Tees for Animal Lover
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Many people are terrified of sharks due to the negative media portrayal of them. Most depictions and coverage of sharks suggests that they are violent, dangerous creatures that kill indiscriminately. However, that is far from the truth. Fortunately, there are many conservationists and shark activists working to change this narrative.
Mike Coots was born and raised in Kauai. Growing up, he fell in love with the ocean and spent his days surfing. When he was 18-years-old, Coots was attacked by a tiger shark while surfing. The shark came up and grabbed onto Coots’ leg, but he fought back and was able to climb back on his board. He looked at a terrified fellow surfer and then his leg, which had been completely taken off by the shark.
For Coots, being out of the ocean was a lot harder than missing a limb. That’s why Coots was back in the water immediately after recovering. He also started researching sharks to find out why he might have been attacked. What he found shocked him. After learning about how many humans kill sharks every year – around 100 million – Coots started to get involved in shark Conservation. He has worked on a shark Conservation bill and also takes beautiful portraits of sharks to show people that sharks aren’t monsters; they are sentient, intelligent animals that are vital to the ocean.
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