Big Cow

He looks too big to be real, but apparently he genuinely is a giant cow. His name is Chilli, and he lives at the Ferne Animal Sanctuary in Somerset. From the Daily Mail:

Chilli dwarfs most horses, is the same height as a small elephant and casts a shadow over his cattle companions who are about 5ft in height
"He now stands at 6ft 6ins from the floor to the top of his shoulder and he is massive when he holds his head up.
"We have made an application to Guinness Book Of Records and we are quite confident he will get it."

Animals

Posted on Fri May 30, 2008



Comments

Suddenly, I have a hankering for a burger.
Posted by KDP  on  Fri May 30, 2008  at  10:08 AM
Don't let MadCarlotta see this. She'll start wondering how he'd taste with some A1. 😉
Posted by Charybdis  on  Fri May 30, 2008  at  11:02 AM
Isn't a cow/heifer female and a bull male? So, wouldn't it be "she" and not "he"?
Posted by DC  on  Fri May 30, 2008  at  11:31 AM
While this might really be a really, really big cow, at the very least, whoever took the picture is playing perspective games, with the person significantly behind the cow. Plus, this picture, at least, looks Photoshopped (and not very well). The guy is more out of focus than the background, and the shadows don't match. There are other pictures that aren't as bad, but they all suffer from those two flaws to some degree.
Posted by Terry Austin  on  Fri May 30, 2008  at  12:15 PM
"whoever took the picture is playing perspective games"

Agreed. You can tell from the shadows that the person is standing behind the cow.
Posted by Ima Fish  on  Fri May 30, 2008  at  01:12 PM
but.. but .. it's in the Daily Mail! When has the Daily Mail ever bullshitted?
Posted by zoo  on  Fri May 30, 2008  at  05:23 PM
"whoever took the picture is playing perspective games"

I actually saw this on the tv news the other night, in video. And that cow really is *that* huge. The video showed the handlers interacting with the bull in normal farm situations, and that thing is massive.

Even lying down, it was still chest-height.

They even compared it to New Zealand's largest Bull, who was something like 17cm shorter than Chilli...
Posted by Goofycabal  on  Fri May 30, 2008  at  06:05 PM
Um.. did you guys actually visit the Daily Mail link? There's more pics (better quality) and more info. He's a Friesian bullock and is definitely the real deal.
Posted by CP  on  Fri May 30, 2008  at  06:26 PM
Uh, DC, cow is the generc name for the species as well as being the female name. Bull is specifically for the male but cow can be used for both male and female. Goes back to thedays when only the female cows were useful.
Posted by Christopher Cole  on  Sat May 31, 2008  at  10:46 AM
I think it might be photoshopped a bit... look how oddly-shaped her udders are... and the cow looks fake, too
Posted by Hairy Houdini  on  Sat May 31, 2008  at  05:51 PM
Um, Hairy, that's a boy cow. No udders. I'm not even sure what you think you're looking at--the tail?

Pretty interesting article with neat pictures, and Ferne Animal Sanctuary sounds like a lovely place.
Posted by Canaduck  on  Sun Jun 01, 2008  at  10:00 AM
I think he's talking about the woman next to the cow. 😛
Posted by Sakano  on  Sun Jun 01, 2008  at  11:22 AM
He isn't a cow, he's a bullock (castrated male). A cow is the female of the species.

He really is that big. We're not used to seeing full-grown males because most are slaughtered before reaching full growth.
Posted by Sarah (Messybeast)  on  Sun Jun 01, 2008  at  12:12 PM
It helps that its a short woman in the picture. She looks about 5ft or so.
Posted by Scott K  on  Sun Jun 01, 2008  at  02:15 PM
This is old news! It was on the BBC about two or three weeks ago. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/in_pictures/7397926.stm
Posted by mr royale  on  Mon Jun 02, 2008  at  03:43 AM
"Cows" is sometimes used as an alternate form of "cattle," and "cowboys" are responsible for cattle of both sexes, but when we're talking about an individual specimen, a female is a "cow" and a male is either a "bull" (pre-op) or a "steer" (post-op). Since, as is evident in some of the other pictures on the Daily Mail site, Chilli is a bullock (what we call a steer in the U.S.), I think the headline for this item should say, "Big Steer," "Big Bullock," or "Big Ox."

He does seem to be a big fella, but I think they've enhanced the effect simply by having a very small person pose next to him. This is an old trick. The models in sports car and airline ads are almost always tiny.
Posted by Big Gary  on  Mon Jun 02, 2008  at  03:05 PM
There are giant humans from time to time... so why not giants occasionally appearing in other species? I find it believable... and Hairy, you never fail to crack me up!

:lol:
Posted by Mark-N-Isa  on  Mon Jun 02, 2008  at  11:12 PM
if it has udders ir's a female
Posted by keegman  on  Sun Jan 11, 2009  at  04:51 PM
he is really big!!!!!!!!! i wish he was my show cow!!!!!!
Posted by kristen solinsky  on  Thu Sep 03, 2009  at  06:10 PM
Growing up in Montana, there was usually a big steer displayed at the county fair; the name I remember is "Big Boy". Yes, they really get that big. And I don't think it's a genetic abnormality--like someone else said, they usually slaughter the animals before they have a chance to grow that large.
Posted by Erin  on  Thu Dec 31, 2009  at  07:59 AM
He's so COOL. I really want a pet cow and if i could have him that would make my day Loll.
Really want to stroke him
:]
Posted by saffron  on  Sun Jan 24, 2010  at  03:10 PM
Commenting is not available in this channel entry.