Top 10 Pygmy Animals

by Zoo Keeper · Published February 15, 2010 · Updated January 8, 2023

Why is it that Pygmy creatures are more attractive than full-sized animals? Do they retain some of the tiny new-born charm into adulthood? By nature of being a pygmy they all have that special small but powerful, little-big-guy demeanor. They are all fascinating. Of course, it can be advantageous in the wild to be tiny. Big fat animals must eat a lot to maintain their bodies but the little guy can survive on some smaller dishes. Here is a top 10 list of some of them (more than 10 now).

Pygmy Owl

pygmy

Within the species of owls there is no shortage of pygmys. There are around 34 species/subspecies although this is not completely agreed upon. About half of those are spread about the Americas. There is also an elf owl.

Pygmy Seahorse

pink seahorse

seahorse palm

seahorse reef

Masters of blending into the reef

The pygmy seahorse is found in the western central Pacific coastal areas, in the south of Japan, Indonesia and northern Australia. It is only about 2.5cm or 1 inch tall. This is a species where the male takes care of the offspring. The male has a pouch and the female comes to deposit her eggs there. Then, the eggs stay in the male’s pouch until hatched.

Pygmy Tarsier

tarsier

Believed to be extinct for about the last 100 years, the pygmy tarsier was found by accident by scientists in Indonesia in 2000. They don’t like baths and don’t feed them after midnight. See also Pygmy Tarsier Rediscovered in Indonesia and Tarsiers

Pygmy Elephant

pygmy elephant

Still a big elephant!, but not quite so big as some of the others.

Pymy Elephant

Pygmy Marmoset

pygmy marmoset

Pygmy Marmoset

Pygmy Tapir

tapir

Pygmy Goat

goat

Never trust a goat. Much less a feisty pygmy goat.

Pygmy Horse

dwarf horse

miniature horse

small horse

Miniature, Dwarf or Pygmy? This site about Guide Horses for the Blind has some interesting facts about them.

Pygmy Hog

hog

hogs

Red River Hogs

The pygmy hog is a wild pig from India that is about 10 inches tall and weighs a little more than 10 lbs. None of the hogs pictured above is a pygmy hog, they were just the ones who showed up on the day of the photo shoot.