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A startling technological breakthrough is allowing an exceptional glimpse of how life is created throughout the animal kingdom.
Using a mixture of 4D ultrasound scans, animation and computer graphics, experts have been able to recreate the development of a variety of different animal fetuses growing in the womb from conception to delivery.
In Animals in the Womb, to be shown on the National Geographic Channel in the US next month and on Channel 4 in the UK next year, programme makers portray the extraordinary journey into life of an elephant, a dolphin and a dog - from a single cell to a baby mammal.
"Animals in the Womb offers a pretty extraordinary window on this previously unseen world," said Jeremy Dear, head of development at Pioneer Productions, the company behind the film.
"The film underlines some fascinating facts about our evolutionary heritage and you can't help be moved by each of our animal's journeys towards birth."
Using a combination of advanced technology, an in-depth timeline of each fetus' development and birth and computer-generated graphics the film is able to depict the development of a dolphin, dog and elephant.
An eight-week-old dolphin fetus can be seen swimming in the womb, its own private aquatic environment.
Over the course of a year, the dolphin fetus will develop features needed to help it swim as fast as 35km/h and track prey the size of a ping-pong ball from 90m away.
At 24 days, the dolphin embryo inexplicably develops tiny leg-like buds, which then disappear over the next two weeks.
After 11 weeks, the embryo's fins display bone structures resembling human hands suggesting the possibility that dolphin ancestors were once land dwellers.
Conversely, the world's largest land animal - the elephant - shows signs its ancestors may not have lived on land, but in the sea. Images of a four-month old elephant embryo show how the baby develops kidney ducts most commonly found in freshwater fish and frogs. They are thought to be the only viviparous land mammal whose embryos develop this feature.
The film, which follows in the footsteps of the original Life before Birth, which in 2005 followed the journey of the human fetus through its development, also shows how a dog exhibits full-grown canine behaviours while still in the womb.
Unlike elephants, which usually produce just one fetus at a time, all 400 different breeds of dogs can produce multiple puppies in one litter.
After 30 days a dog embryo begins to form legs with paddle shaped and webbed paws.
Days later the fetuses open their mouths and stick out their tongues in a panting-like fashion and by day 45 the nose is clearly visible.
The film also shows how nature prepares the baby animals for life from day one.
Unlike the elephant and dolphin, which must be able to swim or walk at birth to survive, the pups are born helpless and blind, but with sensitive hearing and sense of smell to help them locate their mother's teats.
"The images in the film are a testament to the amazing ingenuity and patience of the production team who worked with some of the world's leading vets to obtain these pictures," said Mr Dear.
- INDEPENDENT
