Archie, a 29-month-old Dexter from County Antrim, Northern Ireland, is today recognised as the Shortest Bull in the world.
He measures just 76.2 cm (30 in) from the hoof to the withers, 15 inches shorter than other bulls of his breed (typically 45 in).
His height means that he's dwarfed by the other animals at his farm, including even the dogs and goats.
Fifteen-year-old student and farmer Ryan Lavery brought Archie at five months old and says that if it wasn't for his small size, the bull's fate would have been very different: "When we bought Archie, he was destined for beef. However, by Christmas time, he still hadn't grown and because we had become so fond of him we decided to keep him. His size saved his life and now he's going to live out the rest of his life as a pet."
Archie may be small, but that hasn't diminished his "bullish" temperament. Ryan explains: "Archie doesn't realise that he's so short. He thinks he's the biggest in the herd and he'll grunt and roar at the rest of them. He's generally ok around the other farm animals like horses and goats, but if something agitates him, he'll go for them - and even though he's little, at 155 kg it can hurt".
"It's brilliant and amazing to have Archie in the new Guinness Worlds book", says Ryan, who hopes that it raises the profile of the rare Dexter breed of cattle, which originates from southwest Ireland.
Archie's record and many, many more feature in the new Guinness World Records 2013 edition - is out now worldwide from all good retailers. Find out more about the book and its incredible augmented reality feature, and where you can buy a copy at www.guinnessworldrecords.com/2013/
