A notorious 500-pound black bear nicknamed "Hank the Tank" has broken into more homes in South Lake Tahoe.
According to CBS Sacramento, "Hank the Tank" has broken into dozens of homes and continues to terrorize their neighborhoods. Since this is not the bear's first offense, the Department of Fish and Wildlife knows the bear and wants to capture it as soon as possible. A spokesperson for the department has confirmed that this bear has broken into a dozen homes and is responsible for over 150 calls to the department. The department has been trying to capture the bear for over 6 months.
Peter Tira spoke to CBS Sacramento about this notorious bear:
"These are neighborhoods, there's a lot of people around, traffic and cars. So, we have to do this in a way that is safe for both the public and the bear itself,"
He continued:
"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."
In the most recent break-in, "Hank" broke into a home by breaking a small window and squeezing through to get into the house. The homeowners had no idea how to get him out and called authorities. Officers got to the house and began banging on the door until he ran out the back door.
A resident, Tim Johnson, commented on how the bear has shifted some of the things he used to do:
"I've been in town 40 years and I've been locking my doors recently and I've never done that,"