Baby tiger sharks eat songbirds such as sparrows, doves and studies



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Scientists have discovered that baby tiger sharks do not just eat seafood. They also steal songbirds.

In an article published Tuesday in the journal Ecology, scientists revealed that even though tiger sharks are known for their wide variety of dishes, including fish, sea snakes and sea turtles, young tiger sharks also regularly eat typical birds pikes and doves.

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"Tiger sharks will see an easy meal and grab it, but I was surprised to learn that they were eating songbirds – I supposed they would be seabirds, "Kevin Feldheim, a researcher at the Chicago Field Museum and co-author of the study, said in a press release.

During their research on the diet of young tiger sharks, scientists found that of the 105 sharks analyzed, 41 had leftover birds in the stomach.

According to a new study, juvenile tiger sharks feed on songbirds such as sparrows, woodpeckers and pigeons. Of the 105 young tiger sharks studied by scientists, 41 had leftover birds in the stomach. (Stock Image)

According to a new study, juvenile tiger sharks feed on songbirds such as sparrows, woodpeckers and pigeons. Of the 105 young tiger sharks studied by scientists, 41 had leftover birds in the stomach. (Stock Image)
(IStock)

To conduct the study from 2010 to 2018, senior author Marcus Drymon of Mississippi State University and his colleagues captured the 3-foot sharks, pumped their stomachs and analyzed the contents. The sharks were released unharmed after pumping their stomachs, according to the statement.

Among the contents of the shark's stomach were partially digested birds. To determine the type of birds they were, the scientists sent the remains for their DNA to be analyzed at the Museum's Pritzker Field Laboratory for Molecular Systematics and Evolution, under the direction of Feldheim.

"None of them were gulls, pelicans, cormorants, or any type of marine bird," said Drymon. "They were all land birds," he added, referring to birds living mainly on land.

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The sharks Drymon and his colleagues studied were in the Gulf of Mexico during the migration season, which brought the landbirds over the water.

"In any case, the time the tiger shark eats the bird coincided with the peak of sighting for that bird species off our shores," said Drymon.

"Tiger sharks feed on songbirds that have trouble flying over the ocean," Feldheim said. "During migration, they are already exhausted, then they get tired or fall into the ocean during a storm."

Feldheim added that these land birds may also be easier to eat for tiger sharks because they do not handle as well in the water and around the water as seabirds.

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Scientists say the results of the study help them better understand tiger sharks in order to protect them. Feldheim also said that the study showed how important DNA databases are for scientific research.

"This shows us how much we can still learn about sharks in general and what DNA can tell us that observation can not," Feldheim said.

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