Man Finds Three Live Babies After Slicing Dead Shark Belly

A family's beach outing in South Africa turned into animal rescue after one of them decided to help a dead female shark deliver three pups and ensure their survival by returning them to the sea.

The act caught on video and posted on Youtube, shows a dead shark washed ashore, with a group of people curiously examining it. When one of them notices movement in the dead fish's stomach, another man slices it open to find a live pup, much to the astonishment of his family The Telegraph reported.

Other family members, mostly women, exclaimed by giving directions, asking excited kids to back off and cheered their relative through his attempt even as the man tried to get a hold of the pup.

After returning the pup to the ocean, the man cuts the shark mother's stomach wide, suspecting presence of more pups. Following some quick cutting, two more babies were found in the sack. Avoiding their teeth by holding their tails, the man places them in the water hoping the tide would wash them away.

Discovery News pointed out that baby sharks are born with all accessories including teeth which increases their chances of survival.

"That is craziest things I have ever seen," said one of the family members in the video which shows a gaping injury in the mother fish's underbelly. Sharks are often hunted for their fins or by fishermen who believe reducing shark numbers would increase their catch.

Unlike most other fish, shark eggs hatch within the female which usually give birth in sheltered areas.