Current:Home > MarketsThieving California bear 'Hank the Tank' is actually female, and now she has a new home-InfoLens
Thieving California bear 'Hank the Tank' is actually female, and now she has a new home
View Date:2024-12-23 15:52:08
A mischievous California black bear's reign of terror has finally come to an end.
Last week, wildlife officials were able to capture and immobilize a large female bear whom DNA testing tied to at least 21 home break-ins and instances of "extensive" property damage in the southern Lake Tahoe area, the California Department of Fish and Wildlife said.
The bear was one of several of her species to earn the moniker "Hank the Tank" for the havoc she and the others wreaked since 2022 in the area.
Shark buddies:Researchers shocked to find two great white sharks traveling together
With her days of home invasions and property damage firmly behind her, the bear formally registered as 64F has since been relocated to a Colorado wildlife sanctuary, where she will live out her days, said Jordan Traverso, a spokesperson for Fish and Wildlife.
The Colorado Parks and Wildlife approved the relocation, which occurred earlier this week when the bear was picked up from the California Department of Fish and Wildlife's lab in Rancho Cordova. The bear had to undergo a veterinary check before being transported across state lines and has since arrived Tuesday morning at the Wild Animal Sanctuary in Keenesburg, Colorado, Traverso told USA TODAY.
The bear is being held in a temporary holding enclosure at the Wild Animal Sanctuary, a sprawling refuge with facilities spanning more than 33,000 acres, said Pat Craig, the organization's executive director. Once she acclimates to the sights, sounds and smells of her new home, Craig said she will be released into a 230-acre habitat.
Craig said the habitat is forested with pine trees for Hank (or Henrietta, as the sanctuary now calls her) to roam freely, interact with other rescued black bears and even hibernate.
Black bear's three cubs also relocated
As for her three cubs who were also captured, they were transported last Friday to Sonoma County Wildlife Rescue outside of Petaluma. The goal is for the cubs to undergo rehabilitation so that they can be released back into the wild, Traverso said.
The cubs, who were with their mother during the break-ins, were given a thorough health assessment. Wildlife officials believe one of the cubs was hit and injured by a vehicle last month, though it remains mobile.
'Hank the Tank' is multiple mayhem-causing bears
The animal was one of several large bears that gained notoriety for the problems they caused across a wide stretch of land between Northern California and Nevada.
Lake Tahoe locals, perhaps not realizing that multiple suspects were behind the ursine mischief, came up with the nickname "Hank the Tank" for any large black bear spotted causing mayhem. For months, the bears broke into homes through garages, windows, and doors — primarily motivated to reach human food.
'Feisty queen:'Atlanta zoo mourns Biji the orangutan, who lived to an 'exceptional' age
California wildlife officials tagged the bear in March
California wildlife officials have been monitoring the female bear 64F since 2022. In March of 2023, she was discovered denning under a residence in South Lake Tahoe along with her cubs.
California wildlife biologists and staff with the Nevada Department of Wildlife immobilized the bear in order to collect DNA evidence, attach an ear tag and affix a satellite tracking collar to her. Staff also implanted transponder tags — similar to what's implanted into pet dogs and cats —into the cubs for future identification.
Though the female bear shed the satellite tracking collar in May, DNA testing confirmed she had been the culprit in 21 home invasions in the South Lake Tahoe area between February 2022 and May 2023. Additionally, officials suspect the bear of additional break-ins and property damage.
Relocation of 'conflict bears' is not common, officials say
The agency's black bear policy, updated and released in February 2022, does allow for placement and relocation of so-called "conflict bears" in limited circumstances, particularly when other nonlethal management options have been exhausted. Though relocation is not a typical remedy for troublesome black bears, officials with the California Department of Fish and Wildlife admitted that the decision was partly due to the animal's popularity.
"Given the widespread interest in this bear, and the significant risk of a serious incident involving the bear," the organization said in its press release, "(the wildlife agency) is employing an alternative solution to safeguard the bear family as well as the people in the South Lake Tahoe community."
Eric Lagatta covers breaking and trending news for USA TODAY. Reach him at [email protected].
veryGood! (47)
Related
- Mississippi rising, Georgia falling in college football NCAA Re-Rank 1-134 after Week 11
- Family of man who died while being admitted to psychiatric hospital agrees to $8.5M settlement
- A Danish artist submitted blank frames as artwork. Now, he has to repay the museum
- 'Super Models' doc reveals disdain for Crawford's mole, Evangelista's ‘deep depression’
- Sister Wives’ Meri Brown Shares Hysterical Farmers Only Dating Profile Video After Kody Split
- Sports Illustrated Resorts are coming to the US, starting in Tuscaloosa, Alabama
- Japan’s troubled Toshiba to delist after takeover by Japanese consortium succeeds
- Dear U.N.: Could you add these 4 overlooked items to the General Assembly agenda?
- Beyoncé has released lots of new products. Here's a Beyhive gift guide for the holidays
- Buddy Teevens, Dartmouth football coach, dies 6 months after being hit by pickup while cycling
Ranking
- Quincy Jones' Cause of Death Revealed
- Trump’s New York hush-money criminal trial could overlap with state’s presidential primary
- Exclusive: Pentagon to review cases of LGBTQ+ veterans denied honorable discharges under don't ask, don't tell
- You've likely seen this ranch on-screen — burned by wildfire, it awaits its next act
- Early Black Friday Deals: 70% Off Apple, Dyson, Tarte, Barefoot Dreams, Le Creuset & More + Free Shipping
- 'I really wanted to whoop that dude': Shilo Sanders irked by 'dirty' hit on Travis Hunter
- India suspends visa services in Canada and rift widens over killing of Canadian citizen
- Bellingham scores in stoppage time to give Real Madrid win over Union Berlin in Champions League
Recommendation
-
Food prices worried most voters, but Trump’s plans likely won’t lower their grocery bills
-
Horoscopes Today, September 20, 2023
-
Pilot killed when crop-dusting plane crashes in North Dakota cornfield, officials say
-
McDonald's faces lawsuit over scalding coffee that left woman with severe burns
-
The Daily Money: Inflation is still a thing
-
Autopsy finds man who was punched at New England Patriots game before he died had medical issue
-
Why Jon Bon Jovi Won’t Be Performing at His Son Jake’s Wedding to Millie Bobby Brown
-
Moose charges, headbutts and stomps on woman who was walking her dog on wooded trail in Colorado