Tiger sharks are known as the “garbage guts” of the sea, and for good reason. As opportunistic feeders, Tiger sharks will eat just about anything. Odd items found in a tiger shark’s stomach include a chicken coop, a bag of money, boat cushions, boots, explosives, hyenas, deer antlers, a bag of potatoes… the list seems endless. As part of a more regular diet, Tiger sharks enjoy turtles, bony fish, crabs, birds and rays. Tiger sharks undergo a remarkably long, 4,660 mile round-trip migration every year. In Hawaiian culture, the Tiger shark is not only considered sacred, but legend has it that its eyeballs have special powers; it’s said that even the mother of the famous King Kamehameha ate Tiger shark eyes during her pregnancy so that her son would have qualities of leadership and bravery.
The Wobbegong shark is a dorsoventrally flattened fish. There are twelve species of Wobbegongs and they all have these little stylish fleshy tabs on their chins for camouflage; Wobbegong comes from an aboriginal name meaning “shaggy beard.” Because Wobbegongs are extremely confident in their camouflage, they cause no threat to divers. In fact, divers can swim up to one and it just sits there and doesn’t move, completely convinced that it can’t be seen. Unlike most sharks, which breathe through their mouth, the Wobbegong breathes through a pair of spiracles that are kind of like nostrils that don’t smell, they’re on the top of the head. This is because the mouth is down so low to the sand, if they were breathing through their mouth, they would just get a mouthful of sand. Yuck.
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