KOZHIKODE: Onlookers couldn’t help taking photos with their mobile phones when Manikyam, the shortest cow in the world, stood all decked up with a garland around her neck in front of Guinness Book of World Records officials on Saturday.
The five-member Guinness Book team comprising photo editor Michael Whitty, Ronald Mackechnie, Jackfillery, Mathew Musson and Sidharth Lama came all the way from London to photograph the Vechur cow in the presence of hundreds of locals at Velur.
The six-year-old Manikyam, owned by farmer and environmentalist N V Balakrishnan, measurers 61.5 cm from the hoof to the withers. The current holder of the Guinness record for the shortest cow is Blaze who measures 69.07 cm from the hoof to the withers. Blaze is a nine-year-old miniature Zebu cow and owned by Steven DeMoor and Christian Agnew of Sanford in the US.
“We are sure this record will be interesting to a wide range of people. We came here to confirm the honour and take some interesting photographs of her,” said Whitty.
The Guinness Book will update its website conferring the honour on Manikyam only after the photo shoot, which will continue on Sunday, is over.
Balakrishnan claimed the record when veterinary surgeon Priya K Nair told him that the cow was unusually short despite having no deformity. Guinness record holders actor Pakru, Prajeesh Kannan and Job Pottas also attended the function that “crowned” Manikyam.