Canadians moot methods to embiggen moose monument and make Mac great again

A Canadian city is not a-moosed that Norwegians have erected a bigger, shinier monument – and its residents are raising money to fund a possible antler extension.

Until 2015, the city of Moose Jaw (yes, really) had the world's largest moose statue, Mac, standing at 10 metres tall.

Mac the Moose is big.
But not quite big enough.#3ThingsToKnow tonight on @News12NJ pic.twitter.com/m2nD8mr0cP

— Kurt Siegelin (@kurtsiegelin) January 22, 2019

But then Storelegen (Big Moose) came on the scene: Norway's stainless steel giant, located in Stor-Elvdal, is 30cm higher than Mac and arguably a great deal more glam. It even has the support of Elon Musk, although El Reg isn't convinced this is a positive for the Nordic beast.

Awesome moose sculpture! ♥️🇳🇴 pic.twitter.com/CegEEHL4wz

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) January 25, 2019

Meanwhile, Mac's creator, Don Foulds, has revealed that his sculpture was created to be "big and cheap". He told Macleans magazine that the council had approached him for a "roadside attraction" and had "no aesthetic concerns whatsoever".

"I laid out a base and price and they just kept on wanting to keep the price the same but then make [the moose] bigger and bigger and bigger," he said.

But this month, comedians Justin Reves and Greg More launched a GoFundMe page in a bid to knock Storelegen back down to second place. So far they have garnered almost $12,000 of their $50,000 target.

Mac has apparently approved the plans to boost his height. In a statement delivered by town mayor Fraser Tolmie, the Alces alces "said" that he was "not ashamed" of his size, but that it was a "pride issue".

Moose Jaw Mayor @FraserTolmie reads a statement from #MacTheMoose re: reclaiming the title of world’s tallest moose. (cc: Norway's #Storelgen) #CityMJ #sask #sk pic.twitter.com/cQmXiQLUmq

— Jessie Anton (@jessieanton_) January 21, 2019

There have been various oddball suggestions about how to win Mac back the title, including a large Mountie hat and even stilettos.

However, the Norwegians – who have been accused of "stalking" Mac in order to make sure that their moose was bigger – hit back with a message of peace.

BREAKING: official reply from Storelgen aka World’s tallest Moose to Mac the Moose #theworldstallestmoose #makemoosenotwar #MacTheMoose #storelgen @justinandgreg @FraserTolmie @CityofMooseJaw @JustinTrudeau @NorwayMFA @erna_solberg pic.twitter.com/42MQcg1vFM

— Visit Norway (@visitnorway) January 22, 2019

"We don't want a moose war," said Stor-Elvdal deputy mayor Linda Otnes Henriksen via Twitter. "It's not about the size but how you use it."

But it seems unlikely the moose-age will stop the Canadian town, which has an elk of a lot of status riding on this beastly battle. ®