Stomach eversion and retraction by a tagged tiger shark at Ningaloo Reef, Western Australia

Stomach eversion is common in sharks captured during fishing activities, however, records of subsequent retraction of the stomach once animals are released are rare and limited by the logistics of recording post-release behaviors in the wild. Here, we report stomach eversion and retraction by a tiger shark captured and tagged at Ningaloo Reef, Western Australia. Initial eversion occurred during capture, and retraction was recorded by video and tri-axial acceleration sensors approximately five minutes after release. The ability to retract the stomach without apparent ill effect is consistent with the documented resilience of tiger sharks to stressful capture events, but remains to be confirmed for other species.