500-pound taxidermied polar bear stolen north of Edmonton

A 500-pound taxidermied polar bear was stolen in a town north of Edmonton last week.

The large animal was stolen from the former Lily Lake Resort in Sturgeon County earlier in January during a break-and-enter, RCMP said Monday.

Last August, two taxidermied racoons were also stolen from the same resort, police added.

The estimated cost of the taxidermied animals is $35,000.

Two taxidermied racoons were also stolen last summer. (Supplied)

The new owner of what is now the Lionsheart Wholeness Centre says the bear, named Harry, was stolen when no one was working because it was so cold.

"There's some irony there, stolen on the coldest day of the year…and a polar bear in central Alberta," Wanda Rowe said.

For the Indigenous Cultural Knowledge teacher there, the bear's sentimental value is worth more than its dollar amount.

"The bear is one of the biggest symbols in our culture," Andrew Nanooch said.

"Generations have seen things taken from us…it would be kind of nice to get one thing back."

Anyone with information about the thefts is asked to call Redwater RCMP at 780-942-3607 or Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477.

With files from CTV News Edmonton's David Ewasuk