Tiger sharks are among the largest and most dangerous fish in the ocean, and they can grow up to 18 feet (5.5 meters) long and weigh up to 3,360 pounds (1,524 kilograms).
They have a reputation for eating anything (literally), and their jaws are packed with hundreds of razor sharp teeth that can slice through the toughest of prey, including sea turtle shells. But they don’t start out as turtle crunching nightmares.
Young tiger sharks are small, inexperienced, and naive, so they tend to have a much harder time taking down sea turtles.
The learning curve for chowing down on sea turtles can be quite steep, so a juvenile tiger shark’s first attempts will usually end poorly.
When cornered, the sea turtle might even fight back, and with a sharp, crushing beak, the sea turtle’s blows can be brutal.
In one case, a loggerhead sea turtle used its powerful beak to fend off a juvenile tiger shark.
Snapping and chomping, the sea turtle displayed extreme aggression and grabbed the young shark’s vulnerable gill slits.
Eventually, the tiger shark learned its lesson and fled the scene.
You can watch this interaction unfold play-by-play in the full video below:This isn’t the first time we’ve seen something like this. Watch the clip below to see another encounter between a sea turtle and a tiger shark recently shared online:
