Someone stole the lion’s share of mascots from outside a pub in West Vancouver.
They’ve withstood bitter cold and a coronavirus pandemic, but fell prey to the paws of a prowling thief late Friday evening.
When Red Lion Bar & Grill owner Mario Corsi came into work on Saturday, it looked like something was missing. Then his bartender told him the red lions that usually guard the front entrance were gone.
“They’ve been here for 20 years,” he said.
“My first suspicion was that it was a graduation prank until a nurse from St. Paul’s (hospital) sent me this picture,” Corsi said.
The image showed one of the red statues in the West End of Vancouver. But the people around the pub’s mascots didn’t match the description of high school students, he said.
“By the time I called [the nurse back], she said they were already gone,” Corsi said.
The restaurant owner said he didn’t call the police, as the lions have more sentimental than monetary value.
Instead, he hopes that the story getting out there pressures the poachers into returning them.
“I just would like for whoever has them to bring them back, no questions asked,” Corsi said. “Do the right thing.”
Already, he’s gotten questions from people in the Dundarave neighbourhood asking where the statues are.
If they’re not brought back, Corsi said he’ll have to replace his pub’s scarlet guardians.
“We can’t have the Red Lion without the red lions,” he said.
Anyone with information on the lions' whereabouts is asked to call the pub at 604-926-8838.
