Back in the year 2000, Toronto had an interesting way of celebrating the millennium: they placed 326 life-sized moose statues across the city. Local artists decorated and painted each moose to give them their own unique personality and bring some vibrant and bold colours to Toronto’s streets.
These moose can now be found spread out across Ontario, though some have disappeared (there’s even a website that is trying to track down the missing culprits!). Some were luckier, seeing more of the province than they ever expected. After the Great Moose Auction of 2001 (we can’t make this stuff up), a moose named Zeus found his new home in the Botanic Gardens of Bermuda.
But he couldn’t make the trip without a change of clothes — the difference in climate would have been too shocking for the northern wanderer. To accommodate such a strange and foreign visitor, entrepreneur Tom Butterfield decided to repaint the moose to reflect his change in scenery.
Now, if you visit the Botanical Gardens, you will see Zeus decked out in his cheesy tourist outfit. Complete with tropical shirt, vibrant pants, white socks, and a camera slung around his neck, he blends in as just another hosier visiting the tropical island.
“We’ve repainted him several times in a variety of ways,” Butterfield told the Toronto Star. “We have to, because the paint fades in the sun here, no matter how many coats of ultraviolet varnish you put on.”
Perhaps that explains the painful looking sunburn Zeus is sporting. Where else have you seen Toronto’s Moose in the City?
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