A crayfish managed to tear off its own claw in a daring escape from being cooked in a boiling pot of soup in China.
The crafty crustacean was seen gripping the side of the pot before detaching one of its claws and fleeing, in a video viewed more than 900,000 times on social media.
The footage was shared by Jiuke on the popular Chinese platform Weibo.
He later revealed that he had adopted the cunning animal as a pet.
The crayfish was being cooked alive by diners - until it made a break for it.
In the clip it can be seen perching on the edge of the hotpot, while one of its claws remains dangling inside.
Then - in a bid to escape its fate - the crustacean pushes its left claw until it detaches and falls into the pot.
Weibo users left comments in support of the crayfish, urging "let him go" and "don't eat him, seeing how hard he's trying to survive", the Taiwan News website reported.
The diner responded that he had decided to take it home to his aquarium.
"I let him live," he said.
"I already took him home and I'm raising him in an aquarium."
Crayfish are able to regrow lost limbs during the process of shedding its shell, but it can take several months.
