‘Hank the Tank’ returns to South Lake Tahoe, damaging at least one home, police say

An enormous and locally famous black bear, dubbed Hank the Tank, has reemerged in a South Lake Tahoe neighborhood last week.

According to photos and security footage, the 500 pound bear broke into a house on Catalina Drive in the Tahoe Keys neighborhood of South Lake Tahoe Friday morning.

“This bear did not break into a garage where trash was kept that he was sniffing out,” the South Lake Tahoe Police Department said in a social media post. “He broke into a secured home, through the small window in the photo, and somehow squeezed inside.”

Officers responded to the home and banged on an exterior door until the bear “popped” out a back door, the department said. Officers remained in the area to make sure the bear did damage any other homes.

Hank the Tank has become a regular visitor to the Tahoe Keys neighborhood over the last few months because of easy access to food in unsecured garages, according to the Bear League, a nonprofit organization that supports “people living in harmony with bears,” according to its social media page.

Many of the homes in Tahoe Keys do not have bear boxes, which help deter bears from getting into trash, the Bear League and police department said in their posts, making it easy pickings for hungry wildlife.

“As Hank grew to his current enormous size — as you can tell, he eats well — he started going into houses, first by entering through unlocked doors and windows and then by using his size to easily push those barriers out of his way,” the Bear League said. “He can no longer be allowed to remain free, clearly.

As a result, the California Department of Fish and Wildlife has made attempts to trap him, a strategy the Bear League said it vehemently opposes.

More than 33 break-ins have been attributed to Hank the Tank since last July, sparking vigorous debate on what to do about the bear.

Over the last few years, biologists studying Tahoe’s bears said certain ones have grown so accustomed to being around humans that they’ve begun tearing the siding off homes and prying open doors to reach human food in buildings and vehicles, The Bee reported last year.

In 2019, officials said bears damaged more than 75 homes in a single west shore Tahoe neighborhood. At least one of the homes sustained close to $100,000 in damage.

To avoid bear break-ins, authorities recommend locking up trash in bear-proof boxes, and removing all food from cars. To secure homes, homeowners are encouraged to keep blinds closed to prevent bears from spotting refrigerators and pantries, and to make sure doors are locked and don’t wiggle.

This story was originally published February 22, 2022 at 10:58 AM with the headline "‘Hank the Tank’ returns to South Lake Tahoe, damaging at least one home, police say."