In the version of the story we thought we understood, Hank Tank was a hungry, hungry trespasser unfazed by human concerns like doors and manners who broke into dozens of homes to save his 500-pound body.
This is still mostly correct. But in an unexpected twist as the black bear’s story gained international media attention this week, the California Department of Fish and Wildlife said on Thursday that the bear did not act alone.
According to the agency, DNA evidence collected over the past few months has shown that at least three bears were involved in break-ins reported in the Lake Tahoe region of California and Nevada. Prior to the update, all incidents involved Hank, whose burly build and incredible appetite were seen around the world as a mixture of delightful and intimate, and for those whose homes were taken over, perhaps a little terrifying.
As it turned out, people are not very good at distinguishing between bears.
“Identifying bears simply by their visible physical characteristics can lead to misidentification of bears and therefore confusion to management efforts,” the wildlife department said in a statement.
In good news for Hank, the authorities said he was likely to avoid euthanasia, which was thought possible as he had apparently lost his fear of humans. The department said several bears will be deployed over the coming weeks and months to capture, tag and study them and then release them to more suitable habitats.
The department “does not intend to euthanize the bears trapped during this effort,” the release said.
So far, those who have encountered bears have said that they were wonderful guests, aside from stealing food and the occasional sign of destruction.
“He just sits and eats,” chief executive Ann Bryant said. bear leagueWildlife Rescue in Homewood, California said this week. “He doesn’t attack them. He doesn’t growl. He doesn’t make rude faces.”
People in this area, the natural habitat of bears, have long coexisted with large furry animals. Residents learned leave no food and seal your trash in bear-proof containers.
But residents of the Tahoe Keys, a gated community about 190 miles northeast of San Francisco, have called police about 100 times since July about the bears.
It is not clear how the bears became addicted to human food. Department officials and local police tried to “scare” the bears with paintballs, bean bags, sirens and stun guns, but were unsuccessful.