'Knickers' The Freakishly Huge Cow Is Too Big To Be Slaughtered

No one likes being judged because of how big they are or how they look, but it might just have saved the life of one animal who was set for the slaughterhouse.

An enormous cow called 'Knickers' has been saved by farmers in Australia, who say he is just too big to kill.

And standing at 6ft 4inches tall - the same height as basketball legend Michael Jordan - and weighing an ungodly 220 stone (that's the same as a Toyota Hilux), they really aren't kidding.

Footage released by Australian media shows the gentle giant roaming around with the rest of the herd, which he towers above.

But unlike the rest of his mates, he will be allowed to live out the rest of his days on the plains of Western Australia, as they can't bring themselves to slaughter him.

Owner Geoff Pearson said: "It was too heavy. I wouldn't be able to put it through a processing facility.

Seven News

"So I think it will just live happily ever after."

And it seems he is a lucky boy indeed, as the Holstein Friesian avoided the dreaded visit to the abattoir, instead growing old on Lake Preston feedlot in Myalup, close to Perth.

Mr Pearson told local news that he initially bought Knickers for just $400, as a 'coach' which is a castrated male cow - known as a steer - that leads other cattle.

He said: "He was always a standout steer from the others, a bit bigger than the rest."

While some of Knickers' 'mates' were slaughtered at an early age, Knickers 'was a standout', according to Mr Pearson.

Mr Pearson, who has around 20,000 animals, believes Knickers will live for a few years yet and is popular with the other cattle, and even told local news how he came up with the unusual name.

He said: "When he was young, when we first got him, we had a Brahman steer [a breed of cattle] which was a friend of his.

"So his name was bra... so we [had] bra and knickers.

"We never thought he would turn into a big knickers."

But according to reports, Knickers isn't quite the biggest cow around, that honour goes to 6ft 5inch Bellino who was measured in 2010 in Rome - and holds the Guinness World Record for being the tallest cow in the world.

Topics: Entertainment, News, Interesting, Animals

Dominic Smithers

Dominic graduated from the University of Leeds with a degree in French and History. Like you, Dom has often questioned how much use a second language has been. Well, after stints working at the Manchester Evening News, the Accrington Observer and the Macclesfield Express, along with never setting foot in France, he realised the answer is surprisingly little. But I guess, c'est la vie. Contact us at [email protected]

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