Pygmy pythons eat skinks, geckos and small mammals. Ms Bembrick said: “Even though they are the tiniest python in the world they still play a valuable role in the ecosystem.

"We have the pygmy python over in the Pilbara the world's smallest species of python, that's not much bigger than your index finger," he said.

The Royal Zoological Society of Scotland's Edinburgh Zoo announced their own tiny pygmy hippo, named Haggis, was born Oct. 30. The newborn, female calf is "doing well," according to zoo staff.