A sleepy elephant looking to catch some midday Z’s has recently gone viral after creating some stunning, yet totally accidental animal art.
According to Unilad , Anjan, an Asian elephant at the UK’s Chester Zoo, stunned zookeepers when he managed to leave behind a perfectly detailed imprint of his face following a nap in the sand.
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Staff managed to snap a picture of the beautiful creation before it was damaged in any way.
In the picture, you can see just how perfectly preserved Anjan’s profile is in the sand, from his floppy ears to his wrinkly trunk.
Even his eye squeezed shut in blissful sleep has left its imprint.
Apparently it’s completely normal for elephants to snooze on their sides while they sleep for four hours a night, but they don’t usually leave such incredible impressions behind.
“Our zookeepers quite often come across imprints in the sand but rarely do they see them quite so intact and quite as perfect as this one of Anjan,” a Chester Zoo spokesperson told Unilad .
“It’s quite remarkable really that none of the other elephants in the herd, or indeed Anjan himself, stepped on it and disturbed it before the zookeepers got to it the following morning.”
The photo of Anjan was uploaded to the zoo’s Facebook page where it’s quickly gone viral.
In just a matter of days, the post has racked up over 30,000 reactions and has been shared more than 3,000 times. And the comment section is understandably filled with stunned users who simply cannot believe their eyes.
“This is beautiful,” one person wrote. “It is like a piece of art.”
Another added, “That’s incredible. You have a very creative elephant on your hands.”
Many others suggested the zoo look into somehow preserving the stunning profile, such as making it into a mold and selling framed prints in their gift shop.
Others proposed turning it into a jigsaw puzzle, or perhaps even an interactive 3D model for children and other zoo guests to observe and feel during their visit.
However, there’s been no word yet on whether Chester Zoo has taken any of these suggestions into consideration, or if the print is even still visible in the sand.
