Standing less than three feet tall, the Vechur “dwarf” cow of Kerala is officially the smallest bovine in the world.

Its diminutive size and cute appearance has seen it become a prized, exotic pet among Indian families, echoing the “micro-pig” fad that briefly gripped Britain.

But Indian scientists now believe it could have a big future in global dairy production, after a study of its unusual ability to withstand extreme heat unexpectedly showed that it also emits far less methane than typical dairy cows, compared to the amount of milk it produces.

The Kerala state government, which is funding the research, hopes the discovery could have important implications for the fight against global warming, if production is scaled up.

Livestock emit more than one-third of all released methane, which warms the world 20 times faster than carbon dioxide.

Scientists at the Kerala Veterinary and Animal Sciences University were researching the Vechur cow’s remarkable ability to withstand the heatwave and drought conditions currently gripping India when they made the discovery.