Where can I dive with tiger sharks in the Maldives?
Tiger Zoo or Tiger Harbor is one of two dive spots in the world with a guarantee of year-round tiger shark sightings. The dives are conducted with a number of experienced and trained instructors, who brief the divers beforehand and provide them with a safety stick for protection from the sharks.
When to dive Fuvahmulah Tiger Harbor (Tiger Zoo)?
Tiger sharks are seen year-round at Tiger Harbour, but the best time to dive Fuvahmulah is in the dry season from January to April, when you’ll have the best water visibility of up to 60m/197f and when you’re more likely to also see Manta Rays and Whale Sharks too.
But if you dive between late September or early October through untill December, you may also see thresher sharks and schooling scalloped hammerhead sharks too.
Why are the tiger sharks at Tiger Zoo, Maldives?
The reason why there are tiger sharks at Tiger Zoo or Tiger Harbor in the Maldives is because after the harbour and local fish market were built in 2003, all the fish waste was dumped just outside the harbour entrance into the sea, which is what still attracts the scavenging tiger sharks.
The Maldives has the Largest Known Population of Tiger Sharks
The Maldives has the largest known population of tiger sharks in the ocean, which was discovered by German scientist and co-founder of Ocean Collective Lennart Vossgaetter. Since research began in 2021 Vossgaetter has identified 266 individual tiger sharks at Tiger Zoo, and 85% are female sharks.
During the Maldives tiger shark research Vossgaetter observed that the female sharks were getting fatter, until they disappeared for several months, only to return with slim bellies. It was later confirmed these female sharks were pregnant by enlisting the help of Oregon State University’s James Sulikowski, who used an ultrasound on the end of a probe to scan the sharks.
The above information is from The Guardian Newspaper and has the following quotes:
“Making it the largest known population of tiger sharks in the ocean.”
“The embryos measure 40 to 45cm,”; “Aaya carries about 40 of them.”; “Perhaps because they are safe here from aggressive males.”
Says Sulikowski, The Guardian – The embryos are of baby tiger sharks and Aaya is one of the pregnant tiger shark females, and “safe here” means safe in the Maldives, which in this case at Tiger Zoo Fuvahmulah Atoll.
Tiger Harbor dive site description
I thought it would be easier for you to read about diving Tiger Harbor Maldives in a list, as follows:
Dive type: Reef dive, shark dive moslty with tiger sharks.
Tiger Harbor (Tiger Zoo) dive site is located at the harbour entrance of Fuvahmulah.
The Tiger Harbor alternative name is Fuvahmulah Tiger Zoo, which is what it was originally named.
Tiger Harbor and Fuvahmulah are south of the equator in the Southern Hemmisphere (see map below).
Dive depths range from the top of the plateau at 6-9 metres (20-30 feet), which drops off steeply at around 15 metres (49 feet) into the depths of the Indian Ocean below.
Tiger sharks visit due to the continual dumping of fish waste from the local and sustainable tuna fishery. The local fish market was built in 2003, which is when the fish waste began to be thrown into Fuvahmulah harbor entrance.
As tiger sharks are known to be the scavengers of the oceans, it makes sense why they visit to scavenge on the fish remains.
You are very (very) likely to see a number of tigers sharks on most dives at Tiger Zoo, year-round, but you may also see other sharks too, such as silvertip sharks. The biggest count of tiger sharks on a single dive was 35 animals. On average most divers see around 10 individual tiger sharks.
Tiger Harbor dive site is the ultimate opportunity for underwater photographers to get closeup shots of tiger sharks.
This area of the Maldives is known as “Maldives Deep South Diving“, where Fuvahmulah Atoll is the second-most southerly Atoll before Addu Atoll, which is roughly 56km/35m south west of Fuvahmulah Atoll.
Fuvahmulah is known as the ‘Tiger Shark Capital of the World.’
Scientists and biologist have identified 266 individual Maldives tiger sharks at Tiger Zoo or Tiger Harbor, making it the largest known population of tiger sharks in the ocean.
Are the tiger sharks fed on Tiger Harbor dive?
Tiger sharks aren’t hand-fed during dives at Tiger Harbor, but a small amount of fish waste of mostly fish heads is dumped away from the divers to attract the sharks onto the plateau. Divers experience close encounters with tiger sharks, and the sharks often stay until the dive is over.
Why is it called Tiger Zoo, Maldives?
Tiger Zoo in the Maldives was first named because of the many tiger sharks that gather at the harbour entrance to Fuvahmulah. The name was changed to Tiger Harbor instead, and is a popular dive site with resort based dive companies and Maldives liveaboards too.
Is it safe to dive Tiger Harbor or Tiger Zoo?
Safety is a priority for Tiger Zoo dives, where each dive has several safety divers following strict rules who have Shark Speciality and Shark Expert certifications. All divers must follow the safety rules and procedures after a pre-dive breifing, and they are given a safety stick for protection.
Where is the best place to dive with tiger sharks?
The best places in the world to dive with tiger sharks are Tiger Harbor in the Maldives and Tiger Beach in the Bahamas. Whilst nature can never be a guarantee, if you want a high probability to see tiger sharks, both Tiger Harbor and Tiger Beach are the places to dive, which is almost guaranteed.
Maldives liveaboards that dive Tiger Harbor (Tiger Zoo)
This table of dive liveaboards that include Tiger Harbor dives in their itinerary are in customer review order, with the best reviewed liveaboard at the top of the list.
Total Records Found: 28, showing 7 per page
Customer Review
Discover Liveaboard
Customer Reviews
Price Per Day
”Simply incredible. The crew were fantastic, very friendly and accommodating to the group. Dives groups were 4-7 and our guides were great. The boat itself is lovely, cabins clean and surprisingly spacious with ensuites. The food was great, it’s an Italian boat so lots of Italian food but some local and international fare as well. The best part though was the diving. On an 11 day/10 night itinerary from Male to Addu we saw: – Tiger Sharks – Scalloped Hammerheads – Whale Sharks – Manta Rays – Eagle Rays – Schooling grey reef and nurse sharks (hundreds) – 50+ turtles – Schooling Barracuda – Schooling tuna & jacks – Beautiful coral reefs (especially in the deep south) We also regularly stopped on remote islands and relaxed in the sun. You won’t regret booking with them!” Recommended for: Tiger Sharks, Hammerheads and Whale Sharks.
”Great dives around the classic central atolls route. Saw everything and more than we expected!” The local dive guides knew the sites very well and done very well to keep us diving away from other boats (some popular sites could see up to 8 boats diving). We saw a whale shark at Dhangetti, manta rays at two cleaning stations, guitar, reef, black and white tips and nurse sharks on other dive sites as well as a tiger shark out in the blue at fish tabk. The nurse shark dive at alimatha was insanely good. The nurse sharks also stayed at the back of the boat all night whilst we ate dinner and into the next morning and you could jump in and snorkel if you liked. We dives with 100’s of stingrays, bull rays and even came across a mobula during a safety stop. For me the bbq and football on the uninhabited island meerufenfushi was magical, watching the sunset and then the sky fill with stars and watching shooting stars rain down as we took the zodiak back to the boat. Would like to see the boat lessen its environmental impact. They’re a bit behind some of the more expensive boats in terms of measures in place to offset customers impact. There is apetite for it from all divers. Overall a fantastic trip, the variety meant it was more an adventure than just a dive trip and I couldn’t have asked for more in that respect.” Recommended for: Dive guides, dive sites, friendly crew.
”The best liveaboard in the Maldives! This was by far the best liveaboard and dive holiday I’ve ever been on (previously been on Leo in the Maldives and another liveaboard in the Philippines, and also diving in Indonesia, Oman, Sicily, and Iceland). The main reason for this was definitely the incredible atmosphere created by all the staff, who were so friendly and made it such a wonderful week!
The boat itself is very comfortable, the food is great, and the dives were spectacular. The cabins on lower deck are beautiful wooden rooms, with powerful showers that always have hot water. The bed is made up several times a day, and the air con keeps the room cool. The food is really tasty and there is lots of it, and it is served on the table, instead of buffet style, which is much nicer.
There are 3 shaded sun decks with loungers and bean bags, and there is always loads of chilled filtered water to drink. The dive tender is really large and the boat staff are so helpful – they always helped me carry my tank in and out of the boat since I had a back operation. The dives themselves were brilliant, and the briefings were always thorough and well explained. The dive guides are great – ours was Shamoon, and he was amazing!
Always so friendly, fun, and helpful. The GM, Alex, was on the boat the week we were there and he was so kind, friendly, and fun! Some other amazing experiences were drinking from coconuts on a beach while listening to music with the staff and guests. Snorkelling at the back of the boat with a whale shark and dolphins who stayed all night and who we had to ourselves!
Watching a pod of pilot whales from the boat – the captain followed them for us for half an hour so we could get a better look! This was one of the best holidays I’ve been on, and I will definitely be booking Eco Blue next time I’m in the Maldives! It surpassed my expectations on every count. Thank you so much!” Recommended for: Dive guides, staff, food.
”Great dives and value! The diving was more advanced than I expected (I only have 30 logged dives) and the food was better. We had a great time. Do note that the seas and currents can be pretty rough in the Maldives (depending on the time of the year). But I would definitely recommend the Maldives and the Carpe Diem to my diving friends!” Recommended for: Great diving, food and value for money.
”A great trip all round. Cabins very comfortable, with A/c and a TV in each one. We changed our diving itinerary on day 1 on advice of the cruise directors given conditions and we were very much rewarded, with great diving as well as a whale shark and mantas. Would very much recommend this trip and the trip directors Albert and Sophie were fantastic. Food was varied, plentiful and delicious all trip.” Recommended for: Food was far in excess of what was expected, trip crew were great and the diving was excellent.
”Mantas galore, whale shark, incredible boat with hot tub, huge room and comfy bed. The wildlife – mantas and sharks, flat sea, great vis, perfect!” Recommended for: Wildlife, spacious, luxurious boat, great service.
”Wonderful week on the adora. Mantas mantas mantas! Crew is wonderful, boat is very comfortable. Single cabin was a wonderful value, so nice to have my own private cabin.” Recommended for: Service, value, single occupancy cabin.
The closest Maldives resorts for diving Tiger Zoo or Tiger Harbor
There are a few resorts and hotels on Fuvahmulah Atoll, which include Playa de Fuvahmulah cerca hotel, Ataraxis Grand, Spa and Vieni Qua Grand, Equator Retreat, Isle Royal Inn and Silver County. The nearest hotel to Scuba Butler Fuvahmulah and Fuvahmulah Dive School is the Isle Royal Inn.
This is a video taken and shared by Fuvahmulah Dive School of thresher sharks.
TIGER ZOO / Explore the best We are diving with the tiger sharks everyday all year round. Present movie is the result of everyday underwater adventure in 2017.
But remember you can also dive Tiger Zoo and Fuvahmulah Atoll from a Maldives dive liveaboard, which is also likely to take you to the amazing dive sites of Addu Atoll as well.
Tiger Harbor (Tiger Zoo) videos
Here are a few taster videos of what it’s like to dive Tiger Harbor:
Tiger Sharks at Fuvahmulah Island, Maldives – April 2022 At Fuvahmulah Island, there are tiger sharks that visit the harbor entrance, where fisherman have historically dumped the day’s waste. This turned into frequent sightings, and thus a dive opportunity. Tiger Zoo is the dive site run by local dive operators; it’s quite an experience to be that close the tiger sharks.
Tiger Shark Dive got too excited in Fuvahmulah, Maldives Experience tigers, and thresher sharks.
In the second video of Tiger Zoo, the tiger shark attacks the diver’s dive tank from behind.
Where is Tiger Harbor (Tiger Zoo) Fuvahmulah Maldives?
If you search on Google, you still need to search for “Tiger Zoo”, as Google has yet to be updated for the new name Tiger Harbor.
Please note that Google maps show “Tiger Zoo as permanently closed“, but this is not the case. Tiger Zoo only shows as permanently closed because the name has changed from Tiger Zoo to Tiger Harbor, which is still open for divers to dive with Tiger Sharks.
The following Google Map gives you the precise location of Tiger Zoo (Tiger Harbor).
Tiger harbour diving maldives reviews
The reviews for Tiger Habour (Tiger Zoo) include superlatives or expressions such as, “wow. I could do this dive over and over” and “Absolutely the main draw at diving FVM.” on Scubaboard, where FVM is an abbreviation of Fuvahmulah of course.
Fuvahmulah’s Tiger Harbor (Tiger Zoo) dive site is one of the few spots in the world where you will 100% see tigers sharks at close range. The other spot being Tiger Beach in the Barhamas.
Reviews from Liveaboard.com include:
“Great to see the tiger shark” Diving Fuvahmulah in February on the Carpe Diem
“Lots of Tiger Sharks – a very exciting experience!” Diving Fuvahmulah in February on the Carpe Novo
I hope you enjoyed this article about diving Tiger Harbor (Tiger Zoo) Maldives
I’d love to hear from you. Tell us about your adventures of diving and snorkeling, in the comments below. Please also share your photos. Either from your underwater cameras or videos from your waterproof Gopro’s!
If this article hasn’t answered all of your questions. If you have more questions either about snorkeling or scuba diving (or specifically about diving Tiger Harbor Maldives), please comment below with your questions.
There will also be many more articles about scuba diving (and snorkeling) for you to read and learn about these fabulous sports.
Liveaboard Diving In Maldives + Best Time To Dive… The Maldives is one of the top dive destinations in the World. If you're a scuba diver the best way to enjoy diving in the Maldives is from a liveaboard.…
Article written by Russell Bowyer who has been a scuba diver since diving on the Great Barrier Reef in Australia in 1989. After his first dive he trained as a BSAC diver in the UK. He attained his Diver Leader certification with BSAC. He then went on to become a scuba diving instructor, teaching others how to dive and was voted as Diving Officer and Treasurer for the Saffron Walden BSAC club too. Russell has dived all over the world, including the UK, on liveaboards in the Red Sea, the Caribbean, South Africa and the USA. Russell is experienced in all dive types, including drift diving, deep dives that involved decompression stops and recreational dives too.
