DNA gets 'Hank the Tank' off the hook; California wildlife agency to trap and release Tahoe bear
Submitted by Jeff Munson on Thu, 02/24/2022 - 6:28pm
SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. — The 500 pound black bear in South Lake Tahoe who has gained international fame as "Hank the Tank" has been issued a reprieve, and the California Department of Fish and Wildlife is no longer on a mission to euthanize him if caught.
Just as humans can be exonerated of a crime through DNA evidence, bears also can be off the hook for knocking down garage doors and gaining entry into homes for food.
The call for "Hank" to be saved from being killed has circled around the globe over the last two weeks. Hundreds of phone calls have been received by the South Lake Tahoe Police Department, the BEAR League, and CDFW. The BEAR League was trying to get the big bear transferred to a sanctuary instead of being euthanized. The story has been carried on almost every network news show and major newspaper.
DNA evidence has proved that on Friday, February 18, a bear break-in at a Tahoe Keys home was done by a female bear, not Hank. In fact, they can now tie two different female bears to home break-ins along with the male.
Authorities originally thought the recent incidents of bear(s) invading homes in the Tahoe Keys neighborhood were done by a single bear, but DNA evidence collected from Friday's incident as well as prior incidents over the past several months prove that at least three bears were responsible for breaking into numerous residences.
Due to this new evidence, CDFW will work in the 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 habitats.
"During this effort, CDFW will gather information and learn from scientific analysis to help inform and refine our bear management in the Lake Tahoe Basin," said CDFW in a blog post on its website on February 24. "CDFW is not going to euthanize any bears that are trapped during this effort."
CDFW said, to be successful, they need ample community support. They request the Tahoe Keys and surrounding neighborhoods to collaborate on the placement of traps to protect both residents and the bears. For traps to work, they must be left alone and not vandalized or harmed in any way.
"It is critical that Tahoe Keys residents and everyone who lives or recreates in the Lake Tahoe Basin carefully store food and trash. Increasingly, CDFW is involved in bear/human conflicts that could have been avoided by people taking a few simple actions. Bears are primarily scent-driven when seeking food. Improperly stored human food and trash are likely attracting bears into this neighborhood. We all need to take all precautions to store food and trash properly to protect ourselves, our neighbors and local bears.
Additional information and resources are available at CDFW’s Keep Me Wild: Black Bear web page. They will need to put the traps on private property and are asking the public to not hamper those efforts for a positive result for bears and humans," said CDFW.
