The 500-pound bear that’s been terrorizing Lake Tahoe residents for the past several months has struck again.
The brown bear, known by residents as “Hank the Tank,” broke into two more homes over the weekend, according to the South Lake Tahoe Police Department. The break-ins came at the tail end of a seven-month spree in which the bear made its way into at least 28 homes and caused “extensive damage” to upwards of 33, the California Department of Fish and Wildlife reports.
This is 'Hank the Tank,' a 500-lb black bear suspected of terrorizing a Lake Tahoe neighborhood. pic.twitter.com/gWciwDiq9e
— NowThis (@nowthisnews) February 23, 2022
As police and wildlife officials are stepping up their efforts to relieve Lake Tahoe of the nuisance, bear advocacy groups are coming forward to express concern over Hank’s fate. Among them is the BEAR League, which has issued a statement in which it says lethal actions against the bear should be avoided at all costs. “The BEAR League reached out to the director of an excellent out-of-state wildlife sanctuary who agreed he has room and would be very willing to give this bear a permanent home,” says the league’s Ann Bryant.
Has a wild animal ever broken into your house?
