By . Kerry Mcqueeney . On first glance, you might be forgiven for thinking you'd stumbled across an impressive piece of wildlife art. The fine detail - right down to the elephant's trunk and eyes - shows the perfect outline of the gigantic beast. But this is not the work of an artist. Nor is it likely to remain in the spot where it was found for too much longer. Animal art: This incredibly detailed imprint of the elephants was left in the sand when the beast arose from its slumber . This incredible image shows the imprint of Sundara, an eight-year-old Asian elephant, where it fell asleep in the sand at Chester Zoo. Staff at the zoo were amazed when they ventured into the elephants' enclosure and found the perfectly-preserved impression of the animal's head in the ground. The indentation is so clear, it even shows the fine detail of the ridges on the animal's trunk, as well as its ear and eyes. The enclosure's two elephants had fallen asleep on the ground, side-by-side, and - judging by the imprint - Sundara did not appear to move too much during its jumbo slumber. And, in another stroke of luck, it didn't seem to disturb the impressive artwork when it arose from its snooze. Jumbo slumber: Two elephants sleep side-by-side on the sand in their enclosure at Chester Zoo . Elephants lie down on their sides to sleep for around four hours a night and usually turn over at least once. Even elephants that live in a zoo have a natural instinct to be aware of predators, which causes them to wake during their sleep as often as every half hour. They tend to have something to eat and then go back to sleep. Due to their weight, elephants are forced to switch sides during their sleep. The mass of their bodies is so much that it puts pressure on their bones, causing pain and discomfort. The animals are also very light sleepers. If there were a sudden loud noise - either in the wild or in a zoo - an elephant would quickly be on its feet. In their natural habitat, a herd of elephants would not sleep at the same time. There would always be at least one keeping watch. Staff at Chester Zoo (pictured) were amazed when they ventured into the elephants' enclosure and found the perfectly-preserved impression of the animal's head in the ground .
Staff at Chester Zoo were astonished to find a detailed impression of the beast's head where it fell asleep in the sand .
By . Kerry Mcqueeney . On first glance, you might be forgiven for thinking you'd stumbled across an impressive piece of wildlife art. The fine detail - right down to the elephant's trunk and eyes - shows the perfect outline of the gigantic beast. But this is not the work of an artist. Nor is it likely to remain in the spot where it was found for too much longer. Animal art: This incredibly detailed imprint of the elephants was left in the sand when the beast arose from its slumber . This incredible image shows the imprint of Sundara, an eight-year-old Asian elephant, where it fell asleep in the sand at Chester Zoo. Staff at the zoo were amazed when they ventured into the elephants' enclosure and found the perfectly-preserved impression of the animal's head in the ground. The indentation is so clear, it even shows the fine detail of the ridges on the animal's trunk, as well as its ear and eyes. The enclosure's two elephants had fallen asleep on the ground, side-by-side, and - judging by the imprint - Sundara did not appear to move too much during its jumbo slumber. And, in another stroke of luck, it didn't seem to disturb the impressive artwork when it arose from its snooze. Jumbo slumber: Two elephants sleep side-by-side on the sand in their enclosure at Chester Zoo . Elephants lie down on their sides to sleep for around four hours a night and usually turn over at least once. Even elephants that live in a zoo have a natural instinct to be aware of predators, which causes them to wake during their sleep as often as every half hour. They tend to have something to eat and then go back to sleep. Due to their weight, elephants are forced to switch sides during their sleep. The mass of their bodies is so much that it puts pressure on their bones, causing pain and discomfort. The animals are also very light sleepers. If there were a sudden loud noise - either in the wild or in a zoo - an elephant would quickly be on its feet. In their natural habitat, a herd of elephants would not sleep at the same time. There would always be at least one keeping watch. Staff at Chester Zoo (pictured) were amazed when they ventured into the elephants' enclosure and found the perfectly-preserved impression of the animal's head in the ground .
eight-year-old Asian elephant, where it fell asleep in the sand at Chester Zoo. Staff at the the perfectly-preserved impression of the