’Cat’ burglars swipe tiger skin from Empress

Mounted on wall of historic Victoria lounge

VICTORIA• Burglars have stolen an iconic Bengal tiger skin that was mounted on the wall of one of Victoria’s historic watering holes.

All that remains of the tiger pelt that hung in the Bengal Lounge at Victoria’s Fairmont Empress Hotel is a faded image of the pelt, leaving an outline that resembles crime-scene chalk.

The tiger hide was a traditional fixture at the South-Asian-themed lounge.

Police, who are reviewing hotel surveillance tapes, said Friday they believe the tiger skin was taken Tuesday between 3: 30 p. m. and 8 p. m. No arrests have been made.

Police said the tiger skin has hung in the lounge since the 1990s.

The Fairmont Empress announced this year that the lounge would undergo r enovations and r eopen as a more modern establ i s hment, but r e moval of the tiger skin was not planned.

The female tiger skin is an integral part of the room’s traditional setting, which includes large ceiling fans and a South- Asian buffet, Fairmont Empress public affairs director Kerry Duff said.

“Even though the Bengal Lounge is closed as a lounge, the Bengal space was to be reopened ... for events and weddings and things l i ke that, and the Bengal tiger itself was to be a part of that decor,” she said.

Duff said the tiger hung over a fireplace area in the lounge.

She said hotel staff are hoping the theft is the result of a prank and the cat will come back.

Pranksters stole t he lounge’s first tiger skin in 1980 and days later left it in a box near a freight elevator outside the offices at the former Victoria Daily Times newspaper.

Duff said a note asked that the tiger skin be returned to the Bengal Lounge. It was signed Barney and Fred, in an apparent reference to popular cartoon characters Barney Rubble and Fred Fli ntstone.