For month , the tony waterfront residential district of Lake Tahoe , California , has been ravaged by a black bear with a penchant for break of serve - Indiana and foraging . Last calendar week , he was finally apprehended . But “ Hank the Tank , ” as the bear come to be know , turn out to have been a she .
AsNPR reports , the bear was caught Friday , August 4 , after a criminal offence fling dating back to February 2022 . In all , “ Hank ” was responsible for for 21 home invasions in the community of interests , and she made burglary the family business : The bear was normally accompany by three cubs .
How can a bear gain access to home ? Through elementary brute forcefulness . At nearly 300 pounds ( females ) and 500 pound ( male ) , bears can use their weight tobashinto doors and garages . In at least one case , Hank entered through a drinking glass windowpane . In another , she smash exterior siding . Residents often complained the bear fret up cable car .
Much of it was mean to locate the diadem jewel ( for a bear ) of any abode : the fridge . “ They eff what refrigerators look like , and they live what ’s in them , ” Jordan Traverso , a representative for the California Department of Fish and Wildlife , toldThe New York Times .
But Hank was n’t the only offender . In all , wildlife officials trust up to three bear were creditworthy for the rash of prison-breaking - Hoosier State , in which the bear gained approach to individual residences in search of food . Hank was linked to the majority thanks to DNA evidence left behind .
Part of what made Lake Tahoe attractive to bears is the prohibition on “ bear box , ” or fauna - repellent tripe containers . Deemed unsightly , some homeowners association ban them . But with freestanding and unsecured food waste , Hank and other bears belike con to associate homes with solid food .
Once overtake , brazen bears often face being euthanized owing to the peril put to communities . Thanks to Hank ’s notoriety , it appear she is alternatively headed to a bear sanctuary in Colorado . Her cubs , meanwhile , could return to the wilderness provided they regain a healthy apprehension of humans .
