[imagesource: Bear League]

‘Hank the Tank’ is not, by any means, your average bear.

He is an enormous black bear, living in Lake Tahoe, California, who has developed an insatiable lust for human food.

His desire for the good stuff is so strong that not even paintballs, bean bags, sirens, and tasers, which create a “clicky-clack noise that the bears hate”, can keep the 226-kilogram chonk from breaking down doors and chowing down on everyone’s leftover pizza.

As a result of breaking into several people’s homes over the last seven months, the “exceptionally large bear” has become the most wanted ransacker in the little California community.

Also known as Chunky and Big Guy, Hank has broken into at least 28 homes since July, and forced local residents to file at least 102 police reports, per The Guardian:

Described as “extremely food-habituated”, Hank has also caused extensive property damage in over thirty documented cases.

“It’s easier to find leftover pizza than to go in the forest,” said Peter Tira, a California department of fish and wildlife spokesperson, according to the New York Times.

While it is unclear how Hank acquired a palate for human food, Ann Bryant, executive director of Bear League, a California-based wildlife rescue service, mentioned that he certainly wouldn’t have got “fat like that eating berries and grubs”.

Per NY Daily News, Peter Tira added that “what’s problematic about this bear is how large it is”:

“It’s learned to use that size and strength to break into a number of occupied residences, bursting through the garage door or front door. It’s pretty frightening.”

“This is a bear that has lost all fear of people,” Tira said. “It’s a potentially dangerous situation.”

This is a demonstration of Hank’s modus operandi:

Doors are no match for Hank the Tank pic.twitter.com/9982bFE9ye

— Watch Mojo (@FletchousJ) February 21, 2022

This news report sheds more light on the furry criminal:

A 500-pound black bear dubbed “Hank the Tank” has caused damaged near Lake Tahoe, smashing through windows and doors in search of food.@KristenDahlgren reports on the fierce debate over the bear’s fate. pic.twitter.com/oiITVdFRmz

— NBC Nightly News with Lester Holt (@NBCNightlyNews) February 22, 2022

State wildlife personnel have been trying to capture Hank but have repeatedly failed to properly coerce him out of the residential areas:

Tira said the authorities have DNA evidence, likely scat, which will allow the bear to be properly IDed if captured. Hank the Tank would likely be sentenced to life at a zoo or bear sanctuary.

Something tells me Hank would be too smart to be completely led astray by pizza trails going into the middle of nowhere. He’d find a way back.

Besides, relocating him to a forest won’t be a good idea because he has likely forgotten how to hunt.

But, the idea of euthanising him doesn’t sit well with people:

“He just sits there and eats. He doesn’t attack them. He doesn’t growl. He doesn’t make rude faces … Why should this big dummy die?” Bryant told the Times.

Brooke Laine concurs, saying “To kill the bear because we didn’t secure our own garbage just rubs everyone the wrong way. The bears just got used to having plentiful food at their disposal.”

And this limerick:

Hank the Tank came around as a guest
Eating pizza, evading arrest
A remarkable bear
With a wide derrière.
In conclusion we wish him the best

— Limericking (@Limericking) February 21, 2022

I guess Hank’s fate is still up in the air, then.

We wish him the best, too.

[sources:guardian&nydailynews]