Everybody knows that “happy cows come from California” but what you might not know is that big steer come from…Australia? For this one steer, being bigger than life actually saved his life.

The Stats

If you’ve ever been to an auction, you know a lot of different things matter when picking a prize steer. Well, Knickers, as they call him, was the cream of the crop. At 194 cm – he’s taller than Hank Williams Jr., Toby Keith, and Alan Jackson!

And that is not all…this ginormous steer is pretty heavy too. At 220 stone (a little over 3,000 lbs) – he weighs more than a Ford Focus!

An Unusual Name

Knickers isn’t something you would normally call a beloved family pet – let alone livestock! But Knickers got his name in a very unusual way.

His owner explained, “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 Big Knickers.”

While his name might be funny and her size ridiculous – it might just have saved his life…

Being Big Has Its Benefits

While people normally wouldn’t want to be the biggest one out there – for Knickers, it actually saved his life. When his original owner tried to sell him at an auction, no one put in an offer. The meat processors doing the bidding all said they physically couldn’t take Knickers as he was just too big.

Happily Ever After

His now permanent owner and third-generation Myalup cattle farmer, Geoff Pearson explained, “It was too heavy. I wouldn’t be able to put it through a processing facility so I think it will just live happily ever after.”

The story of “Big Knickers” is definitely an interesting one! Check him out in the video below as he runs around with his fellow cattle and let us know what you think in the comments!