Mac the Moose may be challenged for 'largest moose' title as Quebec town enters the fray - Action News
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Saskatchewan

Mac the Moose may be challenged for 'largest moose' title as Quebec town enters the fray

Moose Jaws claim to having the world's largest moose sculpture may be short-lived. The Saskatchewan city recently replaced the antlers on Mac the Moose in an effort to regain the title from a city in Norway, but a town in Quebec has now thrown down the gauntlet.

Mayor of Desbiens, Que., says town plans to build an even bigger moose statue as part of amusement park

A crew works on hoisting up a new rack of antlers for Moose Jaw, Sask.'s, 'Mac the Moose' on Tuesday, Oct. 8, officially making him the tallest moose statue in the world after a friendly feud with Norway. (Stephanie Taylor/The Canadian Press)

Moose Jaw's claim to having the world's largest moose sculpture may be short-lived.

The Saskatchewancity recently replaced the antlers on Mac the Moose, its giant moose statue,in order to regain the title from a city in Norway.

But now, a town in Quebec has thrown down the gauntlet.

The mayor of Desbiens told the Radio-Canada show C'est jamais pareil that he's proposed building an amusement park in the town that would feature the world's largest moose sculpture.

Mayor Nicolas Martel said the moose would pay tribute to Indigenous people and the area's first settlers, and that it would be a nod to the many hunters in the area.

He envisions a sculpture that could be enlarged any time its claim to being the world's tallest moosestatue was challenged.

Contending the title

For 31 years, Moose Jaw's Mac the Moose held the record, with the concrete sculpture standing 9.8 metres (32 feet).

Then in 2015, the Norwegian town of Stor-Elvdal created "Storelgen," a moose statue which was 30 centimetres higher than Mac.

Storelgen, meaning 'the Big Moose,' stands just over 10 metres. (Mariusz.ks/Shutterstock)

Regina comedy duo Justin Reves and Greg Moore spurred the moose statue competitionwhen theylaunched a GoFundMecampaign in January 2019, aiming to raise money tohelp Moose Jaw alter the statue to regainits title.

The campaign raised about $14,000, and Moosehead Breweries also donated $25,000 to the cause.

With his new antlers, added earlier this month, Mac now stands at roughly10.36 meters (34 feet).

There's no word yet on how big the proposed Desbien moose sculpture would be.

Martelsaid he hopes to see construction on the amusement park and moose statuebegin nextspring.

Desbiens is located about 185 kilometres north of Quebec City.

With files from Radio-Canada's Cest jamais pareil