Original Article: https://blog.theanimalrescuesite.greatergood.com/elephant-ultrasound/

Baby animals are the cutest things ever – no matter what species. And there will definitely be some hype built up at the Oklahoma City Zoo as the establishment prepares to welcome a new little baby elephant. The exciting news was shared with the internet as the zoo’s 25-year-old Asian elephant, Asha, was announced to be expecting her fourth little bundle of joy, come February 2022!

Apparently, the elephant is 8 months into a 22-month-long pregnancy. Yikes! That is roughly about 660 days of being pregnant.

Asha’s already a mother to 5-year-old Achara and 1-year-old Kairavi – all of who have the same father. The 51-year-old bull elephant named Rex is the father to her two calves as well as this latest pregnancy.

Asha’s latest ultrasound video is making the rounds online, as the zoo shares the good news with the internet. When posting, the zoo captioned the footage, “A tiny trunk and little legs? This ultrasound is ultra-sweet! The Oklahoma City Zoo is thankful for 25-year-old Asha’s growing Asian elephant calf, due in February 2022.”

This is definitely good news for the mama-to-be, as she already makes up a multigenerational herd at the zoo. The herd consists of Asha, her sister, Chandra, Asha’s calves, another female named Bamboo, and an unrelated male named Kandula.

The Oklahoma City Zoo’s Curator of Elephants and Rhinos, Rachel Emory, shared with Bored Panda that it has been an amazing experience watching Asha build her family over the years. Emory has referred to Asha as being a wonderful mother as well as a curious and interactive member of the herd.

Asha will be undergoing plenty more ultrasounds over the course of her pregnancy, as they’re a pretty standard procedure in keeping up with her evolving pregnancy. The zoo’s veterinary team was pleased to say that the results of her recent ultrasound show both mom and baby to be doing very well. They’re the picture of perfect health. While pregnancy ultrasounds are normal for all pregnancies – both human and animal – the elephant’s ultrasound might be a little harder to figure out when looking at the screen. But surprisingly, Asha’s was a pretty clear image. In fact, if you’re not a trained vet it’s still pretty easy to be able to pick out the head, trunk, and legs in the ultrasound.

Announcing a pregnancy this early is quite rare since Asha is only 8 months into a pregnancy that is set to last another 14 months, however, the veterinary team with the zoo feels quite positive about the whole pregnancy. They noted that it is her fourth pregnancy and both she and the calf are quite healthy. In addition, the veterinary staff shared that her diet and exercise have remained consistent through her pregnancy, meaning that she is in tip-top condition.

Emory shared that the elephant has been eating plenty of hay, grass, and tree limbs during her pregnancy, but she’s also been given lots of healthy treats as well as extra fruits and veggies. These are usually given to her as positive reinforcement at the end of her workouts. Emory said, “All of these training sessions, like the ultrasound, are completely voluntary and allow us to safely and comfortably provide medical care for all of the elephants. Asha especially enjoys watermelon, cantaloupe and bananas during these sessions.”

People viewing the video have been commenting on just how cute the ultrasound is. Some of the comments have included “Seriously the cutest freaking little thing” or “That’s the most precious thing I’ve ever seen,” and we could not agree more!

Congratulations to Asha! We hope the next 14 months aren’t too exhausting.

Check out her ultrasound video below:

Source: The Animal Rescue Site Blog