The World's Largest Bronze Wildlife Sculpture Is in Sleepy Dundee
Locals joke that the gigantic bears are kissing, not fighting over a moose carcass
Dundee, if it’s known at all, is known for three things: a cute-as-a-button downtown, a dominant wrestling program (nine state championships in a row), and the gigantic Cabela’s near the expressway.
I grew up nearby, and it was a standard winter outing to head down M-50 to go peruse the mountain of exotic taxidermied animals and decidedly less exotic aquarium full of Lake Erie fish.
On winter days when the Toledo Zoo was closed, we could go see elephants, lions, rhinos, wolves, and polar bears. Some of them were shot by Dick Cabela himself.
How did Cabela’s land in sleepy little Dundee? The Nebraska-based retailer, which was bought out by Bass Pro in 2017, thought the location right on US-23 would be a great destination between Ann Arbor, Toledo, and Detroit.
Building the 225,000-square-foot store, including the giant aquarium and 48-foot-tall artificial mountain, took a year and a half, and once it opened in 2000, visitors started flooding in. By 2004, it was Michigan’s most visited destination, drawing 6 million outdoor enthusiasts to the area each year.
It was so popular that an indoor waterpark sprung up next door, along with strip malls and a few hotels.
But beyond all the outdoor gear, boats, fishing poles, and rifles, the gigantic statue out front is probably the coolest thing about this store.
“Fierce Encounter” is the largest bronze wildlife sculpture in the world. The 24-foot monument depicts two bears fighting over a moose carcass. It’s a scene more fitting for Alaska than southern Michigan, but the scale of it is so enormous that it’s hard to even consider such technicalities.
The artist Michael Hamby was a former NFL defensive end for the Buffalo Bills, who turned to sculpture after a career-ending injury. He specializes in Native American, Western, and wildlife sculpture, and this is his biggest sculpture to date.
It was installed right before the store opened, and instantly became a local landmark. Though it’s meant to depict two bears clawing at each other, some see two bears celebrating a kill together. The closeness of their ursine lips have earned the sculpture the nickname “The Kissing Bears.”
You wouldn’t expect such a superlative thing in a sleepy farm town on the banks of the River Raisin, but it’s just a fact of life here.
Next time you’re headed down to Ohio, forestall that unfortunate trip with a visit to the bears. You pick whether they’re fighting or smooching after a large meal.
