Thousands flock to see dwarf cow in Bangladesh that's shorter than a goat

Thousands of people have defied a nationwide coronavirus lockdown in Bangladesh to see a dwarf cow believed to be the world’s smallest cow.

Rani, a 23-month-old dwarf cow, is 51-centimetre (20-inch) tall and only weighs 26 kilograms. It has become a media star with scores of newspapers and television stations throwing the spotlight on the small cow at a farm near Dhaka.

Tourists are flocking to the farm in Charigram, southwest of Dhaka.

“I have never seen anything like this in my life. Never,” said Rina Begum, 30, who came from a neighbouring town.

The owners say Rani is 10 centimetres shorter than Manikyam, a small bovine from Kerala that currently holds the Guinness World Records for the shortest cow.

M.A. Hasan Howlader, manager of Shikor Agro farm, used a tape measure to show dozens of onlookers how Rani dwarfs her closest rival Manikyam, a cow in the Indian state Kerala that currently holds the world record.

Rani’s owners applied to the Guinness Book of Records claiming it to be the smallest cow

“People come long distances despite the coronavirus lockdown. Most want to take selfies with Rani,” Howlader told AFP, adding Guinness World Records had promised a decision in three months.

“More than 15,000 people have come to see Rani in the past three days alone,” he said.