Adult sand tigers have no natural predators. 1 Juvenile sand tiger sharks are vulnerable to predation by larger sharks, including great white, tiger, shortfin mako and bull sharks. They sometimes feed cooperatively with other sand tiger sharks by herding and surrounding schools of fish.
Sand tiger sharks also feed on rays, crabs, lobsters and squid. They are voracious predators and feed on a variety of bony fish, including hake, herring, snappers, wrasses, remoras, eels and much more. Sand tiger sharks are not cannibalistic after birth but are known to feed on small sharks of other species. They have one of the lowest reproductive rates among sharks due to intrauterine cannibalism, 3 in which eggs and developing embryos are eaten by the largest embryo until only one remains. Sand tiger sharks mate via internal fertilization and give birth to about two pups every two years (one in each uterus). Like many sharks, the sand tiger shark is a solitary species but can be found in small schools for feeding, mating and birth.
This allows the sand tiger shark to hover motionless in the water. 2 The sand tiger shark is the only shark that is known to maintain neutral buoyancy by gulping air at the water’s surface and holding it in its stomach. They are a large species, growing to a maximum length of 10.5 feet (3.2 m) and weight of 350 pounds (159 kg). The sand tiger shark lives worldwide near the seafloor in surf zones, shallow bays and coral and rocky reefs.
