Fears massive 3,000lb steer Knickers could suffer from genetic disease

Knickers the massive 1.4-tonne steer captured the world’s attention this week as pictures circulated of his towering height and monstrous frame.

His size means he is too big for the abattoir and will therefore live out his days as king of the herd on his West Australian farm, but there is a potential downside to his huge proportions.

The immense size that will stop him being made into steaks could be the result of a rare genetic condition that will eventually do the gentle giant in.

The seven-year-old behemoth, measuring 6ft 4in (194cm) to his shoulders and weighing more than 3,000lbs (1,400kg), could suffer from gigantism and keep growing until his body can’t cope.

The seven-year-old behemoth named Knickers is believed to be the biggest in Australia and one of the tallest in the world, measuring 6ft 4in (194cm) to his shoulders and weighing more than 3,000lbs (1,400kg)

Knickers' massive 70lbs-a-day (30kg) diet is a mix of natural green pasture and rations of cereal grain that helped him be a standout steer from an early age

Knickers’ massive 70lbs-a-day (30kg) diet is a mix of natural green pasture and rations of cereal grain that helped him be a standout steer from an early age

The condition is caused by an overactive pituitary gland, which regulates growth hormones, and would explain why he is double the weight and half a metre taller than an average Holstein-Friesian steer.

Another huge steer, a South Australian Guernsey named Big Moo standing just 4cm shorter at 6ft 2in (190cm) and just as stocky, bears all the hallmarks of the same disease – or an even more worrying cause.

‘He’s about seven years old, but he’s still growing. He should have stopped. We think the most likely explanation might be he has a tumour on his pituitary gland,’ his owner Joanne Vine said.

That sentiment is shared by celebrity vet Dr Chris Brown, who examined Big Moo last year and said there was a ‘very good chance’ the mammoth steer had gigantism.

‘Gigantism, caused by the continued secretion of growth hormone by the pituitary gland, leads to characteristic big feet, jaws and foreheads as well as continuous growth – all features that Big Moo possesses,’ he said.

Knickers was only slightly shorter than Mr Pearson's son Tex, 17, (left) who stands at 6ft 7in (204cm), and is even taller when measuring to the top of the massive beast's head

Knickers was only slightly shorter than Mr Pearson’s son Tex, 17, (left) who stands at 6ft 7in (204cm), and is even taller when measuring to the top of the massive beast’s head

Even if the farm wanted to make him into thousands of hamburgers, he quickly became too big for any production facility to process

Even if the farm wanted to make him into thousands of hamburgers, he quickly became too big for any production facility to process

Now eight years old, Big Moo suffers from arthritis and needs regular cortisone shots. 

Knickers’ owner Geoff Pearson worries that his prize steer’s huge size will affect his life expectancy, but believes he has a few good years left.

So far he has not needed any special care, and had enough food and water to sate his huge appetite of 70lbs-a-day (30kg) of natural green pasture and cereal grain. 

Knickers is heavier than

  • A Mini Cooper (2640lbs/1,200kg)
  • Three clones of racehorse Winx 
  • A black rhinoceros
  • AU$140 million in stacked AU$100 notes or AU$155,000 in AU$1 coins
  • A beluga whale
  • 9,300 potatoes
  • An entire rugby league team

Though he has always been a big eater, Mr Pearson puts his size mostly down to genetics.

‘He was always a standout who stood above the rest. We kept him on because we thought he had potential to be a big steer but never imagined he’d grow to be this huge,’ he said.

‘It’s quite daunting being up close to him, he’s far bigger than any other steer I’ve had. But he’s very placid, not aggressive, just inquisitive.’

Knickers was only slightly shorter than Mr Pearson’s son Tex, 17, who stands 6ft 7in (204cm), and is even taller when measuring to the top of the massive beast’s head.

Vets said steers grew to be far bigger than bulls because they were castrated young and don’t go through the hormonal changes that stop bulls growing.

Cattle in general are also getting bigger due to selective breeding of the heaviest and therefore most lucrative cows for meat production. 

Knickers' huge size would affect his life expectancy, but Mr Pearson thinks he has a few good years left and so far didn't need any special looking after as long as he had enough food and water

Knickers’ huge size would affect his life expectancy, but Mr Pearson thinks he has a few good years left and so far didn’t need any special looking after as long as he had enough food and water

His owner Geoff Pearson said he roamed the paddocks of his feedlot near Lake Preston, about 90 minutes south of Perth, with hundreds of cattle following him.

His owner Geoff Pearson said he roamed the paddocks of his feedlot near Lake Preston, about 90 minutes south of Perth, with hundreds of cattle following him.

The average size of cattle across all breeds is 1,386 lbs (630kg) – up 18 per cent in the past two decades.

Mr Pearson said he roamed the paddocks of his feedlot near Lake Preston, about 90 minutes south of Perth, with hundreds of cattle following him.

‘Whenever you want to know where your cattle are you just cast your eye over the paddock and you can’t miss him,’ he told Daily Mail Australia.

‘The other cattle look up to him, wherever he goes they go. If he wants to go for a walk, they follow, if he wants to sit down, they wait around for him to get up.’  

Mr Pearson said his herd of 20,000 had a high turnover and all the steers Knickers started with were sold or sent to the abattoir at least three years ago, but he would stick around for the rest of his days.

‘He’s our favourite and one of our best assets, he’s part of the furniture now,’ he said.

Even if the farm wanted to make him into thousands of hamburgers, he quickly became too big for any abattoir to process.

‘He’s gone from being a production animal to some sort of star,’ Mr Pearson said.

‘We always got comments from anyone who saw him but he’s rapidly becoming a local celebrity now. I’m not sure how we will handle his newfound popularity.’

Another huge steer, a South Australian Guernsey named Big Moo (pictured with his owner Joanne Vine) standing just 4cm shorter at 6ft 2in (190cm) and just as stocky, bears all the hallmarks of the same disease - or an even more worrying cause

Another huge steer, a South Australian Guernsey named Big Moo (pictured with his owner Joanne Vine) standing just 4cm shorter at 6ft 2in (190cm) and just as stocky, bears all the hallmarks of the same disease – or an even more worrying cause

Knickers is so big, double the weight and half a metre taller than an average Holstein Friesian steer, that he was too big to be made into steaks and lives out his life as king of the herd

Knickers is so big, double the weight and half a metre taller than an average Holstein Friesian steer, that he was too big to be made into steaks and lives out his life as king of the herd

Mr Pearson said there were no plans yet to use his huge coach to increase the exposure of his farm, but he would see what happened down the track. Knickers was unfazed either way.

‘He’s just getting on with his job, which is basically just eating and sleeping,’ he said.

Knickers’ huge size would affect his life expectancy, but Mr Pearson thinks he has a few good years left and so far didn’t need any special looking after as long as he had enough food and water.

His unusual name comes from his pairing with a long-departed Brahman steer named Bra – giving the farm a ‘full set of underwear’.

The world’s tallest living steer, or bovine of any kind, is an Italian chianina ox called Bellino that stands just over two metres, and the heaviest ever weighed 5,000lbs (2,267kg). 

Read more at DailyMail.co.uk