- Big things can come in small packages.
Some animals are large and in charge. The defining feature of many beasts is their huge and intimidating size.
It may come as a surprise then that many famously well-sized animals can come in miniature versions. We’re not talking about domestic animals bred to be tiny – some critters have shrunk up naturally.
Here are seven examples of small species of usually big animals (plus one honorable mention).
1. Dwarf Crocodile
Even the more moderately sized crocodiles are typically hefty monsters that you’d rather not run into. Compared to some other crocs, the West African dwarf crocodile is positively minuscule.
These small crocodiles, found in Africa’s rainforests, grow to be only five feet long. Although not pocket-sized by any means, they’re significantly shorter and (more importantly) more slender than most crocs.
However, there’s a specific subgroup of dwarf crocodiles that lives, bizarrely enough, in the Abanda Caves in Gabon. These cave dwellers are even smaller, at around 4 feet long, and they’ve specialized to hunt bats and cave crickets.
2. Pygmy Hog
The pygmy hog is a teeny-tiny species of wild pig and the only species in the genus Porcula. Despite the name, it’s not an oinking vampire. Although if it were, you wouldn’t have much to worry about.
Even at its largest, the pygmy hog is less than a foot tall and weighs less than 20 pounds. If you saw one and didn’t know this species existed, you’d probably think it’s just a small piglet.
Sadly, the cute little piggies may not be long for this world. They live only within a tiny area in northern India and were already declared extinct in the 1960s until a new population was discovered 10 years later.
For more stories about animals bouncing back from extinction, check out these 8 animals that came back from the dead.
3. Tamaraw
Seeing a photo of a tamaraw, you’d probably think it’s just a water buffalo. Indeed, this bovine has scaled itself down while maintaining the proportions of much bigger buffalos.
But the tamaraw really is tiny. These Philippine buffalos are barely 3.5 feet tall. Their small size allows them to efficiently hide among the thick bushes of their forest homes.
Now, technically, a tamaraw is not a dwarf water buffalo. It’s a separate species, but it looks so much like its larger relatives (only smaller) that it should count for this list.
4. Pygmy Hippopotamus
What makes a hippo a hippo is the heft. In that sense, the pygmy hippopotamus from West Africa is recognizably a hippo, as it is quite rotund.
They look like baby hippos, though. Pygmy hippos grow to be only about three feet tall, and, at a maximum of 600 pounds, they weigh less than a quarter of what a regular hippopotamus does.
Thanks to being so small and chubby, pygmy hippos are famously adorable. Just look at Moo Deng, the pygmy hippo that took over the internet when she was born in 2024.
5. Dwarf Sperm Whale
Think of a really big animal, and a whale is probably among the first things to pop into your mind. The dwarf sperm whale, however, demonstrates that not all whales are ginormous.
At about 9 feet long at their largest and 600 pounds at their heaviest, dwarf sperm whales are still significantly larger than a human being. However, compared to the actual sperm whale, they’re a mere fraction of that giant’s size.
In behavior, though, the dwarf sperm whale is much like its bigger cousins. It lives throughout the warm tropical oceans and hunts squid and fish to feed itself.
6. Pygmy Right Whale
While nowhere near as small as the dwarf sperm whale, the pygmy right whale is still the world’s smallest baleen whale. Confined to the world’s southernmost seas, the pygmy right whale is “merely” 21 feet long. It is also as light as a feather, weighing just around 7,000 pounds.
That doesn’t sound very small, but compare that to a blue whale, which can grow to be 100 feet long and weigh more than 200 tons.
It doesn’t seem so big now, does it? Although it’s a separate species, the pygmy right whale looks so much like a right whale that they were initially believed to be just baby right whales.
7. Dwarf Lanternshark
Sharks come in all shapes and sizes, but we tend to focus on the big predators. The Great White, bull shark, tiger shark, hammerhead…
And then there’s the dwarf lanternshark. The smallest shark found so far, this miniature creature is only eight inches long at its most massive.
It’s so small that it fits on your palm. Still, looking at it, it’s unmistakably a shark.
Honorable Mention: Pygmy Mammoth
Mammoths are (or were) the definition of a big land animal. Their massive, brown-furred frames contrasting against a snow-white background define the ice age.
Unless you found yourself on the Channel Islands off the coast of modern-day Los Angeles. Here, you would’ve found the pygmy mammoth.
Measuring around 6 feet tall at the shoulders, the males of this mammoth species were barely taller than you. The females were even smaller, making for a tiny, furry elephant(-like creature).
The size game can work the other way around, too. Take a look at these 7 monstrously huge predecessors of modern animals.