A infamous, “extraordinarily food-habituated” 500lb feminine black bear referred to as Hank the Tank has been detained within the Lake Tahoe space of California greater than a 12 months after the wildlife equal of an APB was issued by the state’s wildlife authorities.
Hank, who was initially misgendered as a male, was matched by DNA to greater than 21 residence break-ins and different situations of property harm within the Lake Tahoe area since 2022. She was “safely immobilized” by tranquilizer dart and apprehended on Friday morning, in keeping with state officers, and can now be moved to a sanctuary in southern Colorado.
“Given the widespread curiosity on this bear, and the numerous danger of a severe incident involving the bear, [the California department of fish and wildlife] is using an alternate answer to safeguard the bear household in addition to the folks within the South Lake Tahoe neighborhood,” the assertion stated.
Hank, technically identified to the state as bear 64F, could now lose custody of her three cubs as they could be transferred to a facility in California’s Sonoma county “in hopes they’ll discontinue the destructive behaviors”.
However 64F was not, as authorities initially thought, solely accountable for the break-ins.
“I suppose all of them technically are ‘Hank the Tank,’” Jordan Traverso, a spokeswoman for the division, advised the New York Occasions. Traverso added that the “different Hanks” haven’t “introduced themselves as issues” locally this 12 months.
Trackers with the California division of fish and wildlife (CDFW) have stated they now consider two different bears are concerned in a spate of property rampages. Final 12 months, at the least 102 police complaints have been filed by native residents.
Earlier than she was apprehended, authorities had tried sirens, de-activated tasers and beanbag rounds to discourage the marauder. They described a bear that had “misplaced all worry of individuals” and was subsequently “probably harmful”.
However there was additionally the query over what the 64F bear was consuming. Ann Bryant, govt director of Bear League, a California-based wildlife rescue service, famous that the troublesome ursus “didn’t get fats like that consuming berries and grubs”.
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The reply, after all, was that 64F had developed her palate for consuming human meals. The bear, stated Bryant, “simply sits there and eats”.