The Programme

A tiny elephant with a 15-centimetre-long trunk floats in its mother's womb. A 52-day-old dog embryo is already panting and has a full coat of fur. A 29-week-old dolphin foetus swims freely inside its mother. These are just some of the breathtaking images on show in Animals in the Womb.

Using revolutionary four-dimensional scanning technology, scientists are able to shine a light on the hidden secrets of mammalian embryonic development. The film charts the foetal journey of three species of mammal – a litter of puppies, an elephant calf and a dolphin.

From conception through to birth, one thing becomes obvious – mammals undergo similar stages of development in the womb. In fact, in the early embryonic stages, it is not easy for the untrained eye to spot the difference between a dolphin, a dog, an elephant and even a human.

The story of these three embryos is testimony to the strong relatedness of all mammals. Since mammals evolved 200 million years ago, they have spread across the globe and conquered the planet. From one ancestor they have split into thousands of different species. From bat to human to hyena, their diversity seems endless, but looking at them in the womb serves only to stress their unity.

^ Top