It's probably not often that people will put their life on the line for a shark, but some brave Australian marine experts did just that when it was discovered a grey nurse shark had a meter-long fishing hook stuck in its throat.

The rescuers first had to capture the shark and then tire it out for a few hours, after which the bravest of them all stuck his arm down the creature's throat and removed the offending object.

Grey nurse sharks have difficulties with reproduction which has landed the species on the endangered list, hence the daring rescue efforts. According to Wikipedia:

Female sharks have two uteruses. Inside the uterus the young sharks develop and eat each other, so typically only two young sharks are born for each gestation period, which lasts six to nine months. This process, also known as intrauterine cannibalism, is making it harder for the shark population to rebound from near extinction.

Yikes, if these sharks eat each other, it kind of makes the rescue efforts seem much more heroic, doesn't it? In the meantime, is anyone else kind of curious how exactly one tires out a shark?

» Reuters Video