This could well be the biggest heist of the century…in the stuffed polar bear business. One of these animals, weighing 220kg and standing almost three meters tall, was actually stolen from a former hotel north of Edmonton in Alberta, Canada, in January. A “strange break-in,” in the words of the Canadian daily newspaper The globe and the mailand what amazed the locals.

A methodical flight

“They must have planned this 100 percent,” said Wanda Rowe, executive director of the Lionsheart Wholeness Center, a center specializing in Indigenous healing and education that owns the stolen Lily Lake Resort property. Although this theft was only noticed on January 22nd, but according to the manager, it dates back to January 13th, the day there was a cold snap and security patrols were unable to move.

As can be seen from the marks left on the floor, the criminals cut the cables that held the bear and then dragged him up the stairs to the second floor balcony, where he had previously perched. The thieves eventually escaped through the front door, where a truck was waiting for them.

Moral and financial damage

It is not the first time that a theft of this kind has been committed on the property, he addedEdmonton Journal. In August 2023, two stuffed raccoons had already been stolen. In total, all of these thefts caused damage of around 35,000 Canadian dollars (24,000 euros). An investigation is currently underway by the local branch of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police in Redwater, who are currently searching for possible witnesses or traces of online sales advertisements.

Meanwhile, this new theft has visibly moved Wanda Rowe. “He really was an icon here, and it's weird to drive by and not see him anymore,” she laments. How detailed The globe and the mail, Harry, the name of this stuffed polar bear, would have sat for the first time in the Red Barn, a bar where Johnny Cash concerts took place. He then ended up at Lily Lake Resort, where the bar and restaurant were named after him.