08 October 2023 , 18:12
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A man who doctors say 'should have died' after a horror shark attack has shared his tips on how to avoid the same fate.
Surfer Mike Coots lost his right leg from the calf downwards when he was bitten by a tiger shark while bodyboarding in Hawaii 26 years ago. The 44-year-old, who also works in photography, shocked doctors after surviving the ordeal - despite losing a huge amount of blood.
After the incident, he went on to become an expert on sharks - and has dedicated his life to working and swimming with them, capturing beautiful photos of the creatures instead of being scared. Over the past 20 years, he has learned so much - and has now shared some important information to help others avoid being involved in a potentially fatal incident.
Mike Coots has dedicated his life to shark conservation (@Mikecoots/Instagram)Speaking to MailOnline, he said: "The safest way to be underwater with sharks is to have clear visibility and lots of eye contact with sharks. They are ambush predators and if they know you know they are there, it’s much safer." Mike adds that one 'dangerous mistake' swimmers can make is getting distracted by their underwater camera - and become unaware of what is happening around them.
Contrary to popular belief, sharks are not intent on hunting humans, according to Mike. But he admits they are most likely to attack humans in 'murky water' - or if they are 'splashing and looking like an injured animal'.
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He said: "Don’t splash, panic, and if underwater always look at the shark and make yourself seem large. Don’t turn your back on a shark." One warning sign to look out for, he says, is when sharks 'arch their body and swim erratically'.
Mike was involved in another close-up ordeal with a shark 20 years after the near-fatal attack while boogie-boarding off the coast of Hawaii. Back in 2018, he filmed a close-up video of a Great White shark's gaping jaws at Stewart Island, off the coast of New Zealand.
He said at the time: "When I filmed the footage this Great White was coming right up to me - literally millimetres away. It was literally like hanging with dinosaurs. It's one of the coolest things you can do on earth. You can just feel the vibe from this apex predator."
While most would recoil in horror, Mike insists filming sharks close up actually calms him down. While sharks are not common in UK waters, Brits were baffled two months ago when a super rare shark washed up off the Welsh coast.
Angel sharks are critically endangered - but sightings suggests there is a small population living close to Abersoch Beach in Pen Llyn. One was found washed up on the coast, but a picture taken by a visitor suggests it had been dead for some time.