Stunning Exhibition of Real-Life African and Other Wildlife in Sundre, a Small Rural Town Near Calgary

December 20, 2023

By MALIK MERCHANT

Sundre hunter Chester Mjolsness, Simergphotos — A zebra is attacked by a crocodile, as witnessed by Chester Mjolsness during one of his visits to Africa. The animals shown in this and other photographs, unless stated otherwise, are real-life and not replicas, and have become part of the permanent “World of Wildlife” exhibition in the Pioneer Village Museum, Sundre, a small town north west of Calgary. Photograph: Malik Merchant/Simerg Photos. Note: All photos are taken with permission from the museum.

The wildlife exhibit collection of animals hunted by Chester Mjolsness would have been accepted in several museums in Canada, the USA and many other parts of the world but he chose Sundre, where he was raised. Mjolsness died at the age of 101 in March, 2022. I was led to Sundre through internet searches against “must places to visit near Calgary” or “short day trips from Calgary”.

My exciting day began on the gravel section of Hwy 584, known for wild horses. I saw many horses but with cars throwing a lot of dust in the air, most of my photographs were not very clear and the horses were reluctant to come near the road, hiding and grazing in the forest. Nevertheless, it was an exciting start to a beautiful summer day.

WILD HORSES

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Wild horses Sundre — *Wild horses off an unpaved section of Highway 584 near Sundre, Alberta. Photograph: Malik Merchant/Simerg Photos.*

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Wild horses Sundre, Hwy 584 — *Wild horses off an unpaved section of Highway 584 near Sundre, Alberta. Photograph: Malik Merchant/Simerg Photos.*

Then, on my drive back and before reaching Sundre, I stopped for a few minutes at the Bearberry Heritage and Arts Centre. Little places keep their heritage and history alive with displays of local artefacts, rare books, memorabilia, life stories of people as well as very old objects including radios, ironing boards and sewing machines.

I then had an awesome beefburger at the adjacent restaurant, the Bearberry Saloon Bar & Grill, a popular spot for motor cyclists, who take advantage of fine days to drive through Alberta’s great exciting roads such as Hwy 584. The restaurant service was slow but I still managed to reach the Sundre & District Museum / World of Wildlife an hour before closing time.

*Pioneer Village Museum in Sundre, Alberta. Photograph: Malik Merchant/Simerg Photos*

What an amazing place to learn about local history in all its aspects. In the apothecary section, I saw a large framed image of an ancient apothecary from the Islamic Abbasid era. My focus, however, with the little time I had, was on the World of Wildlife.

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WORLD OF WILDLIFE

Chester Mjolsness (d 2002 at the age of 100). Born in Sundre, Mjolsness and his family donated the taxidermy exhibit to — Chester Mjolsness (d. 2022 at the age of 101). Raised in Sundre, Mjolsness and his family donated his taxidermy exhibit for display at the Sundre & District Museum. The exhibit was curated by wildlife expert “Bwana” Eric Balson (d. 2014), who worked as a senior game warden in Tanzania for a decade. The background murals were prepared by artist Lorraine Hughes of Sundre.

Excerpt from Museum website: This is a “closed,” permanent, taxidermy exhibit – which means the objects inside will remain and no others will ever be added to it. It is complete and unique.. This is a taxidermy exhibit featuring a large floor to ceiling landscape mural, by a local artist. It showcases over 170 mounts from around the world, including a life-sized replica elephant built by our friends at Jurassic Park. Come touch and feel at our learning table, try our skill testing, “what is this” activity and enjoy the sounds of this unique, best of its kind in North America exhibit. We thank Chester Mjolsness and his family for this donation.

Museum: Sundre & District museum, featuring the Sundre Pioneer Museum and Chester Mjolsness World of Wildlife
Location: 211 – 1st Ave SW Sundre, Alberta
Opening hours: Open year round, please visit website for full details.

World of Wildlife" exhibition in the Pioneer Village Museum, Sundre, a small town northwest of Calgary — “World of Wildlife” exhibition in the Pioneer Village Museum, Sundre, a small town northwest of Calgary. Murals were prepared by Sundre’s artist Lorraine Hughes. Photograph: Malik Merchant/Simerg Photos. Note: All photos are taken with permission from the museum.

A dynamic young girl, Elisie, a family member of the founder of the museum, guided me through the animal exhibition and inspired me with insights of the animals. She told me that she grew up in the museum, and had the opportunity of meeting the incredible animal lover and hunter, Chester Mjolsness, who had decided to house the animals he had hunted around the world in Sundre. Among his prized animals, were Africa’s Big 5 and many other African animals, as well as animals he had hunted in Australia, New Zealand, the Arctic and Canada. The cougar in the front of the hall was hunted in Canada, and I was allowed to feel its claws!

With the exception of 3 animals that are replicas — the elephant, the rhino and the hippo — all the other animals displayed are taxidermy animals about which I should like to make a point. The animals were hunted legally, confirming to local hunting standards and are displayed as per provincial and federal guidelines. In Tanzania, Chester was often accompanied by Eric Balson, who was a senior game warden for Tanzania for more than a decade before he joined the United Nations as a wildlife expert.

All the mounts in the exhibition are displayed and not attached to the walls. Local artist Lorraine Hughes painted large murals to enhance the exhibits. It may be noted that Chester Mjolsness is listed in Volume 5 of the Great Hunter Series as part of the world’s most famous trophy room collections. I am pleased to present the following collection of photographs from the Sundre exhibition.

Elephant ear in the shape of the African continent, Sundre, Simerg Photos. — “World of Wildlife” exhibition in the Pioneer Village Museum, Sundre, a small town northwest of Calgary. Chester Mjolsness hunted a big male elephant in Botswana in 2004 and this is the exact replica of that specimen in the exhibition. An African elephant’s left ear is the shape of Africa and artists Lorraine “Laine” Hughes of Sundre has painted the actual map of Africa with the dangerous Big Five of Africa — elephant, lion, rhino, buffalo, and leopard. African countries are cleverly and magnificently in the map (see next photo). Photograph: Malik Merchant/Simerg Photos.

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Africa is shaped like an elephant's left ear — “World of Wildlife” exhibition in the Pioneer Village Museum, Sundre, a small town northwest of Calgary. As seen in the previous photos, African elephant’s left ear is the shape of Africa and this picture show’s the actual map of Africa with the dangerous Big Five of Africa — elephant, lion, rhino, buffalo, and leopard. African countries are cleverly and magnificently in this map painted by Lorraine “Laine” Hughes of Sundre. Photograph: Malik Merchant/Simerg Photos.

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"World of Wildlife" exhibition in the Pioneer Village Museum, Sundre, a small town northwest of Calgary. Photograph: Malik Merchant/Simerg Photos. — *“World of Wildlife” exhibition in the Pioneer Village Museum, Sundre, a small town northwest of Calgary. Photograph: Malik Merchant/Simerg Photos.*

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Date posted: December 20, 2023.

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Category : Canada, Nature and Space, Travel Essays, Wildlife

Tags : Africa, Big Five, Chester Mjolsness, Hunter, Real-Life animals, Sundre & District museum

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One thought on “Stunning Exhibition of Real-Life African and Other Wildlife in Sundre, a Small Rural Town Near Calgary”

Executive Director on December 20, 2023 at 1:12 pm said:

What a wonderful review of our museum spaces! Thank you for sharing this with us and others…we are always so excited to host! We agree…Sundre and area is a wonderful place to explore!

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