Knickers the steer is a bit on the shy side, but the bovine behemoth tends to stick out from the herd.

As you might have guessed, that is Knickers at the back of the photo — the black and white one with a couple of normal-sized cows sheltering under its belly.

Standing 194cm tall and weighing 1.4 tonnes, the seven-year-old Holstein Friesian is unofficially Australia's biggest steer.

While all that bulk makes it hard for Knickers to blend in, being heavier than a family sedan does have its advantages.

Third generation Myalup cattle farmer Geoff Pearson said Knickers' startling size had saved him a trip to the abattoir.

"It was too heavy. I wouldn't be able to put it through a processing facility," he said.

"So I think it will just live happily ever after."

Knickers cost his owners $400. They bought him as a "coach" — an animal that could take charge of the herd and show them the ropes of life on the farm.

Myalup cattle farmer Geoff Pearson with Knickers on the Myalup farm.

According to Guinness World Records, the tallest steer on the planet can be found in Italy — a 202cm Chianina ox named Bellino.

However, some experts are already pouring cold water over the latest viral sensation.

"This story needs some perspective," said Aniek Bouwman, an expert in animal breeding and genomics at Wageningen University in the Netherlands.

For starters, she said, it's important to note that Knickers is not a cow but a steer, because males are typically quite a bit larger than females. (Note: Only females who have had at least one calf are referred to in cattle circles as "cows".) But his breed is also important, Bouwman said.

Male Holsteins tend to top out at just under 6 feet in height, while other breeds, like the wagyu cattle that surround Knickers in the now-famous photos of him, usually come in under 4.5 feet.

Age is also a factor. Knickers is seven years old, which is actually rather long in the tooth for a steer. The animals he was pictured with are all around one year old, his owner told the New York Times.

As for whether genes are responsible for Knickers' size, Bouwman told the Washington Post a DNA test would be required to say for sure.

Knickers is attracting plenty of media attention.

It may also be possible that Knickers' pituitary gland, which regulates growth, has gone haywire. This has been seen in some tadpole specimens that continue to grow as tadpoles and never undergo metamorphosis to become frogs.

Danniel, another humongous Holstein in California that was roughly the same size as Knickers, died this year from a calcium deficiency. According to news reports, Danniel consumed 100 pounds of hay, 15 pounds of grain and 100 gallons of water a day. He'd lived to be eight years old.

Meanwhile, the world's tallest steer record is held by an Italian chianina ox named Bellino. He's 6-foot-7.

Knickers has shown no sign of health problems, but Pearson said he won't be surprised if carrying all that weight catches up to the steer eventually. And while it's been fun talking about his unusual animal to journalists from various countries in recent days, Pearson said, he's got more pressing matters.