Spare the bear: Hank the Tank avoids death, relocation thanks to DNA evidence
Tweet text:
Olivier Knox
@OKnox
« Hank The Tank » was
three bears?
Is this a Gritty Reboot (tm) of Goldilocks?
Hank the Tank, a 500-pound black bear, has been credited with damaging a number of homes in South Lake Tahoe prompting the California Department of Fish and Wildlife to consider catching and euthanizing him.
sacbee.com
Spare the bear: Hank the Tank avoids death, relocation thanks to DNA evidence
It turns out Hank wasnt the only fat bear breaking into Lake Tahoe-area homes.
7:33 PM · Feb 24, 2022
https://www.sacbee.com/news/local/environment/article258742503.html?ac_cid=DM611426&ac_bid=-942954305
Turns out Hank the Tank got a bad rap. The rotund black bear from Lake Tahoe that captured international attention wont be killed or moved to a sanctuary after all.
At least for now.
On Thursday, state wildlife officials issued a pardon and vindication of sorts for the 500-pound black bear that they had originally said was solely responsible for burglarizing nearly three dozen homes in the Tahoe Keys neighborhood of South Lake Tahoe over the past few months.
Officials with the California Department of Fish and Wildlife said Thursday that DNA samples collected from the properties showed that at least two other large black bears had broken into some of the homes.
As a result, the distinctive bear with a light-brown muzzle and an inky black beach-ball shaped body wont be killed or relocated to a sanctuary options state officials had been weighing as they decided what to do about the habitual bear burglar.
*snip*