Mother of all sharks

Fishermen who landed one of the biggest great white sharks in history had an even bigger surprise once they finally dragged their catch on board.

The crew had struggled for hours to pull the monster on deck after finding her entangled in their nets. At 21ft (6.5 metres) she was longer than their boat.

Then, as they cut the drowned shark free, they saw movement inside her body.

"We made an incision and found four pups," said New Zealand fisherman Daniel Scott. "Two were dead, but two were alive and swam away. We felt good about that. I've never birthed a great white before."

The shark, found 10 miles off Auckland, is one of the biggest ever discovered, and one of only 10 who turned out to be carrying young. The all-time record for a great white is 23ft (seven metres).

Ali Hood of the Shark Trust praised the fishermen's actions. "It's a tragedy that a pregnant female was taken out of the population, but the fishermen have to be applauded for delivering and releasing the two pups," he said. "The public believe great whites are plentiful because each one spotted gets so much media attention, but in reality losing even one female is a blow. They are a vulnerable species."

Clint Duffy, a shark expert from New Zealand's Conservation Department, said: "A conservative estimate would make this shark at least six metres long, but it could easily be 6.5 metres. That would make it one of the biggest great white sharks ever caught anywhere in the world. It is quite incredible."

The great white was eventually hauled back to sea, where her body was dumped.