2024 is a special year here at Tourism, that’s because it’s Mac the Moose’s 40th birthday! To celebrate, I thought I’d tell you a little bit more about Moose Jaw’s Most Notorious Resident. It all started in 1984, when local tourism supporters decided that we needed a little something extra to lure people into the city. With a name like Moose Jaw, it wasn’t hard to decide what our new giant attraction should look like! And thus, Mac the Moose was “born”.
Mac was constructed by Don Foulds, an artist from Saskatoon. He used a steel frame, which was first covered with metal mesh, then completed with four coats of cement. A contest was held to name him and eventually Mac was chosen, to honour the late city alderman, Les MacKenzie, and because Mac the Moose has a nice ring to it!
At 32 feet tall Mac reigned as the Tallest Moose in the World from 1984 to 2015, when just outside the little village of Atna in Stor-Elvdal, Norway, Mac’s rival was created. Storelgen (The Big Elk in English) took the crown from Mac in 2015 and for several years, nobody really noticed. Until 2019, when comedians Justin and Greg took matters into their own hands. They found out that Mac had been dethroned and they knew that something had to be done. After they uploaded their video, Mac became a global celebrity! He was discussed in the New York Times, on the Late Show with Stephen Colbert, and on news channels all around the world!
We knew that something had to be done and a plan was put together. After we received many kind donations, including $25,000 from Moose Head Breweries, the plan was put into action. On June 5th, 2019 Mac had an “antler-ectomy”, and spent the summer with no antlers, which was confusing to many of his visitors.Team Mac worked hard throughout the summer and fall to get Mac’s new antlers constructed. Team Mac included Orion Taxidermy, Steady Metalworks, and many others!
Finally, on October 10th, 2019, in front of a huge crowd, Mac’s new antlers were unveiled and he became the World’s Tallest Moose once again! We are proud that Mac regained his title and that he’s been a staple of Moose Jaw for the past 40 years! We hope that he’ll continue to hold his title and greet Moose Jaw’s tourists for at least 40 more!
