Today, the shoulder height of a large domestic cow is around 1.5 m (5 ft). Despite this, their wild ancestors, the aurochs, were huge beasts that reached on average 1.8 m (6 ft) tall at the withers. Between 1931 and 1938, Dr. Lutz Heck, director of the Berlin Zoo, attempted to recreate the aurochs starting from domestic cattle, through the cross breeding of the most primitive known cattle breeds. The result is the Heck cattle, greatly resembling the extinct aurochs (Bos primigenius), but still a dwarf when compared to it, and having smaller horns.
With all this, there are cattle whose sizes, with absolutely no scientific
experiments or interventions, can remind us of the aurochs. Chilli, a Friesian bullock at the Ferne Animal Sanctuary in Chard, Somerset, seems to be Britain's tallest cow, at the height of 6ft 7in (1.98 m). The animal weighs over a tonne. Common Friesian bulls weigh 650 kg (1,430 pounds) and are only 5ft (1.5 m) tall.
Workers at the sanctuary have now applied to Guinness Book of Records to have Chilli officially named as Britain's tallest cow. They claim the nine-year-old animal has grown so tall because of the "Somerset air". "We have checked farms and sanctuaries across the country and we have been unable to find a cow even near his height. He is lucky to still be alive. It is unusual for Friesians to live to this age as they are usually slaughtered for beef in their youth," said the sanctuary's Jo Fox.
Chilli has a twin sister, Jubilee, who also has an outstanding height: 6ft (1.8 m) at the shoulder. Despite his giant stature, Chilli does not have a special diet to stick to, grazing with the other cows and, from time to time, receiving a swede as a treat.
"For some reason, a farmer decided he didn't want Chilli and Jubilee, so dumped them with three others on our doorstep nine years ago. He was only six days old and didn't look that big but as the years passed we noticed he was getting rather tall. We have made an application to Guinness World Records and we are quite confident he will get it. We don't know what has made him so tall. He doesn't eat that much. Chilli's feet and head are in proportion; he is just very large. He is a very friendly and gentle animal," said Naomi Clarke, the manager of the Ferne Animal Sanctuary.
Despite the huge size of Chilli, the world's tallest bovine is a 2.03 m (6 ft 9 in) Italian cow named Fiorino. Still, these cattle are skinny compared to the world's heaviest bovines. The British bull Colonel, who died in 2005, was 6ft 5in (1.93 m) tall and weighed 3.500lb (1.575 kg). To put it in other words, he was the size of a large rhinoceros.
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