Lake Tahoe Burglar Bear Eludes Capture Again After Ransacking Over 30 Properties

The notorious 500-pound bear that has been going around Lake Tahoe homes and properties over the past several months recently broke into another residence as he continues to elude capture.

Peter Tira with the California Department of Fish and Wildlife (DFW) said the bear, known among Lake Tahoe residents as "Hank the Tank," was “a severely habituated bear, meaning this bear has lost all fear of people and it is associating people with food and food sources,” KABC-TV reported.

Hank’s latest break-in took place Friday after the bear smashed a window and entered the house, law enforcement said. Photos posted by the South Lake Tahoe Police Department showed huge bear paw prints on the snow, as well as a broken window and pieces of wood from a damaged fence.

Tira said Hank the Tank has eluded capture for more than seven months, and his huge frame has become problematic for the team working to track his break-ins and whereabouts, Associated Press reported. Since last July, more than 30 properties have been damaged by Hank’s break-ins while the bear searched for food. A homeowners association agreed during a recent meeting that state wildlife will be allowed to capture Hank.

According to the AP report, the giant bear is behind more than 150 incident reports in the region spanning across Northern California and Nevada.

Nearby resident Brooke Laine told the Los Angeles Times that there was a lack of secure trash bins or bear boxes in the area. “To kill the bear because we didn’t secure our own garbage just rubs everyone the wrong way,” Laine argued.

While it is unclear what will happen to Hank the Tank once he gets captured, there have been talks of euthanizing the bear due to safety concerns as a final resort. However, non-profit Bear League said it asked Fish and Wildlife if it was possible to capture and move Hank into a sanctuary. One resident told KOVR that the community doesn’t want people to be hurt but “we don’t want the bear to die either.”

Bear League Director Ann Bryant said the organization was giving the DFW “a chance to come up with a plan that doesn’t involve killing this bear,” but that the DFW has reportedly not reached out to them. The advocacy group said it is communicating with three sanctuaries that are willing to work with the DFW in getting Hank off Lake Tahoe streets.