Blacktip Reef Shark

Did you know that Singapore’s waters are home to sharks? One such species is the blacktip reef shark, which has a characteristic black tip on its dorsal fin. It eats molluscs, crustaceans and smaller fish, including smaller sharks! As an apex predator, the blacktip reef shark plays a crucial role in keeping our coral reef ecosystems in balance.

Despite the fearsome reputation of sharks as vicious monsters, blacktip reef sharks are usually pretty shy and will not harm humans unless provoked. Ironically, it is humans who pose a greater danger to the blacktip reef shark, as it is often caught or entangled in fishing nets or lines. It is also threatened by climate change, which causes the coral reefs it lives in to decline worldwide. Thus, this species is sadly classified as “Endangered” in Singapore.