Thousands flock to see dwarf cow in Bangladesh
Charigram, Bangladesh - Thousands of people are defying a nationwide coronavirus lockdown in Bangladesh to see Rani, a 51cm tall cow whose owners claim it is the world’s smallest.
The 23 month old dwarf cow has become a media star with scores of newspapers and television stations throwing the spotlight on the tiny bovine at a farm near Dhaka.
Photos of Rani on social media platforms have set off a tourist frenzy.
Despite a nationwide transport shutdown because of record coronavirus infections and deaths, people are flocking in rickshaws to the farm in Charigram, 30km southwest of Dhaka.
“I have never seen anything like this in my life. Never,” said Rina Begum (30), who came from a neighbouring town.
Rani is 66cm long and weighs only 26kg but the owners say it is 10cm shorter than the smallest cow in Guinness World Records.
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.
Guinness World Records had promised a decision in three months, he said.
Guinness World Records said Manikyam, from the Vechur breed, was 61cm high in June 2014.
Rani is a Bhutti, or Bhutanese, cow which is prized for its meat in Bangladesh. The other Bhuttis on the farm are twice Rani’s size.
“We did not expect such huge interest. We did not think people would leave their homes because of the worsening virus situation. But they have come here in droves,” the manager said.
Sajedul Islam, the government’s chief vet for the region, said Rani is a product of ‘genetic inbreeding’ and was unlikely to become any bigger.
Islam said he had told the farm to restrict the tourist influx.