Center staff did not immediately notice that Harry, as the polar bear was called, was gone. This is while the length of the polar bear was estimated at about 3 to 3.5 metres. It was on the second floor of the building.
“I didn't realize at first how strange this was,” center director Wanda Ruff told the Canadian newspaper The Globe and Mail. “But it's actually a very big thing, literally and figuratively.”
“Harry was standing there for a long time. He felt like he was going to stand there forever,” the director said. “It must have been 100% planned.”
According to the director, the polar bear was stolen on January 13. It was exceptionally cold in the area at the time, and therefore security tours around the complex were reduced that day. There were also no people in the building that day.
Raccoons also stole
Last summer, two stuffed raccoons were stolen from the same resort. The value of the three animals combined is 35,000 Canadian dollars, equivalent to about 24,000 euros.
Police are now hoping the polar bear will appear somewhere online if it is offered for sale. The manager said that although there were still a lot of stuffed animals – including a bison and a puma – in the cage, she hoped Harry would be found soon. “There was something special about him.”
