Pages

10/15/11

World’s Smallest and Cutest Animals

When it comes to the animal kingdom, not every animal is necessarily a pretty face. Yet there are some animals that just by their sheer diminutiveness are just too cute for words. Following are some of those cuties that just might leave you speechless:

Pygmy Marmoset

Weighing just 4.2 ounces and only 5.5 to 6.3 inches in length, the pygmy marmoset is the smallest monkey in the world.

Native to the rainforests of western Brazil, southeastern Colombia, eastern Ecuador and eastern Peru, nicknames for this monkey often refer to its diminutiveness: mono de bolsillo (“pocket monkey”) and leoncito (“little lion”)

It is one of the smallest primates and the smallest true monkey.

Pygmy Rabbit

The Pygmy Rabbit is found in North America. With a body length of 9¼ to 11½ inches and weighing 13 ounces, it is considered the smallest rabbit in the species.

Unfortunately it is also considered an endangered species.

World’s Smallest Chihuahua

With a head the size of a large strawberry, Ducky, a yappy short-coat Chihuahua from Charlton, Massachusetts, holds the Guinness World Record for the world’s smallest living dog.

At only 4.9 inches tall, Ducky weighs less than 1 pound 6 ounces, looks like a wingless bat, quacks like a duck, lounges in a car seat, and naps in a baby’s playpen.

World’s Smallest Cat

Meet Mr. Peebles. He lives in central Illinois, is two years old, weighs about three pounds and is the world’s smallest cat. The cat’s small stature was verified by the Guinness Book of World Records on 2004.

Mr Peebles, the world’s smallest short-haired domestic cat, measures just 6.1 inches – the size of a typical six month old kitten. After being rescued from a house where he was badly treated, he lives in a vet’s clinic in the U.S.

World’s Smallest Horse

Thumbelina, the world’s smallest horse weighs 60 pounds. The height of this dwarf horse is only 17 inches.

The little horse was born to Paul and Kay Goessling, who specialize in breeding miniature horses, but even for the breed Thumbelina is deemed particularly small.

World’s Smallest Hamster

Only slightly bigger than a quarter, PeeWee is the smallest hamster in the world.

Weighing less than an ounce and 1.5 incles long, this golden hamster stopped growing when he was three weeks old – his five brothers and sisters however, went on to measure between 4 and 5 inches.

World’s Smallest Cattle

The world’s smallest cattle is a rare breed of an Indian zebu called the Vechur cow. The average height of this breed of cattle is 31 to 35 inches. The photo above shows a 16 year old Vechur cattle as compared to a 6 year old cross-breed cow. The Vechur is named after the village of Vechur in Kottayam district, Kerala, India.

World’s Smallest Papillion

Measuring just over 5 inches, Dylan the Papillion is Britain’s smallest dog. Dylan is so small he’ s not big enough to reach into a conventional feeding bowl.

Philippine Tarsier

One of the smallest primates on earth, the tiny Philippine Tarsier is a nocturnal animal that feeds on insects. Growing up to 6.30 inches, it is a protected species, but sadly, looks in danger of becoming extinct.

Often mistakenly called a monkey, it is, in fact, related to lemurs and bushbabies. Its elongated “tarsus,” or ankle bone, which gives the tarsier its name, allows it to jump at least three meters from tree to tree without having to touch the ground.

Bee Hummingbird

The bee hummingbird measures 2 inches from the tip of its beak to the end of its tail. Weighing only 0.063 ounces – as much as half a teaspoon of water – it is found in Cuba’s dense forest.

As the smallest bird in the world, it is about the size of a large bee. Like all hummingbirds, it is a swift, strong flier. It also can hover over one spot like a helicopter.

The bee hummingbird beats its wings an estimated 80 times per second — so fast that the wings look like a blur to human eyes. The brilliant, iridescent colors of the bee hummingbird’s feathers make the bird seem like a tiny jewel.

By Limoge

No comments:

Post a Comment