Question

Some men fishing off the coast of Jaws Beach in the Bahamas in 2010 made a gruesome discovery. As they were removing a hook from the mouth of a Tiger shark they caught, the shark regurgitated a human foot and leg intact from the knee down. The fishermen also noticed that the shark's belly was quite distended, and that the shark had a horrible smell emanating from its body. The police were alerted, and inside the shark found the remains of a man who had been missing for days. It was not entirely clear at first if the shark killed and ate the man, or if he died of some other cause and was eaten after death by the shark. Conduct an internet search about the habits of Tiger Sharks. Next, using what you know about death investigation, explain what you would be looking for to determine the time of death, stage of decomposition and what you think most likely happened to the man.

Answer 1

I was able to find a quite extensive paper on the feeding habits of Tiger Sharks, which you may read here: https://dukespace.lib.duke.edu/dspace/bitstream/handle/10161/14019/Duke%20MP%20final_AAines.pdf?sequence=1&isAllowed=y

Although I only skimmed the paper, I did find a section describing Tiger Sharks as "opportunistic foragers", feeding mainly on smaller prey that they do not have to actively hunt and kill, as well as "trash". Although it is possible for larger Tiger Sharks to hunt and kill larger prey, it seems that this is not their typical choice as far as feeding habits go.
Based on this information, it seems possible, though unusual, that the man would have been killed and eaten by the Tiger Shark.

What do you think about the other questions, involving investigating the body itself? The question seems to assume you have some background knowledge regarding that aspect, but I would be happy to provide support from that end too, if you'd like.

Answer 2

Thank you so much for this! couldn't figure it out!