Tiger Sharks' Superpowered Jaws | SharkFest | National Geographic
Tiger sharks are one of the largest predatory sharks on the planet. They feed off an extensive menu: whales, birds, even other sharks. But there's one delicacy that takes more effort than others. Turtles! So how much jaw power does it take to crunch through their tough shells?
Here in the Bahamas, Brock and the team are about to find out. Facing up to the jaws of a tiger shark is strictly for pros. Brock has spent almost two decades diving with these sharks. What's the best way to stay safe? To take things slow. This first dive we're going to go down; we're not going to bring the bite force gauge. We're just going to see what tigers are here, come back up, and we'll get some more backup support in terms of safety, and we'll grab the bite force gauge. What could go wrong?
Syria is known as Tiger Beach, and it quickly lives up to its name. Tiger sharks are used to diver interactions; they're not shy. Brock will need to stand his ground.
"Your Tiger's coming right on me right now."
The sharks know where the food is kept. It doesn't take long for other sharks to sniff out a free meal, and nobody is waiting in line. They won't even let me get set.
"Oh, look at how big she is!"
If ever a scene needed a "don't try this at home" warning, it's this. Brock manages the situation by guiding the sharks away from the bait to help them settle and relax, but it's not the easy trial run Brock had hoped for.
"Those three tigers on the drop right now, the targets are not stopping down here."
The more sharks there are, the more they compete for Brock's attention. Tigers don't like to wait their turns. A lot of the times, you'll get four coming in at once and you don't even have enough arms to keep them all off of you.
Brock has an underwater safety team at his side, but with this many sharks around, staying in control is still a tough job. By taking the food into a more open area, there's more time to see where the sharks are approaching from and react.
"Thank you, sharks! Can crunch through a turtle shell. What will they do to the bite force gauge?"