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Black Bear (icon image): »Easier to find a slice of pizza than to go into the woods«
Photo: Philippe Clément / Arterra / UIG / Getty Images
»Hank the Tank« is hungry.
too hungry
And maybe a little too curious.
Since the summer, the black bear, which weighs around 230 kilograms, has been up to mischief in South Lake Tahoe, California, a town of 24,000 on the lake of the same name.
Hank is said to have broken into more than two dozen houses, and according to local media, the local police have received more than 100 emergency calls since July.
In search of something to eat, the bear destroyed window panes, furniture and lots of nerves.
Now the authorities have decided to trap the busy predator, arrest him and possibly put him to sleep.
Because the fear of the residents is now great.
Many worry about their children who might get hurt if they meet Hank.
But so far no one has caught the robber.
People tried to attack the animal with sirens, traps and tasers - in vain.
"So far, no one has been able to stop Hank from doing what he's doing," local Department of Fish and Wildlife spokesman Peter Tira told the New York Times.
It is almost impossible to stop the bear.
His way of self-service ultimately has to do with the easier availability of food in civilization.
And with convenience.
"It's easier to find a leftover slice of pizza than to go into the woods," Tira explains.
Hank is an extraordinarily large specimen of his kind. A black bear weighs between 100 and 300 pounds on average - Hank weighs 500 pounds.
According to experts, this is also a consequence of his unhealthy diet.
Carbohydrate-containing foods would have a lot more calories than berries or maggots, which the animals usually eat.
Initially, it was assumed that Hank just wanted to eat some winter fat and was therefore particularly invasive.
But even in the cold season, his raids continued - no trace of hibernation.
Bear-proof storage
Putting the animal to sleep should only be the last option, said wildlife conservationist Tira.
But relocating the bear would only shift the problem.
Many local residents would like to take Hank to a game reserve.
Foraging bears have been a problem in the region for a long time.
Many use bear-proof storage containers for their food.
Because many people moved to the country during the corona pandemic because they can work from home there, "bear awareness" has fallen, says Tira.
Meanwhile, the complaints about the bear are increasing.
Resident Tim Johnson says he hasn't had to lock his front door for forty years.
Now he is forced to do it.
The bear burden should come to an end.
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