Surfer who lost his leg in shark attack but still loves the waves - PHOTO+VIDEO

As a 17-year-old boy, Mike Coots lost his right leg in a shark attack while surfing off the coast of Hawaii.But the 1997 tragedy has done nothing to diminish Coots' love for the ocean, as seen in a series of stunning photographs he has been posting on his Instagram page.Not only has Coots, now 32 years old, continued surfing after the tragedy using a prosthetic limb, but he has become an activist campaigning for the conservation of sharks.When he is not busy doing water sports or saving marine predators, Coots works as a professional photographer whose work has been featured in The Wall Street Journal, Hawaii Magazine, Discovery Channel and other outlets.Many of his inspiring images show the Kauai native shredding waves on his surfboard, or admiring the incredible natural beauty of the island: golden sunsets, palm trees and waves crashing against the shore. He has even managed to find humor in his predicament, posting a photo of an inflatable shark alongside a toy diver with his right leg missing.The photographer and environmentalist bears no ill will towards the sea creature that injured him nearly two decades ago.Several years ago, Coots was approached by the Pew Environment Group asking him to join a campaign aimed at putting a stop to shark finning. In his capacity as an ambassador for the organization, Coots has traveled to the United Nations and the U.S. Capitol to speak in favor of shark conservation. In 2010, his efforts came to fruition when Hawaii became the first state in the nation to pass a ban on possession and sale of shark fins.Coots' chilling story of survival has been told many times in the last 17 years, including in a Discovery Channel documentary titled Shark Fight that premiered in 2012 to mark the 25th anniversary of the network’s popular Shark Week. In October 1997, then 17-year-old Coots was bodyboarding at Major's Bay on Kauai’s west side when suddenly a tiger shark surprised him, swimming up from the deep 'like a submarine' and plunging its razor-sharp serrated teeth into his right leg.The startled teenager repeatedly punched the fish in the head until finally it released his limb and swam away, the Huffington Post reported in 2012. Coots and a surfer friend who was with him at the time began to paddle back to shore when the teen felt a spasm in his right leg and realized that the shark had severed his foot with almost surgical precision.A semi-conscious Coots was loaded into a pickup truck and rushed to a local hospital.As he lay in the rear of the vehicle, he recalled seeing blood gushing from his wound and spilling out of the tailgate like a waterfall.Doctors were able to save his life, but Coots ended up losing his right leg at the calf. The teen, however, was so relieved to have survived the terrifying ordeal that he felt blessed rather than angry.While recovering from his injury, Coots developed a passion for photography, which he later turned into a successful career.Once back on his feet, Coots returned to the ocean without a moment’s hesitation. He chose to surf for the first time since the attack not far from the spot where he was bitten.‘I remember the first time getting back in the water... I remember jumping in the ocean, and it felt glorious,’ he told the site.(dailymail.co.uk)ANN.Az