People stunned by video of 'hench' bulls born with unrestricted muscle growth
People have been left stunned by a video of some absolutely hench bulls that look like they've never skipped a gym sesh.
In truth, they don't need to go to the gym at all, as they're born with a mutation that enables freakish muscle growth.
See for yourself here:
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The clip was shared by the Historic Vids Twitter account, with the post captioned: "This is a bull born without Myostatin, the absence of Myostatin allows for unrestricted muscle growth, resulting in beasts like this being formed."
The post went viral, racking up 2.7 million views, with many people wondering where they could get their hands on a myostatin inhibitor.
"How can I have myostatin extracted from my DNA?" one person asked.
"I bet he never stops talking about cross fit," another joked.
"I love how they demonstrate with a dude trying to push him as though that wouldn't be the case with a regular 1,500lb bull," a third added.
The henchness of the bulls is caused by a mutation which stops myostatin from doing its thing.
The protein ordinarily limits the amount of muscle fibres present at birth, meaning those with the inhibiting mutation are able to grow more muscle fibres.
These cattle are known as 'double-muscled', and it's plain to see why.
The Belgian Blue is one breed of cattle known for its double-muscling, deriving its name from the fact that it originates from Belgium and has a blueish mottled coat; however, Big Belgian Blue B*****d would perhaps better cover all of its standout traits.
Pictures of the creatures naturally go viral from time to time, and people often want to know what exactly the beastly bovines taste like.
As one person commented on the aforementioned vid: "The real question is: are it's steaks tender or tough?"
Well, it turns out its pretty similar to the stuff we're used to from the supermarket.
The most notable difference is it's a lot less fatty and its carcass produces a greater yield.
The Cattle Site explains: "In an extensive 3 year test, done by the USDA at the Meat Animal Research Center, Clay Center, Nebraska, the Belgian Blue crossbred cattle were tested with the industry standard Warner-Brazner shear test for tenderness.
"The Belgian Blue cattle had a lower shear value than the Hereford-Angus contemporary average, 12.8 versus 12.9, with comparable tenderness and flavour on the sensory panel.
"Belgian Blue cattle also exhibited less than half the fat cover, .21 inch cover versus .45 inch cover, a 53% reduction... The Belgian Blue also showed 16% less marbling and 14.2 more ribeye area than the average carcass."
Jake Massey