They may not be quite the hefty size of Australian giant steer Knickers, but two huge steers from Hawke's Bay share a similar story.
Knickers, at 196cm tall, became an internet hit, having been saved from slaughter because it is too big to be processed in a normal abattoir.
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New Zealand steers Ottis and Cosmo are living out their days on a farmlet in Puketapu, also saved from the abattoir because of their size.
Owner Michele Radovancich said both steers had a tough start to life, with Ottis - who is now just under 170cm tall - having been born prematurely.
"His tail had been chewed off accidentally by his mother who was pulling on it trying to get him to stand," she said.
"He spent his first few hours home in front of our fire, then the next couple days in our old washhouse on a tarp as he couldn't stand to feed.
"On the third night we were woken to little hooves skidding around our lounge on the floor boards and after a couple of weeks he was strong and healthy enough to go out into the paddock with the others."
Cosmo, slightly smaller than Ottis, also beat the odds. He was a sick dying calf, and needed to be tube-fed before growing into the huge steer he is today.
"A couple of years ago my partner decided he and another big beast we had here were getting arthritic and we should send them to the works," said Ms Radovancich.
She said a stock agent came to view them and was shocked at their size.
"He arranged to send them to the Feilding, but he didn't fit in the kill box so was transported back."
The world's tallest living steer is an Italian chianina ox measuring 201cm, according to Guinness World Records.
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