Sharks are fantastic creatures.  The top of the food chain.  Apex Predators.

As I add more details and pictures of sharks I am trying to use photos taken by myself and those who read this site.  So whilst they might not be the most professional photos they tell a more intimate story.

This picture is one such intimate encounter that was photographed by a very good friend and dive buddy of mine called Gaffa.  He is currently working as a dive instructor in Australia and took this in Cairns as it swam past him.  It came past his right shoulder and gave him a bit of a initial fright until he grabbed his camera for a quick shot.

The Sand Tiger Shark is known by a lot of names; ragged tooth, raggy, grey nurse shark and can be found in warm tropical waters throughout the world.  Good places to spot them are South Africa, Lebanon, North Carolina and New South Wales in Australia - where they are officially protected.  Although they do have a much wider distribution than this.

They are also the favourite of sea life centres where people stare in awe at their size and ferocious looking teeth that give it its name, Ragged Tooth.

Because of its ability to live happily in captivity the reproduction of this shark is quite well documented.  They are a yolk-sac viviparous producer and the young have a cannibalistic tendency whilst in the uterus. (Take a look at my post on Angel Sharks for a more detailed explanation of shark reproduction types).

They can grow to more than 3 metres long (10ft) but are pretty docile unless provoked and offer little threat to the diver.

Sand Tigers are unusual in that they have been reported to hunt at night collectively, surrounding prey and working as a team.

They also have a unique ability to swallow air and hold it in their stomachs to maintain near-neutral buoyancy allowing them to hover almost motionless.

I would love to see more pics of sharks and if you have any please get in touch.

It swims slowly with its mouth open to reveal several rows of very sharp needle like teeth.

It is a fierce looking shark