Jaws of life

This extraordinary video shows the moment a beachgoer sliced open a pregnant dead shark to save her pups and lead them to the ocean.

An American family found the deceased mother shark on a beach in Cape Town, South Africa, but noticed that something inside the creature was still moving.

Realising there could be baby sharks inside, the gruesome but remarkable footage shows the man using a knife to perform a makeshift C-section on the animal.

As the beachgoer cuts into the shark, a witness can be heard saying: 'Err... I don't think there's a baby in there.'

But moments later something begins to wriggle inside, causing the good Samaritan to jump back and shout as a baby shark squirms in his hand.

A woman is heard telling the man to 'not get bitten' as he tentatively reaches down to help the pup make it to the ocean.

The stand-in vet, right to be careful as sharks are born with a full set of teeth, rolls the pup over before grabbing it by the tail and tossing it into the sea.

Witnesses shout 'congratulations' as a second baby shark begins to move, with one woman hailing it the 'coolest thing I've ever seen' as the pup is carried to the ocean.

The gruesome but remarkable beach birth of three pups was captured by Beth Cordell and uploaded to YouTube.

The video's description reads: 'This video is a good example of respect to all forms of life... You cannot help but admire the beach goers that helped the baby sharks live a life in the ocean.'

Despite their unconventional entrance to the world, the sharks are likely to live normal, healthy lives.

Pups, who stay inside the womb for up to two years, do not stick around for long after birth in case their mother eats them and are capable of independence from the moment they are born.

(dailymail.co.uk)