Days into an epic battle between Canada and Norway over which country boasts the world’s largest moose statue, one of the figures at the centre of the clash has weighed in on the drama: Mac the Moose.
At a Monday press conference, he “granted permission” to the people of Moose Jaw, Sask., to restore him to his former glory, adding that he was not ashamed of his size, in a speech that was read for him by Fraser Tolmie, the city’s mayor.
“This is not a size issue, this is a pride issue,” Mac said through Tolmie.
For 31 years, Mac the Moose stood 10 metres tall over the prairie city as the world’s largest moose until he was dethroned in 2015 by the Norwegian Storelgen, who is just 30 centimetres taller.
In his speech, Mac the Moose offered a number of ideas to help him gain the upper hand on his Norwegian counterpart.
“I’d be proud to wear a Mountie Stetson and I wouldn’t even mind being fitted for stilettos,” he said.
Others have weighed in, too, suggesting that antlers would be the most obvious way to beat the record. But experts say that given Mac the Moose’s age, it’s unclear whether he can structurally hold up. That will have to be determined in the spring.
Justin and Greg, popular social media personalities in Saskatchewan, have offered to help Mac the Moose regain his title and have started a GoFundMe page to raise money for the most appropriate solution.
In the meantime, Norway is already plotting on how to maintain its title.
“Of course, we want to keep that record so we’ll have to work out another plan in order to make our moose even bigger,” said Linda Otnes Henriksen, the deputy mayor of Stor-Elvdal, Norway.
“Or maybe we’ll even build a different moose that’s even bigger so we’ll have two,” she added.
