🐻❄️ Polar bear vs Tiger shark 🦈
The tiger shark is about 3 times as long as the polar bear. The tiger shark is a bit heavier than the polar bear.
Getting the animals ready…
| Row | 🐻❄️ Polar bear | 🦈 Tiger shark |
|---|---|---|
| Size The tiger shark is about 3 times as long as the polar bear. | 4.9 ft1.5 m1 | 11 to 14 ft3.3 to 4.3 m2 |
| Top speed Neither has a checked number yet. | no checked number yet | no checked number yet |
| Weight The tiger shark is a bit heavier than the polar bear. | 399 to 1,450 lb181 to 658 kg1 | 849 to 1,400 lb385 to 635 kg2 |
| Lives They are about the same. | 25 years25 years1 | 27 years27 years2 |
| Eats Both eat meat. | mostly seals, caught at holes in the sea ice | sea turtles, birds, snakes, crabs, shellfish and dugongs |
| Lives in They can live in the same kind of place. | the Arctic, on the sea ice around the North Pole | warm salt water, from shallow reefs to deep water |
Which one? Polar bear or tiger shark
🏁 Who would win the race?
We don't have a checked top speed for the polar bear or the tiger shark yet, so there is no race.
We only race. Real animals mostly avoid each other. A race is the only fair contest: who reaches the tree first, by top speed. Our face-off books compare real numbers, and nobody gets hurt.
10 things to know about Polar bear vs Tiger shark
- The polar bear: The biggest bear, at home on the frozen Arctic sea ice.
- The tiger shark: A big striped shark that eats many kinds of sea animals.
- They are different kinds of animal. The polar bear is a mammal, so it breathes air with lungs and feeds its babies milk; the tiger shark is a fish, so it breathes with gills.
- The tiger shark is about 3 times as long as the polar bear: 2 against 1.
- The tiger shark is a bit heavier than the polar bear. That is 1 for the polar bear and 2 for the tiger shark.
- They are about the same. Usual lifespans: 1 for the polar bear and 2 for the tiger shark.
- Both eat meat. The polar bear eats mostly seals, caught at holes in the sea ice; the tiger shark eats sea turtles, birds, snakes, crabs, shellfish and dugongs.
- The polar bear lives in the Arctic, on the sea ice around the North Pole. The tiger shark lives in warm salt water, from shallow reefs to deep water. They can live in the same kind of place.
- The polar bear: needs help (Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List). 3
- The tiger shark: doing fine, for now (Near Threatened on the IUCN Red List). 4
Wow facts
🐻❄️ Polar bear
- Under its white-looking fur, a polar bear's skin is black.
- Each hair is clear and hollow, not white.
- Its huge paws work like paddles and snowshoes.
🦈 Tiger shark
- A tiger shark eats many kinds of sea animals.
- It lives from shallow reefs to deep water.
- It moves slowly and quietly.
Questions kids ask about Polar bear and Tiger shark
Which is bigger, polar bear or tiger shark?
The tiger shark is about 3 times as long as the polar bear: 2 against 1.
Which is heavier, polar bear or tiger shark?
The tiger shark is a bit heavier than the polar bear. That is 1 for the polar bear and 2 for the tiger shark.
Which lives longer, polar bear or tiger shark?
They are about the same. Usual lifespans: 1 for the polar bear and 2 for the tiger shark.
What do polar bear and tiger shark eat?
Both eat meat. The polar bear eats mostly seals, caught at holes in the sea ice; the tiger shark eats sea turtles, birds, snakes, crabs, shellfish and dugongs.
Where do polar bear and tiger shark live?
The polar bear lives in the Arctic, on the sea ice around the North Pole. The tiger shark lives in warm salt water, from shallow reefs to deep water. They can live in the same kind of place.
Do polar bears eat tiger sharks?
The polar bear eats mostly seals, caught at holes in the sea ice. Tiger sharks are not in that list, which comes from its page. And the tiger shark is about 3 times as long as the polar bear.
Do tiger sharks eat polar bears?
The tiger shark eats sea turtles, birds, snakes, crabs, shellfish and dugongs. Polar bears are not in that list, which comes from its page.
Who would win, polar bear or tiger shark?
We never show fights, because a fight is not a fair way to compare animals. They can share the same kind of place, and real animals mostly keep out of each other's way. What we can compare is how big, how heavy, how fast, how long they live and what they eat, as above.
📤 Share this pair
The link carries only the two animals’ names: peabody.kids/animals/compare/polar-bear-vs-tiger-shark
Where these numbers come from
- National Park Service, checked 30 October 2026.
- University of Michigan Museum of Zoology, Animal Diversity Web: Galeocerdo cuvier (tiger shark), checked 10 November 2026.
- Wikidata, from the IUCN Red List, checked 30 October 2026.
- Wikidata, from the IUCN Red List, checked 10 November 2026.