Stolen Scarf Mysteriously Reappears on Irkutsk Babr

The babr (a mythical tiger symbol of Irkutsk) sculpture is once again «wrapped» in a scarf: the mysteriously disappeared accessory has returned to its place. This was reported to an IrCity journalist by Valentina Dubovtseva, the owner of the «Vremya Kotov» (Time of Cats) shelter. It was thanks to her and other volunteers that the scarf adorned the sculpture in the 130th quarter.

Recall that the story of the scarf for the babr began on Sunday, December 21. Volunteers from the «Time of Cats» shelter came up with the campaign to draw attention to the problem of stray animals and to bring a bit of kindness into the world. Moreover, the scarf is one of the steps in promoting the brand «Irkutsk – the Middle of Catland,» which the volunteers of «Time of Cats» also support.

In total, over 20 days, 15 craftswomen knitted pieces of the scarf, and then they gathered in a cafe and joined them into one product. The scarf turned out to be almost 19 meters long (about 62 feet) and entered the «Book of Records of Irkutsk Region» as the longest knitted item. It took 5 kilograms of yarn (about 11 pounds).

On the afternoon of December 21, volunteers wrapped the babr sculpture in the scarf and hung a card on it with the names of all who participated in the campaign. This, by the way, was officially coordinated with the city hall. The authorities permitted the scarf to hang on the babr at least until the end of December.

However, after 1.5 days, the fashionable multicolored accessory disappeared. Moreover, this happened right in the middle of the workday. At first, volunteers could not find recordings from surveillance cameras that are located near this place, but by Tuesday evening, the portal Weacom posted on its social networks a video of the moment of theft.

According to the video, it all happened at 13:29. Two men approached the babr, one of them was dressed in a dark blue jacket. The men assessed the situation a bit, then one began untying the knots and throwing one edge of the fabric over the babr«s back, the second first watched the process, and then started to help. Together, they managed in 4 minutes.

After that, they crumpled the scarf into a pile and carried it somewhere deep into the 130th quarter.

The IrCity editorial office asked for a comment from the press service of the Irkutsk mayor«s office, and they promised to find out what happened to the scarf for the babr and who removed it. At the time of publication, no response had been received.

But the scarf returned to its place already on the morning of December 24. According to volunteers from the «Time of Cats» shelter, the babr was again in the scarf by 11 o«clock.