This incredible photograph shows a baby elephant in utero – with its
unmistakably characteristic ears, feet and trunk in full sight.
The image of George the elephant, the latest pachyderm arrival
at Whipsnade Zoo in England, was taken 19 months before he was born.
Zoological experts used 3-D ultrasound scanners to record the pregnancy
from conception to birth, and in doing so monitor the health and
well-being of mum and baby. This image was taken roughly three months
into the elephant’s 22-month pregnancy.
At six months old, George weighs around 380 kilograms. A typical Asian
elephant tends to grow to an adult height of two to four metres and a weight
of 3,000–5,000 kilograms.
Staff at the zoo say that George is a boisterous member of the zoo’s Asian elephant herd, where he enjoys
playing in a seven-acre paddock with his big sister Donna.
