The Sharks of Shark Bay

In THE DOLPHINS OF SHARK BAY, I wrote about the bottlenose dolphins that make their home in this part of Western Australia. But the aptly-named bay is also a prime place for large tiger sharks. Recently, a group of tourists visiting the bay witnessed 70 large tiger sharks gathering to feed on a dead humpback whale. Footage of the tiger sharks was captured by drones and by underwater cameras. Needless to say, nobody got in the water to do the filming!

Shark Bay has the largest expanse of sea grass meadows in the world. Because of its remote location and minimal human impacts, Shark Bay is home to the last great population of large tiger sharks on Earth. Dugongs (a relative of the North American manatee) are the favorite prey of tiger sharks, but a dead whale is a treat no tiger shark would pass up!

by Pamela Turner

About Pamela Turner

Pamela S. Turner lives in Oakland, California with her children and her husband. She has a B.A. in social science from UCAL-Irvine and a Master’s of public health from UCAL-Berkeley. She has written numerous books for young readers, including Hachiko and the Scientists in the Field titles Gorilla Doctors: Saving Endangered Great Apes, The Frog Scientist, Project Seahorse, The Dolphins of Shark Bay and her forthcoming work, Crow Smarts. Visit her website at pamelasturner.com.

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