The phrase “size does matter” is distinctly applicable to the case of this steer from Australia, given that its large dimensions saved it from the abattoir.

Knickers, the seven-year-old steer from Myalup, Western Australia, stands tall at 194 centimeters, weighs about 1.4 tons and belongs to the Holstein Friesian breed of cattle. The bovine won over social media after photos and videos of its towering over a herd of cattle surfaced.

Knickers’s owner Geoff Pearson said he tried to put him up for auction last month, but meat processors thought he was too heavy. “We have a high turnover of cattle, and he was lucky enough to stay behind,” he stated. Experts pointed out that the fact that he was a steer and not a cow (the difference being being that cows are female cattle who have had a calf and steer is a neutered male) explained his large size. This turned out to be his saviour and the animal, thought to be Australia’s largest, is set to live out the rest of his life in Pearson’s fields.