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International battle over moose statues: ‘Don't mess with Mac the Moose'

A moose yawns. A huge statue of the animal in both Canada and Norway has set off an international contest over who can build the tallest moose.

Two giant moose statues an ocean apart are pitting a small Canadian town against people near Oslo, Norway, who now contend their giant moose has the edge over Mac the Moose in Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan.

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Moose Jaw has held bragging rights over the tallest moose statue in the world since 1984, when Mac the Moose was built at a staggering 32 feet high.

Then people between Oslo and Trondheim in Norway erected their own giant moose, called Storelgen or Big Moose, in 2015. Big Moose was about 11 inches taller than Mac, according to BBC News.

That’s not sitting well with folks in Moose Jaw.

"We're considered to be very mannerly and respectful, but there are things you just don't do to Canadians," Moose Jaw Mayor Fraser Tolmie told the BBC.

“You don’t mess with Mac the Moose,” Tolmie said.

Norway’s Big Moose was created by an artist and was erected to prevent traffic accidents.

People in Moose Jaw have been suggesting ways the town can make Mac taller still, including adding a large antler rack to his head.

Moose Jaw claims Mac the Moose, made of 10 tons concrete, steel and metal mesh, is one of the most photographed roadside attractions in Canada, according to the city's tourism department.