Approached large animal (5)
I believe the answer is:
camel
'animal' is the definition.
(I've seen this before)
'approached large' is the wordplay.
'approached' becomes 'came' (come can mean to approach or get closer).
'large' becomes 'L' (eg in clothes sizes).
'came'+'l'='CAMEL'
(Other definitions for camel that I've seen before include "Means of transport" , "African transport" , "It is called the ship of the desert" , "Humped beast" , "Dromedary, perhaps" .)