By Rose Cahalan in Blog, Special on |

The world’s longest-horned Texas Longhorn steer lives on a ranch in Australia, Texas Monthly reports.

In November, 7-year-old JR (yes, he’s named after the oil baron of Dallas fame) was awarded the Guinness World Record for longest horns: 109 inches, or nearly three meters from tip to tip.

How does Bevo stack up? His “mama,” Betty Baker, says Bevo’s horns were 78 inches at last measure, though they’ve probably grown a little since. “Some folks breed just for horns,” says Baker, who owns Bevo with her husband, John, at their Liberty Hill ranch, “but we breed for body, too. You can’t eat horns!”

A longhorn’s rack never stops growing, but growth slows down considerably when the animal is about 10 years old, Baker says.

The Aussies may have won this one for now. But let the record show that JR is still a Texas Longhorn. He’s just colonized the outback.

Photo by Horseshoe B. Longhorn Ranch