack unless they have been intentionally provoked.

How They’re Doing
Although sand tiger sharks have a wide distribution globally, they are listed as vulnerable to extinction. Certain subpopulations near Australia are critically endangered. This shark is occasionally hunted as a food fish, caught for sport, and caught unintentionally as bycatch. It gives birth to only one or two pups at a time every two years, which makes it particularly vulnerable and slow to recover.

Sand Tiger Shark

Instead of having a single uterus, female sharks have two (plural: uteri). As sand tiger shark pups develop in their mother’s uteri, the largest ones eat their own siblings. A female may have up to 23 fertilized eggs at the start, but only one or two pups survive.
Sand tiger sharks are able to stay nearly motionless in the water by gulping air. They retain this air in their stomach where it keeps them close to neutrally buoyant. Sand tigers are the only sharks known to do this.
Sharks are classified as fish, but unlike the fish you are most likely to find on your dinner plate, sharks have no bones. Instead their skeleton is made up if cartilage, the same flexible material you have in your nose and ears.
Sharkskin is rough and similar to sandpaper in texture. This is because the skin is made up of scale-like teeth called dermal denticles.

Sand Tiger Shark

The shark tank was constructed in 1996 and holds approximately 200,000 gallons of salt water. Its purpose is to hold large sharks. It is a rough oval shape, 60 feet wide and 30 feet front to back. The front viewing is elevated off the bottom to a 12 foot depth, while the rear portion is deeper at approximately 16 feet. The front half of the viewing area represents a Caribbean tropical reef.

Guests often ask if the sharks prey upon the other fish in the tank. While predators can’t be stopped from doing what they do naturally, zookeepers try to reduce the predation as much as possible by selecting fish to display that can compete with the sharks. The other exhibit fish are either fast swimming, taste bad, grow to a size that is difficult for sharks to eat, or have scales that are difficult for sharks to bite through. The sharks are offered a diet of fish three days a week. This frequency helps reduce the shark’s hunger, and reduces the hunting of tank residents.

Shark feedings are viewable to the public and take place at 11:30 AM every Monday, Wednesday, and Saturday. The other fish in the shark exhibit are offered food every day starting at 11:30 AM.

Sand Tiger Shark

Range:
The sand tiger shark is found along the Atlantic Coast of the United States from the Gulf of Maine to Florida, as well as the Atlantic coast of several Central and South American Countries. It is found along much of the West Coast of Africa, as well as South Africa and large areas within the Indian Ocean. It has been located off the coast of India and is hunted as a food fish in the waters off Japan. The most critically-endangered subpopulations of this shark are found near Australia.   In some areas of the world, sand tiger sharks migrate seasonally into cooler waters. This migration may be tied to their breeding cycle.

Description:
Sand tigers average 7-9 feet in length but occasionally measure 10 feet. They swim with open mouths and have protruding teeth that give them a snaggle-toothed appearance. Their small eyes lack eyelids.   These sharks are typically grey or light brown on the back, occasionally with darker spots, and have a pale underside.

Diet:
Sand tiger sharks eat a variety of fish, rays, smaller sharks, lobsters, crab and squid.

Reproduction:
Sexual maturity occurs when the sand tiger shark is about 6.5 feet long. The gestation period is eight to nine months, and during that time, one pup in each of the female’s uteri will cannibalize its siblings. If only one of the uteri is active, then only one pup is born. Pups hatch within their mother’s body and emerge as independent free swimming sharks, already three feet long. With only one or two pups every other year, sand tiger sharks have a very low reproductive rate. This contributes to their vulnerable status.   At this time, no one has been able to successfully breed tiger sharks in the United States, but two facilities in Australia have.

Things you can do

Some fish are caught using methods that reduce unintentional bycatch (including sharks, turtles and even marine mammals). Familiarize yourself with what these fish are and where they are caught. By purchasing seafood harvested in a responsible, sustainable way, you can make a difference! Visit the Fish Smart section of the Minnesota Zoo’s website for up-to-date information on best seafood choices.

Your visit to the Zoo helps support our conservation programs. You can also sponsor an animal at the Zoo.

Become a Member of the Minnesota Zoo!

Sand Tiger Shark

In the past, sand tiger sharks were hunted for food, leather and oil. They are still occasionally hunted for food or sport, particularly in Japanese coastal areas. Some sand tiger sharks become trapped in mesh used to fence off swimming areas and protect beachgoers from other sharks. Many more are caught each year as bycatch, meaning they are unintentionally harvested along with more desirable fish. Sand tiger sharks were given protection in 1984 in New South Wales, and later by the Commonwealth of Australia. These subpopulations of sand tiger sharks are in dramatic decline. In 1997 the sand tigers that live along the Atlantic coast of North America received protection, too.

Things the Zoo's done/doing

The Minnesota Zoo is a member of a breeding group set up under the Association of Zoos and Aquariums’ (AZA) guidelines that assists in cooperative efforts to gather information and formulate a plan for captive breeding of sand tiger sharks. The goal of this plan is to have a breeding population in aquariums so that the collection of wild caught sharks for display is reduced.