Blosom, the world's tallest cow dies

 

Pat Hanson told The (Freeport) Journal-Standard that her 1.95-metre tall Holstein, called Blosom, died May 26 on her farm near Orangeville, just south of the Wisconsin/Illinois border in the US. Blosom's height measurement is from her hoof to the shoulder area, known as the withers.

 

Hanson said she was not sure what was wrong with Blosom, but that she had the 13-year-old Holstein put down after two veterinarians said they couldn't save her.

 

Hanson said Blosom was buried in her favourite pasture, with her head facing east toward the farm.

 

In a 2014 interview after Blosom was anointed the world's tallest cow by Guinness World Records, Hanson said "usually people can stand on each side of a cow and have a conversation, but not with Blosom."

 

Hanson said you just couldn't see over her and believed if they had measured her at about eight years old she would have been taller, adding she believed she had shrunk with age.

 

Holsteins are generally around 1.5m tall and weigh around 544-630 kilograms, but Blosom's weight was estimated to be 907-1133 kg. Blosom had arrived on the farm as an eight-week-old calf but it was discovered later she could not reproduce or provide milk. Hanson said they guessed that all her energy was put into growing.

 

"Any place else, poor Blosom would be gone, but my Dad had a soft heart. My kids and I wanted so much to keep her as a pet."

 

Guinness anointed Blosom the world's tallest cow last August and on the bottom of the certificate it says "Officially Amazing".

 

"But I always knew that," Hanson said, adding that Blosom was her friend.

 

Although she was no longer alive, Blosom maintained that title and would appear in the 2016 edition of the Guinness World Records book.