Hundreds flock to see a 20-inch dwarf cow at a Bangladesh farm

Hundreds of people are ignoring coronavirus restrictions and flocking to a farm in Bangladesh to see a 20-inch (51-cm) tall cow that its keepers say is the world's shortest.

The miniature cow, named Rani, is 20 inches tall and 26 inches (66 cm) long, weighing 26 kg (57 lb) and so small it can be carried around.

The managers of the farm where it is kept say they have applied to Guinness World Records to certify Rani as the world's shortest.

"We are very confident that this will be very smallest one," said Mohammad Salim, executive at Shikor Agro Industries.

According to the Guinness World Records website, the title is currently held by Manikyam, a cow from the Indian state of Kerala who was 24.07 inches (61 cm) tall when it made it to the record books in 2014.

"Many people are coming from different places to see the mysterious cow, the smallest cow in the world so I also have to be here to see the cow," said one visitor, Ranu Begum.

Bangladesh has extended its lockdown to July 14 to combat a surge in coronavirus cases led by the highly contagious Delta variant. Reuters