World’s Largest Mallard (Andrew, Alberta)

The World's Largest Mallard

Every once in a while, there’s a town that becomes known for having a strange or unique roadside attraction and it’s often a small town with little else to offer in the way of entertainment. In some cases, the town and the attraction become inseparable, and that is the case for the World’s Largest Mallard and the town of Andrew, Alberta that it calls home.

Andrew, with a population of less than 500, is by all measure a quiet little village in central Alberta. The community was named for an early settler Andrew Whitford, and is located one hour east of Edmonton, at the junction of Highways 855 and 45. Andrew is also just a short half hour drive north of Vegreville, which means it’s close to the giant pysanka, better known as The Vegreville Egg. But, other than their giant mallard, Andrew isn’t much more than a place to stop while driving somewhere else. This is not to say in any way that the town doesn’t have a certain degree of charm, just that there isn’t much to do there.

Whitford Lake, directly east of Andrew is a popular breeding ground for the Mallard as well as several other water fowl. In 1992, the local Lions Club used funds received in the form of a tourism grant to build the landmark. It was partially an attempt to increase tourism (as the grant would lead you to believe), and a way to honor the close connection of Whitford Lake and Andrew.

The giant Mallard, seemingly caught mid-flight, weighs more than a ton and has a wingspan of 23 feet. There is also a reference to The World’s Largest Mallard is included in the Canadian Polka classic “Giants of the Prairies” by the Kubasonics.

“In the town of Andrew they’ve got a giant duck.

They had to rent a crane to get that mallard off the truck.

Now it hasn’t generated the reaction they were hoping,

The tourists mostly stop and yell “Nai tebe kachka kopne!”

Nai tebe kachka kopne is something of a Ukranian curse.

It literally translates to “may a duck kick you”.

The World’s Largest Mallard Facts

  • The giant duck has a wingspan of 23 feet (7 meters).
  • The actual weight of all the building material used for construction is 3,500 pounds (1,588 kg).
  • Other than the mallard, Andrew, Alberta has a post office from 1902.
  • The World’s Largest Mallard is located in the Lions Club Park.
  • The roadside attraction was erected in 1992 to honor duck breeding grounds in the local wetlands.