Big In Texas: Here Is The Biggest Land Animal In Texas

Do you have any idea what the biggest land animal in Texas is?

What It's Not

Let's eliminate some animals. We'll start by saying goodbye to buffalo and bison. We'll also say adios to bears. Sasquatch isn't real (that we know of) so he doesn't make the list either. Here's one more clue before we get to the big reveal: the biggest land animal in Texas is also the mascot to one of our most popular college teams.

You Guessed It!

The largest land animal in Texas is a longhorn steer. Some can go six feet tall at just the shoulders and weigh up to 1500 pounds. Add in a length of 8 to 10 feet and the longhorn steer easily takes the title. Let's also not forget those horns which can be eight feet across.  Bears in the Lone Star State only go 5-6 feet tall and 200-300 pounds.

Longhorns Are Legendary

You may not like it, due to a certain colleges affinity for them, but longhorn steer go way back in Texas history. In fact, one study shows that today's longhorn are decedents of cattle brought to America by Christopher Columbus. That's right, Texas longhorns are actually immigrants, and that's a great American story.

Don't Be Afraid

Let's start by saying that you should give any large animal a lot of space, but longhorn cattle do not intentionally attack people. Current stats show about 20-22 deaths a year that can be blamed on cattle, and none of those are specifically blamed on longhorns.