At a glance

Length

Typically 3–4 m; the largest exceed 5 m

Depth

Surface to about 350 m

Diet

Almost anything — fish, rays, turtles, seabirds, carrion

Status

Near Threatened

How to recognise it

A broad, blunt, almost square snout. Dark vertical bars across the back that soften with age. A stocky forebody and a long, pointed upper tail lobe.

Where we meet them

Our signature dive. At the Hulhumalé Shark Tank we meet tiger sharks on a planned profile, using our pioneered stationary mooring-line method.

Best timeWe would book January – March for sharks. Ask us about current conditions.

Behaviour

A roaming, mostly solitary hunter with a famously broad appetite. Tiger sharks cruise slowly and deliberately, then close distance fast. Their serrated, cockscomb-shaped teeth can cut through the shell of a sea turtle.

Diving with them

Calm, controlled and on the sharks’ terms. We hold position on the line, keep our hands in and let them come to us. We never feed sharks — and we refuse charters that ask us to.

Status & protection

Listed as Near Threatened. Tiger sharks are caught widely in fisheries and have declined in parts of their range. The Maldives banned all shark fishing in 2010.