Apex Predators: Hammerhead vs Tiger Shark, Study Looks at Which Has Meaner Bite?

Hammerhead or tiger sharks: which has a more powerful bite?

Two of the largest predatory sharks in the world have had their bite forces quantified for the first time in the wild by an underwater photographer.

Shark Bite Research Carried Out At UNSW — SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA - JULY 25: The teeth and jaw of a Great White Shark are displayed after research into the biological mechanics of the predator July 25, 2007 in Sydney, Australia. Researchers at the University of New South Wales (UNSW) including Dan Huber from the the University of Tampa, Florida in the USA, plan to remove muscles from the head of several sharks in order to create a digital shark, to help determine it's bio mechanics and potential "bite force". Photo by Ian Waldie/Getty Images

Apex Predators

Sharks are renowned for their hunting skills as the top predators in the water, whether it be the Greenland shark's stealth ambush or the thresher shark's whip-like tail.

However, there is still a great deal that specialists don't understand about the creatures in motion, such as their top speed and biting force.

Most scientific understanding of biting force comes from computer modeling or trials with sharks in captivity.

According to Dan Huber, a scientist who studies sharks at the University of Tampa via the National Geographic, dealing with "live, huge, fascinating sharks in the wild poses substantial practical difficulties."

But Shark Explorers diving business co-owner and underwater photographer Brocq Maxey wants to take on that task.

In an experiment, Maxey captured the bite force of two of the biggest predatory sharks in the world: a great hammerhead shark and a wild, free-swimming tiger shark--in what is thought to be a first for both species.

Studying Bite Forces

According to Huber, who wasn't part of the new experiment, studying bite force helps scientists better understand how sharks' hunting techniques have changed over the past 400 million years to make them such effective predators.

The more information scientists have on sharks and their activities, the better their ability to create plans to preserve them, the scientist claimed.

This information is also crucial for conservation efforts.

Studying the Species

According to Huber, understanding what these dwindling species consume is crucial, especially because the tiger shark is classified as near threatened and great hammerheads severely endangered by the International Union for Conservation of Nature.

There will be severe consequences if a species that has evolved to specialize in a particular prey, such as endangered sea turtles, loses access to that food source.

Maxey ordered a specially-designed gauge to assess the power of the shark bites for the experiment.

He built it to be durable and sensitive enough to survive the strong teeth while still providing accurate readings.

Then, he lured sharks to the gauge using bait in the Bahamas.

A nine-foot-long tiger shark gave Maxey and his crew a reading of 864 pounds and a reading of 505 pounds from an 11-foot-long hammerhead.

The tiger shark possessed a biting force of 70% greater while being two feet smaller than the hammerhead.

Scientific Measures

Based on his mathematical models, Huber claimed that it is what he would anticipate.

Tiger sharks, sometimes known as the "dustbins of the sea," are not only more ferocious but also known for chowing down on a variety of prey, including marine turtles.

They shake their heads to cut through the turtles' hard shells while encircling their victim with their wide lips.

Hammerheads can quickly bite into their prey with little effort, including stingrays and squid.

Although sharks can have powerful bites, Huber claimed that this is frequently "by virtue of their massive size."

In contrast to other species, such as the hippopotamus (1,827 pounds) and saltwater crocodile-whose 3,748-pound bite is the strongest in the animal kingdom-their bite power is comparatively modest when body size is taken into account.

According to him, giant sharks don't require a powerful relative to bite to eat since they have a "mouth full of steak knives."

Challenging Study

SAFRICA-ENVIRONMENT-OCEAN-SHARKS — A black-tip sharks is seen swimming during a baited shark dive in Umkomaas near Durban, South Africa, on December 10, 2020. - Aliwal Shoal, a fossilised sand dune that lies about 4km offshore from the coastal town of Umkomaas, is one of the few places in the world where divers can dive without a cage with Oceanic Blacktip sharks and Tiger Sharks, as the apex predators are attracted by a bait drum filled with sardines. Although this activity still attracts many divers and tourists every year, organisers had to change the name from "tiger shark dive" because of the decrease in their numbers - a decrease environmentalists and dive organisers blame mostly on the shark control devices installed from the 1950's. Photo by MICHELE SPATARI/AFP via Getty Images

Huber and Porter warned that estimating an animal's maximal speed or biting power might be challenging.

For example, Huber noted that the voluntary bite forces from wild sharks are probably "dramatic underestimates" since baiting them "isn't a genuine predatory scenario."