Bull Shark, Tiger Shark or Great White?
Duunn-dun….Duuuuuun-dun….Dun-dun dun-dun dun-dun dun-dun….You know exactly what I mean. That clever tune that sends chills down your spine has become synonymous with gruesome images of sharp teeth, flailing limbs and bloody water. It is part of the reason I was afraid to even take baths as a child (I did shower, you’ll be pleased to hear). But prior to the release of the book upon which the infamous movie, “Jaws”, was based, sharks were not the subject of horrified fascination they are today. The book was inspired by a string of attacks along the Jersey Shore in 1916, believed, at the time, to have been the work of a rogue great white. However, modern experts now believe that bull sharks were responsible for at least some of the attacks. Bull sharks, along with tiger sharks and great whites are considered to be the top three most dangerous sharks in the world. But which is the most dangerous? Has the great white really earned its place as the world’s most dangerous shark, or should something else take its place?
Great White
Following the release of the movie “Jaws” in 1975, the great white really got a lot of bad press. Reaching over 6m (20ft) in length, great whites are among the biggest sharks in the world, and certainly the biggest predatory sharks which come into contact with humans. With their beady, dark eyes and mouths full of rows of sharp teeth, capable of biting a human in half, it is unsurprising that these massive predators quickly became a subject of fear for so many. However, great whites do not normally hunt humans. In fact, most attacks are thought to be cases of mistaken identity.
Adult great whites predominantly feed on marine mammals, i.e. seals and sea lions (not humans in the water). The shark typically circles below its prey, before shooting up towards it in an explosive, often fatal, attack. If the prey is still alive after the initial flesh-shearing bite, the shark waits for it to bleed to death before returning to feed. The problem is that, to a shark, a swimming human, or one on a surf board, may look like a seal, particularly in murky or turbid water.
Following an attack on a human, great whites often leave them alone, realising their mistake. But with a bite force of up to 1.8 tons (4000lb) in a mouth over 1m (3.5ft) wide, such mistakes are often fatal. Far more common than predatory attacks are exploratory bites. Sharks, lacking hands, use their mouths to explore the world around them, much like babies, only less cute and with more teeth. Most bites on humans are believed to be the shark simply trying to work out what they are and whether or not they are edible. These exploratory bites are more “nibble” than attack, but unfortunately, even a nibble from a creature as massive and powerful as a great white can nonetheless be devastating. Great whites have also been known to attack kayakers, apparently without provocation. In such instances, the shark typically circles the kayak for some time, before eventually moving in for a bite. Major injuries and fatalities with this type of attack are rare, and experts believe this is intentional. It would appear that the sharks object to having people farting around in their territory, and are simply telling people to back off. In shark terms, it is a relatively polite request.
Bull Shark
Growing to a maximum length of 3.5m (11.5ft), the bull shark is considerably smaller than the great white, but what it lacks in size, it more than makes up for in attitude. Renowned for its aggressive nature, the bull shark gets its name from its tendency to ram its prey with its broad, snub-nosed head during an attack.
The bull shark’s aggression is believed to be due to the massive levels of testosterone coursing through its veins. Bull sharks have the highest level of testosterone of any living creature (despite what some “alpha” men may tell you). This makes them not only aggressive, but also highly territorial. To make matters worse, bull sharks are among the few species of shark that prefer warm, shallow waters and can survive in fresh water, putting them into relatively frequent contact with humans.
Bull sharks often hunt in murky water, where the risk of mistaken identity is higher. Though they prefer to eat fish and marine mammals, they are opportunistic hunters and will eat just about anything else they can when hungry, including each other. Unlike great whites, which tend to kill prey with one devastating bite, allowing them to bleed out before feeding, bull sharks typically hang on to their prey, biting repeatedly until the creature gives up the fight. Survivors of bull shark attacks often comment on the animal’s tenacity and unwillingness to give up their would-be-meal (can’t blame them, I’m the same when I’m hungry). With a bite force of some 600kgs (1320lbs) – smaller than that of a great white, but, pound-for-pound, stronger than any other shark -, escaping the jaws of a bull shark is no mean feat.
Tiger Shark
Tiger sharks can reach lengths of 5m (16ft), making them the one of the largest predatory sharks in the world. Like the bull shark, the tiger shark prefers to hunt in warm, shallow water – exactly the kind of water humans like to swim in.
Tiger sharks have broad, thick jaws, with short, but very sharp, serrated teeth. This makes them particularly well-adapted for biting through the shells of their favourite food: sea turtles. “Favourite” food is meant only loosely. Tiger sharks are sometimes referred to as the “ocean’s trash cans” because of their propensity to eat literally anything. Fish, turtles, snakes, flying foxes, dogs, cats, license plates, car tyres and, yes, actual trash, have all been found in their stomachs. Unfortunately, this lack of refined palate means that they are not averse to eating the occasional human.
The aptly-named tiger shark employs a stalk-and-ambush hunting strategy, much like tigers do on land. A person swimming or surfing likely will not know the shark is there until it has its jaws around their leg. What makes tiger sharks particularly dangerous is that, unlike great whites, they do not typically back off after biting something they would not normally eat (largely because what they “normally” eat is everything). Many attacks from these formidable predators, which can happily bite a sea turtle in two, result in the loss of an entire limb. People sometimes survive these attacks because the shark is busy eating said limb, giving them time to escape.
To summarise each shark’s profile, here is a table with the most potentially dangerous characteristics highlighted in red:
| Great White | Tiger Shark | Bull Shark | |
| Maximum Size | >6m (20ft) | 5m (16ft) | 3.5m (11.5ft) |
| Bite Force | 1.8 tons (4000lb) | 567kg (1250lb) | 600kg (1320lb) |
| Max Bite Size | >1m (3.3ft) | 80cm (31in) | 55cm (22in) |
| Most Likely Reason For Attack | Curiosity, territoriality, hunger | Curiosity or hunger. Not averse to “snacking” on limbs | Curiosity, hunger, territoriality (i.e. blind rage) |
| Natural Diet | Seals and other marine mammals, sometimes fish | Literally everything | Mostly fish, marine mammals…not picky |
| Percentage Fatality In Unprovoked Attacks | 16.1% | 26% | 26.5% |
So, which shark is most dangerous to humans?
Well, all of them, potentially. The great white is the most dangerous simply because of its size, the tiger shark, because it may very well want to eat you, and the bull shark, because it’s a raging lunatic.
The great white has a reputation for being the most dangerous shark, but has it really earned it? Despite their massive size, they have a considerably lower fatality rate than either of the other two species (and considering how relatively small the bull shark is, it does a pretty good job of killing people). For an animal that could, quite literally, bite you in half without batting an eyelid, this statistic suggests that they aren’t actually trying to kill people (most of the time). Does this mean that great whites are simply misunderstood, gentle giants? Absolutely bloody not. But it does mean that they are not the mindless, bloodthirsty and aggressive creatures they have been made out to be.
And neither are bull sharks. Or tiger sharks, for that matter. The fact of the matter is that sharks which attack people are simply being sharks. Like tigers, wolves and even house cats, sharks have evolved to not starve, and have got very good at it. Part of their ingenious survival strategy includes not passing up what may be a free meal. Unfortunately, sometimes humans are in the wrong place at the wrong time – that place being the sharks’ home. We would not wander around in a pride of lions’ territory and then be shocked and insulted if we got eaten. And yet, when people enter the ocean and get attacked, there is massive outcry and demand for retribution. Tragic though these exceptionally rare cases are, they should not be surprising. The ocean is theirs, not ours, and sharks will do what sharks do in their own backyard. Most of the time, this does not include eating people. In fact, studies show that the vast majority of shark encounters go completely unnoticed by humans. Almost every time a shark sees us, it does not attack. Almost. I almost feel grateful…almost.
