France's gift cow-caribou missing from Quebec fete

QUEBEC CITY (AFP) - A gift cow with antlers from France to Quebec to celebrate the upcoming 400th anniversary of North America's largest French-speaking community has been sidelined by ridicule, it seems.

"The Vachibou is a hybrid animal with a very short lifespan," quipped a spokesman for the French consulate.

The peculiar mascot, designed for the quadricentennial and dubbed "Vachibou" -- combining the French word for cow with the name for local wild reindeer -- was unveiled by former French prime minister Jean-Pierre Raffarin in February.

The chimeric hybrid, crafted by a young French graphic designer, was meant to invoke the dairy cattle of Normandy, where Quebec's first settlers originated, and the wild caribou that roam Quebec's tundra.

But Quebec officials pointed out that the antlers atop the mascot belonged to a moose, not a caribou. Also, the female was crowned with male moose antlers.

The symbol was supposed to identify cultural events sponsored by France, which pledged 12 million Canadian dollars (10 million US) toward celebrations.

But mocking on both sides of the Atlantic has scared it into hiding, say organizers.