Meet the new moose: Highway signs get an unexpected makeover
As an 18-year -old student Chloe Chapdelaine was living in a trailer outside Foremost Alberta and driving past a moose crossing every morning on her way to work.
Something wasn't right. She started asking around.
"Is it just me or is something not right about that moose?" she says. "It was a little bit floppy."
The heavily styled moose crossing sign has been the standard across the country for years. Among its anatomical faults, it has a long tail - which actual moose do not. They have a nub shorter than the average Canadian adult's thumb.
Old moose crossing sign
So Chapdelaine sat down with a sharpie and drew up a new and more literal depiction of an adult bull moose. Gone was the long and prominent brow tine (rare in the wild), and in was a more muscular, svelte cervid, more befitting of the iconic Canadian animal.
Then she wrote a paper pointing out in detail where the old depiction of the moose had too much elk and elephant seal in its physique, and why her version ought to rule the roadsides of the Great White North.
"I mailed them out to as many different departments of transportation and government as I could - I didn't really even know where to send these letters, and I was kind of just waiting for a response," says Chapdelaine.
She eventually stopped waiting. And then largely forgot about the whole thing, she says.
Then one recent day a letter arrived from the Transportation Association of Canada. They first saw the work when it was forwarded by Alberta Transportation.
"Basically they said, 'You know what? We've received your letter that you sent four years ago and we'd like to move forward with your moose crossing sign," Chapdelaine - now 22 - says.
The new signs are already being rolled out from coast to coast to coast - replacing its misshapen predecessor as needed.
You might expect having your design work growing toward ubiquity along the nations' highways would come with a nice paycheque.
Turns out it does not.
"Yeah, so. . ." Chapdelaine says with a smile. "It kind of came down to either they would move forward with my design that I would give them for free or they would stick with the old one."
Chloe Chapdelaine, Dec. 7, 2021
She could not do that to the moose.
But she holds out some hope for one small token of appreciation.
"If I had one of the signs I just think that would be the ultimate thing to get out of this, I think it would be really cool."
The recent Mount Royal University grad has created a t-shirt that riffs on her soon-to-be famous design, with profits going to Alberta Birds of Prey Foundation.
You can find them through her Instagram bio link @chloe.chapdelaine
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
NDP motion regarding Palestinian statehood passes after major Liberal alterations
A motion from the federal New Democrats initially calling on Canada to recognize the 'State of Palestine' passed amid widespread acrimony on Monday, after the Liberals drastically altered its wording to see the government simply work towards that aim as part of a two-state solution.
'He didn't want to die': Family of Calgary man killed in standoff speaks out
Family of a Calgary man killed after a 30-hour standoff with police last week are speaking out, sharing details of the tense and heart-wrenching experience.
Toronto family doctor who called patient's body 'perfect' suspended for 3 months: tribunal
A family doctor in Toronto has been suspended for three months after a disciplinary tribunal found that he failed to follow proper protocols while examining a patient's breasts and made inappropriate comments about her body.
Ohio mom who left toddler alone 10 days when she went on vacation pleads guilty to aggravated murder
An Ohio mother whose 16-month-old daughter died after being left home alone in a playpen for 10 days last summer while she went on vacation was sentenced Monday to life in prison with no chance of parole.
Retired teacher pleads guilty to paying for sex with 15-year-old in Collingwood, Ont.
In a Barrie courtroom on Monday, a retired high school teacher from the Niagara Region pleaded guilty to sexual touching and obtaining sexual services from a 15-year-old boy in Collingwood in 2021.
Hertz CEO out following electric car 'horror show'
The company, which announced in January it was selling 20,000 of the electric vehicles in its fleet, or about a third of the EVs it owned, is now replacing the CEO who helped build up that fleet, giving it the company’s fifth boss in just four years.
5 charged in Calgary kidnappings that targeted women
Calgary police have charged five men in a pair of kidnappings last year that targeted innocent victims.
Demand soars for solar eclipse glasses in Canada. Are they worth buying?
The demand for total solar eclipse glasses used to safely view the rare celestial event has been ramping up as sellers, along with astronomy and eye-care experts in Canada, warn that viewing the eclipse with the naked eye is dangerous.
Canadian commander of volunteer fighter group dies in Ukraine
A Canadian-born commander of the so-called Norman Brigade, a volunteer fighting group in Ukraine, has died.