LAKE PRESTON, Australia — Knickers the steer is huge on the internet — for being huge.

The black-and-white Holstein Friesian won social media fame and many proclamations of "Holy Cow!" after photos surfaced of the 6-foot-4-inch steer standing head and shoulders above a herd of brown cattle in Western Australia state.

Owner Geoff Pearson said Knickers was too heavy to go to the slaughterhouse.

"We have a high turnover of cattle, and he was lucky enough to stay behind," Pearson said.

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Australian media say Knickers is believed to be the tallest steer in the country and weighs about 1.4 tons.

Instead of becoming steaks and burgers, 7-year-old Knickers will get to live out his life in Pearson's fields in Lake Preston, southwest of Perth.