Dwarf cow Rani finds fame in Bangladesh

Visitors have been flocking to a farm in Bangladesh to see a new celebrity: a dwarf cow called Rani. The 23-month-old Bhutti, or Bhutanese, cow stands just 51cm (20in) high, and weighs 28kg (62Ib).

Despite a national Covid lockdown, more than 15,000 people have reportedly visited Rani at her farm in Charigram, near the capital Dhaka.

Farm manager Hasan Howladar has applied to the Guinness Book of Records, saying Rani is the world's smallest cow.

"I have never seen anything like this in my life," visitor Rina Begum told BBC Bangla.

Mr Howladar bought Rani last year from another farm in Bangladesh's north-west Naogaon district.

He says she has walking difficulties and is afraid of the other cows at Shikor Agro farm, so she is kept separate from the rest of the herd.

"She doesn't eat much. She eats a small amount of bran and straw twice a day," said Mr Howladar. "She likes to roam outside and seems to be happy when we take her in our arms."

The title for the world's smallest cow has been held by Manikyam, in neighbouring India, which measures 61.1cm from the hoof to the withers.

Mr Howladar told the BBC that investigators from the Guinness Book of Records would be visiting his farm this year to see if Rani would take the crown.

With only a few weeks to go until the Islamic festival of Eid al-Adha, there has been speculation about whether Rani will be sold for sacrifice. But farm authorities said they had no plans to part with her.