Keepers at a marine wildlife park have been using ultrasound – and chain mail gloves – to find out whether one of their venomous fish is pregnant.

Staff at Living Coasts in Torquay, Devon, noticed that Bonnie, a mangrove whipray, had put on some weight and suspected she might be carrying young.

So they enlisted the help of a company, Mount International Ultrasound Services (MIUS), that makes ultrasound machines, to check her out using a £25,000 portable scanner.

Ghislaine Sayers, head of veterinary services at Paignton Zoo, which runs the park, said: “Bonnie has put on a bit of weight recently – we wanted to find out if this means she is pregnant.”

Unfortunately, the ultrasound revealed that Bonnie was not pregnant, leaving staff at the park mystified as to why she is putting on weight.

They are now checking to see what the cause of her weight gain is.