Imagine stepping into your house and seeing a 500-pound bear rummaging through your refrigerator. And then staring at you as if you were breaking into his house rather than the other way around. Well, this appears to be a very common sight in the South Lake Tahoe, California.
According to CBS 13 Sacramento, the bear, known as “Hank the Tank", has broken into scores of homes over the years. The bear is currently wanted by the California Department of Fish and Wildlife since he is responsible for over 150 incidents in the Northern California-Nevada region. The most recent break-in occurred on Friday at a property in the Tahoe Keys area.
Peter Tira, a California Department of Fish and Wildlife spokesperson, said, “These are neighborhoods, there are a lot of people around, traffic, cars. So, we have to do this in a way that is safe for both the public and the bear itself. This is a severely food habituated bear. What that means is this is a bear that has lost all fear of people and it sees people and homes as a source of food."
The bear broke a window and snuck into the house on Catalina Drive. Hank left through the back door and disappeared into the woods while police pounded on the door.
The bear, also known as Jake, Yogi, or just Big Guy, has “lost all fear of people" and considers them a source of food, according to Tira.
During a meeting last week, the homeowners’ association decided to permit state wildlife authorities to capture the bear. Previous trapping attempts, which have traditionally been more effective in wooded settings, have been useless in residential areas where the bear has become acclimated, according to SF Gate.
Following the break-in on Friday, officials gathered DNA evidence in order to create an accurate match if the bear is caught. If Hank is caught, officials said he might be relocated to approved facilities such as zoos and wildlife sanctuaries.
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