Hank the Tank Is Part of a Battalion

Last week we reported on Hank the Tank, the ginormous black bear who’s been breaking-and-entering (and gorging) his way through a Lake Tahoe community in California. Turns out that he’s even bigger than his estimated 500 pounds. In fact he’s actually three bears (at least).

California’s Depart of Fish and Wildlife has determined via DNA evidence that there are least three bears “terrorizing’’ the community. “Considering new evidence suggesting multiple bears are responsible for recent incidents, CDFW will work in coming weeks and months to trap bears in the South Lake Tahoe area, tag them, collect evidence for genetic analysis, and then release them into suitable habitat.”

The CDFW promises it will not euthanize any bears that are trapped in the roundup.

CDFW is also working with local governments and homeowners’ associations to educate residents about bear-proofing their homes, especially by installing bear-proof garbage cans. Educational outreach is nice, but if a battalion* of marauding bears doesn’t convince people to batten down the hatches, it’s hard to know what will.

*A group of bears is actually called a “sloth” or a “sleuth.”

Photo credit: Tahoe Daily Tribune