What I Learned From the Shark That Took My Leg

<p><span style= "color: rgb(0,0,0);background-color: transparent;font-size: 11ptpx;font-family: Arial;"> Mark speaks with Mike Coots, shark conservation activist, photographer, shark attack survivor, and all-around inspiration. Mike</span> <span style= "color: rgb(0,0,0);background-color: rgb(255,255,255);font-size: 11ptpx;font-family: Arial;"> became an amputee when he lost his right leg in a tiger shark attack at 18 years old while bodyboarding, but he didn’t let that stop him from getting back in the water.</span><br /> <br /></p> <p><span style= "color: rgb(0,0,0);background-color: transparent;font-size: 11ptpx;font-family: Arial;"> Today, Commander Divine speaks with Mike Coots, shark conservation activist, photographer, and shark attack survivor</span><span style="color: rgb(0,0,0);background-color: rgb(255,255,255);font-size: 11ptpx;font-family: Arial;">. In this episode, Mike discusses his incredible shark attack survival story and journey as an amputee, as well as the unsung role sharks play in the ocean’s ecosystem.</span><br /> <br /> <br /></p> <p><span style= "color: rgb(0,0,0);background-color: transparent;font-size: 11ptpx;font-family: Arial;"> Key Takeaways:</span><br /> <br /></p> <p><span style= "color: rgb(0,0,0);background-color: transparent;font-size: 11ptpx;font-family: Arial;"> Sharks are the garbagemen of the sea. Think about what would happen if you didn’t have someone collect your trash. Your house would get unlivable pretty quickly. This is what sharks do: they get rid of the sick, the dying, the diseased, and the trash in the ocean. If we lose our sharks, we lose our oceans.</span><br /> <br /></p> <p><span style= "color: rgb(0,0,0);background-color: transparent;font-size: 11ptpx;font-family: Arial;"> The scourge of shark fin soup. One of the biggest dangers to sharks is shark fin soup. It’s supposed to be a delicacy, but it has no nutritional value and very little cultural value. Shark flesh of a shark has very little commercial value, whereas a shark fin commercially can go for hundr