November 24, 2006: Elephant in the womb

[Undertoad]

Boing Boing'd and circulating fast is this fascinating Daily Mail story and image gallery, for a National Geographic special to air soon.

Using a combination of three-dimensional ultrasound scans, computer graphics and tiny cameras, the team were able to show the entire process from conception to birth.

"These kind of images from inside animals have never been seen before," said Jeremy Dear of Pioneer Productions, who made the film.

"We worked with dozens of zoos and animal sanctuaries across the world. There were a lot of different challenges - recording a dolphin is very different from an elephant, for instance.

"Animals were trained to sit still near the scanners and we also inserted cameras into the womb via the elephant's rectum-But it has been worth it. It one sequence we follow an elephant developing. When it is finally born, there is not a dry eye in the house."

At six months.



At 12 months. This last image is so realistic that I think the other two are CGI-enhanced but accurate. Look at the little toes!