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.

Beachgoers noticed movement inside the body of a dead shark that had washed up on the beach in Cape Town, South Africa

Realising there could be pups inside, a man cut the mother shark open to look inside, finding three babies (first pictured in man's hand, right)

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.

Witness shout 'congratulations' and cheer as three pups are rescued from the dead body of their mother

The man is seen holding the pups by their tails, avoiding their teeth, and carrying them to the ocean

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.