Hank the Tank, a 500-Pound Bear, Ransacks a California Community
By Alyssa Lukpat, Feb. 20, 2022, NYT
Since the summer, a black bear known as Hank the Tank has
made a 500-pound nuisance of himself in South Lake Tahoe, Calif.,
breaking into more than two dozen homes to rummage for food and
leaving a trail of damage behind.
So far, nobody has been able to deter Hank, said Peter Tira, a
spokesman for the California Department of Fish and Wildlife.
Department officials and the local police have tried to “haze”
the bear with paintballs, bean bags, sirens and Tasers, but he
is too drawn to humans and their food to stay away for long.
“It’s easier to find leftover pizza than to go in the forest,”
Mr. Tira said on Sunday.
Residents have called the police about Hank over 100 times
since July as he continues to rampage through Tahoe Keys, a
gated community about 190 miles northeast of San Francisco.
Now the authorities are trying to trap Hank & possibly euthanize him.
“This is a bear that has lost all fear of people,” Mr. Tira said. “It’s a potentially dangerous situation.”
Hank, so named by local residents, has used his size & strength
to barge through garages, windows and door. As of Thursday, Hank
had broken into at least 28 homes.
At 500 pounds, Hank is “exceptionally large,” the state wildlife authorities said. The average black bear in the western U.S. weighs
100 to 300 pounds, according to the Washington Department of Fish
and Wildlife.
But Hank’s diet of human food and garbage has expanded his size,
said Ann Bryant, the executive director of the Bear League, a
wildlife rescue service in Homewood, Calif.
“He didn’t get fat like that eating berries and grubs,” she said,
adding that it was not clear how Hank developed a taste for human food.
Hank became one of the neighborhood’s least-wanted residents in
July, which is around the time that bears enter hyperphagia, a
period when they bulk up on calories before they hibernate for the
winter, according to the National Park Service.
But Hank’s penchant for breaking into homes, which was reported
by TV station KRNV in Reno, Nev., did not slow in the winter,
leading the state wildlife authorities to believe that he never
went into hibernation, Mr. Tira said. Sometimes bears do not
hibernate if they have year-round access to food, he said.
Hank did not wander into a trap set for him this month, so the
authorities are brainstorming a new approach, with euthanasia
being their “last option,” Mr. Tira said.
If officials move the bear to another area, that could simply
relocate the problem, he said, adding that all the sanctuaries
are too full to take Hank.
And that is the point of contention between the California
wildlife authorities and the residents of Tahoe Keys. Many of
the residents want to see Hank sent to a sanctuary and not
euthanized, Ms. Bryant said.
Black bears have roamed the area for generations. They have
coexisted with the residents, who have learned not to leave
food out and to seal their trash in bear-proof containers.
Still, bears have occasionally caused trouble in the area.
In 2007, The NY Times described the animals as “home wreckers.”
The bear situation took a turn during the pandemic, when some
people moved to the area to work remotely. New residents were
not all “as bear aware as they should be,” Mr. Tira said. And
after people fled South Lake Tahoe during the Caldor fire in
September, the bears assumed the place of humans, walking the
streets and checking out homes, he said.
Even though the neighbors do not want Hank to vandalize their
homes, they want him to be treated with respect, Ms. Bryant
said. The state authorities took down a bear trap in the area
after someone spray painted “Bear Killer” on it.
The residents are quick to point out that Hank is gentle & sweet.
When he breaks into a home, he is far more interested in the
food than any people who may be inside, Ms. Bryant said.
“He just sits there & eats,” she said. “He doesn’t attack them.
He doesn’t growl. He doesn’t make rude faces.”
Carolyn Meiers, who lives in Tahoe Keys, said that while she
has taken new measures to protect her house from “that big bad
bear,” such as locking her sliding glass doors, the thought of
Hank does not keep her up at night.
“We’re fortunate in that it just hasn’t bothered us, but we’re
very wary of that possibility,” said Ms. Meiers, 79.
Though other homeowners have reported that Hank has caused
extensive property damage, he has not harmed any humans,
the authorities said.
“Why should this big dummy die?” Ms. Bryant said.
https://www.nytimes.com/2022/02/20/us/lake-tahoe-bear.html
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