A massive black bear responsible for over twenty home invasions since 2022 has finally been taken into custody. Dubbed “Hank the Tank” for her size (her gender was not known at the time), the creature garnered quite the reputation for destruction in South Lake Tahoe, California. She was captured by the California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW) on Friday. Since then, she’s been moved to The Wild Animal Sanctuary in Colorado.
It turns out that the bear wasn’t working alone! Three cubs were found with Hank the Tank, and it’s suspected that they may have been involved in some of their mother’s breaking and entering. According to CDFW spokesperson Jordan Traverso, the organization is hoping that the younger bears can eventually be returned to the wild.
“The cubs were safely transported to Sonoma County Wildlife Rescue,” he told UPI. “The goal is to rehabilitate them. The time that can take varies. They will continue to be assessed to make sure they’ll make it in the wild before they would be released.”
Hank the Tank’s celebrity status has earned her a second chance, as well, which is unusual for a bear in her situation.
“Relocation is not typically an option for conflict animals over concern that relocating an animal will relocate the conflict behavior to a different community,” said CDFW. “However, given the widespread interest in this bear, and the significant risk of a serious incident involving the bear, CDFW is employing an alternative solution to safeguard the bear family as well as the people in the South Lake Tahoe community.”
Hank received a warm welcome to the state of Colorado by Gov. Jared Polis via Twitter. However, according to his tweet, we might want to start calling the bear “Henrietta.”
As Hank/Henrietta adjusts to her new surroundings, CDFW spokesperson Jordan wants to remind everyone that humans have a responsibility toward the bears in their area.
“The bottom line is that humans need to do better at securing garbage, picking up fruit that has fallen from trees, putting barbecues away and eliminating all attractants for wild animals, including bears,” he said. “If humans behaved better in this way, these situations could be avoided, and bears would have a natural fear of humans and their dwellings.”
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