The most common and most likely answer to this crossword clue is the 6 letter word WHALES
I've seen this crossword clue in The Daily Telegraph
W
H
A
L
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S
More clues leading to the result WHALES
Buddy explains!

The straight part
We know that "big animals" is the straight/definition part of the clue. The straight part is often a synonym or definition, in this case big animals = whales.The cryptic/wordplay part
In cryptic crossword there's often an wordplay/cryptic part as well.This part involves a more complex hint, such as an anagram, homophone, hidden word, etc.
Sadly, We don't have an explanation for this specific crossword clue yet.
What does WHALES mean?
WHALES noun- Any of several species of large sea mammals of the infraorder Cetacea.
- Something, or someone, that is very large.
- Something, or someone, that is excellent.
- In a casino, a person who routinely bets at the maximum limit allowable.
- An investor who deals with very large amounts of money.
- (by extension) A video game player who spends large amounts of money on premium content.
- To hunt for whales.
- To thrash, to flog, to beat vigorously or soundly.